Rinehart kids join billionaires' club

Gina Rinehart's four children have joined their mining mogul mother among the world's richest people, with nine Western Australians included in Forbes' latest world billionaire rankings.

The rankings shows John Hancock, Bianca Rinehart, Ginia Rinehart and Hope Welker have estimated fortunes of $US1.3 billion each thanks to their stake in a family trust fund that owns 23.45 per cent of their mother's mining and pastoral company, Hancock Prospecting.

Mrs Rinehart retained her ranking of number 69 on the global list of billionaires thanks to her $US17.4 billion fortune, which has swelled by more than $US2 billion in the past year following a lift in iron ore prices.

She also was ranked the world's seventh richest woman, with Alice Walton, daughter of the founder of US retail giant Walmart, taking out the top spot with her $US42 billion fortune.

Mrs Rinehart remained Australia's richest person, with her fortune dwarfing that of her nearest rival, property developer Harry Triguboff who came in 167th place on the global list with a fortune of $US9.2 billion.

The mining mogul's children were among 10 Australians making their debut on the list, which boasted a record 2,208 billionaires whose combined net worth hit $US9.1 trillion.

Musician-turned-tech entrepreneur Richard White and Cotton On founder Nigel Austin were among the wealthiest new Aussie entrants with estimated fortunes of $US1.6 billion and $US1.4 billion respectively.

Mr White's software company WiseTech Global, which has 7,000 customers in 25 countries, has seen its share price soar since listing on the ASX in 2016, thanks to a series of acquisitions and higher earnings.

Mr Austin has enjoyed similar success overseas with his Cotton On fashion empire, which also owns stationery chain Typo and operates in 19 countries.

Fellow retailer Brett Blundy, who recently sold the Bras N Things lingerie chain to US giant Hanes for $500 million, also made his debut on the list with $US1.2 billion.

He was closely followed by Kerry Packer's daughter Gretel Packer, whose $1.1 billion fortune was about $US3 billion less than that of her brother, casino mogul James Packer.

Mr Packer came in at 527 on the overall list, which was topped by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who became the first person to surpass the $US100 billion mark with a net worth of $US112 billion.

Elsewhere among the 43 Australians on the list, iron ore magnate and philanthropist Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest took a tumble down the rankings as his fortune slipped by about $US1 billion to $US4.4 billion.

Mr Forrest and his wife Nicola's Minderoo Foundation gave away a record $400 million to charitable causes including cancer research and anti-slavery campaigns in 2017.

Other West Australians on the list include Kerry Stokes, Stan Perron and iron ore heiress Angela Bennett. 

AUSSIES WHO'VE MADE IT ONTO FORBES' BILLIONAIRES LIST

* Gina Rinehart, ranked 69 with $US17.4b (mining)

* Harry Triguboff, ranked 167 with $US9.2b (property)

* Vivek Chaand Sehgal, ranked 289 with $US6b (auto parts)

* Frank Lowy, ranked 296 with $US5.9b (Westfield shopping malls)

* Anthony Pratt, ranked 334 with $US5.5b (Visy packaging)

* Andrew Forrest, ranked 480 with $4.4b (Fortescue Metals Group founder)

* John Gandel ranked 527 with $US4.1b (shopping malls)

* James Packer ranked 527 with $US4.1b (casinos)

* Mike Cannon-Brookes ranked 679 with $US3.4b (co-founder of software firm Atlassian)

* Scott Farquhar ranked 679 with $US3.4bn (co-founder of software firm Atlassian)

* Lindsay Fox ranked 679 with $US3.4b (logistics and real estate)

* Kerry Stokes ranked 766 with $US3.1b (Seven Network founder, mining)

* Fiona Geminder ranked 887 with $US2.7b (packaging)

* Micheal Hintze ranked 1020 with $US2.4b (investment)

* Stan Perron ranked 1070 with $US2.3b (property, retail)

* Lang Walker ranked 1103 with $US2.2b (property)

* David Hains ranked 1157 with $US2.1b (finance)

* Heloise Pratt ranked 1157 with $US2.1b (packaging)

* Maurice Alter ranked 1339 with $US1.8b (real estate)

* Jack Cowin ranked 1339 with $US1.8bn (fast food)

* Angela Bennett ranked 1394 with $US1.7bn (mining)

* Gerry Harvey ranked 1394 with $US1.7b (retail)

* Kerr Neilson ranked 1394 with $US1.7b (investment)

* David Teoh ranked 1447 with $US1.6b (TPG Telecom and iiNet owner)

* Richard White ranked at 1477 with $US1.6b (software)

* Judith Nelson ranked 1650 with $US1.5b (investments)

* Nigel Austin ranked 1650 with $US1.4b (Cotton On founder)

* Bob Ell ranked at 1650 with $US1.4b (property)

* Manny Stul ranked 1650 with $US1.4b (Shopkins founder)

* Len Ainsworth ranked 1756 with $US1.3b (betting machines)

* John Hancock ranked 1756 with $US1.3b (trust fund)

* Bianca Rinehart ranked 1756 with $US1.3b (trust fund)

* Ginia Rinehart ranked 1756 with $US1.3b (trust fund)

* Hope Welker ranked 1756 with $US1.3b (trust fund)

* Solomon Lew ranked 1756 with $US1.3b (retail)

* Brett Blundy ranked 1867 with $US1.2b (retail, agribusiness)

* Terry Snow ranked 1867 with $US1.2b (airports, property)

* John Van Lieshout ranked 1867 with $US1.2bn (real estate)

* Gretel Packer ranked 1999 with $US1.1b (casinos)

* Alan Rydge ranked 1999 with $US1.1b (entertainment)

* Huang Bingwen ranked 2124 with $US1b (cigarette packaging)

* Paul Little ranked 2124 with $US1b (logistics, real estate)

* Sam Tarascio ranked 2124 with $US1b; (real estate)