Premier Roger Cook has cemented his place at the pinnacle of the Power 500, while the chiefs of Western Australia’s two biggest iron ore miners have pipped publication stalwarts for top spots.
Energy and Decarbonisation Minister, and future leadership contender, Amber-Jade Sanderson has ascended into the overall ‘Top 10’ of the 2026 Power 500.
She follows the premier and his influential deputy, Treasurer Rita Saffioti, who retain their first and second ranking, respectively, for a second consecutive year.
Familiar faces at the pointy end of the publication include mining magnate and political agitator Gina Rinehart and iron ore entrepreneur and green evangelist Andrew Forrest.
BHP’s leading Perth lieutenant Tim Day and Rio Tinto’s iron ore chief Matthew Holcz have both entered the upper echelons of the publication for the first time.
Among those falling out of the Top 10 is media mogul Kerry Stokes, as the former chairman takes somewhat of a step back while maintaining his diluted stake in the Southern Cross Media empire.
For the full spread of the state’s 10 most powerful and influential individuals, read the online edition of the publication ahead of the hard-copy book release mid-June.
2026 Power 500 HERE.
Beyond the overall Top 10 of the 2026 Power 500, the ebbs and flows of power and influence in Western Australian are illustrated across the 250 pages of the publication.
In this year’s book, 83 people made their debut among the state’s most powerful business leaders, parliamentarians, philanthropists, and other achievers.
The biggest shifts among the 19 categories were in the public sector section, as political operatives - namely directors general - hit their stride in the year since the 2025 election.
The number of entrants in the industrial and logistics category also grew, with Mario Giacci from MGM Bulk and Stan Quinlivan from Skipper Aviation both debuting.
The energy category takes a different shape to previous years, as more entrants head renewable energy companies amid the state government's push to switch off coal-fired power by 2030.
Analysing the past five years of data from the Power 500 paints a picture of the distribution, and concentration, of power in the state.
Since that first edition, 874 unique individuals have appeared across the pages of this publication.
Almost a quarter of the cohort have cemented themselves as mainstays in the Power 500, with 214 people appearing in all five editions.
But power is not perpetual, and 30 per cent of entrants across the years have only made one appearance in the book.
Out of everyone who has appeared in the Power 500 since the inaugural edition, 249 people have changed companies, and 321 have changed roles, between appearances.
Interestingly, 125 people have changed categories, such as shifting from health and social services to public sector, or from explorers and mid-cap miners to resources.
A further 57 people have made the jump into an entirely different role, such as moving from the C-suite to the boardroom, or from academia to government.
Read the 2026 Power 500 HERE.
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