Iron ore bolsters WA rich lister rankings

An improved iron ore price delivered huge boosts for mining magnates Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest, who were two of the three Western Australians to feature in the top 10 on the nation's best known rich list.

Mrs Rinehart was the year’s wealthiest Western Australian, coming in at third on the national list, having increased her fortune to $10.4 billion from $6.06 billion last year (when she was fourth overall).

Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest was up two places to come in sixth with wealth of $6.8 billion.

Mr Forrest, whose $400 million donation last week was the biggest philanthropic gift by a living Australian, has more than doubled his wealth of $3.3 billion, according to last year’s rich list.

Perron Group founder Stan Perron placed 10th this year with a wealth of $3.9 billion, jumping two spots from last year when he was worth $2.8 billion.

Mr Perron also retained the title of the oldest person on the rich list.

Mr Perron famously gave late prospectors Lang Hancock and Peter Wright their start in iron ore in 1959 with a £500 loan.

In total, there were 20 Western Australians out of the 200 featured in the rich list, down from 22 from WA who featured last year.

Mrs Rinehart’s eldest daughter, Bianca, made her second consecutive appearance on the list thanks to her 20+ per cent stake in Hancock Prospecting, although she is based in Brisbane now.

Blackburne founder Paul Blackburne also made his second consecutive appearance on the list with a wealth of $530 million, which put him at number 134.

He was 124th on the list last year when he was worth $536 million.

Competitive Foods Australia chairman Jack Cowin gained four places on the list to 20th, with a wealth of $2.38 billion.

Competitive Foods operates the Hungry Jack’s franchise and some KFC stores.

Business tycoon Kerry Stokes, who chairs Seven Group Holdings and owns mining equipment franchisee WesTrac, jumped 11 spots on the rich list to 14th, increasing his wealth to $2.9 billion from $1.7 billion a year ago.

At the top of the table, last year’s first and second wealthiest were switched around this year, with Melbourne-based Anthony Pratt and his family taking the top spot with a wealth of $12.6 billion, while Sydney-based property developer Harry Triguboff dropped to second place with a wealth of $11.4 billion.