• Canva co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht rank #1 on the Young Rich List for the fifth year worth a combined $14 billion, up from $13 billion.
• Margot Robbie is Australia’s richest entertainer under 40, worth $191 million. 
• Despite a horror year on the track, F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo increased his wealth by $20 million to $187 million.
• Musicians Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) and James Keogh (Vance Joy) round out the Top 100, worth $40 million and $38 million respectively 
• Top three industries for Rich Listers are tech, followed by retail and then elite sports
• This year marks the 21st anniversay of the Young Rich List, the first issue of which was led by mobile phone retailer John Ilhan whose fortune was estimated at $200 million. 

Canva co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht have topped the Financial Review 2024 Young Rich List for the fifth year in a row with an estimated net worth of $14 billion. 

The couple, aged 37 and 38 respectively, have gained $1 billion in a year and have a $9 billion lead on the next Young Rich Lister, Ed Craven, the co-founder of online cryptocurrency casino site stake.com who has a wealth of $4.8 billion.

The full Financial Review Young Rich List will be available tomorrow, Friday, October 25 on afr.com and in a special edition of The Australian Financial Review Magazine.  

In his last year of qualifying for the Young Rich List, Sam Prince, the 40-year old founder of Mexican restaurant chain Zambrero, lifted his wealth to $1.8 billion, up from $1.6 billion last year, retaining the #3 spot. 

In fourth spot, and making their debut in the top five, are Immutable brothers Robbie and James Ferguson with $1.7 billion combined. Their wealth has leapt 50 per cent thanks to the increasing value of their IMX cryptocurrency tokens. Airwallex co-founder Jack Zhang rounds out the top five, with an estimated wealth of $1.3 billion, down from $1.4 billion. Other billionaires aged 40 and under include LMCT+’s Adrian Portelli, Huno Group’s Robert Chamberlain and Afterpay’s Nick Molnar.

Margot Robbie has converted Hollywood box office success to wealth creation, becoming Australia’s richest entertainer under 40, with a wealth pile of $191 million, up from $152 million last year to come in at #31. 

Australia’s wealthiest Young Rich sport star is once again basketball star Ben Simmons, worth $244 million (#20) followed by F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, who despite having a horror season on the track that ended with him retiring from the sport, managed to increase his wealth by $20 million to $187 million (#32).

This year marks the 21st anniversary of the Young Rich List. Its first edition in 2003, originally part of BRW Magazine, was topped by John ‘Crazy John’ Ilhan, seller of discounted Nokia phones and featured Pat Rafter, Russell Crowe and Kylie Minogue. Sportspeople, actors and singers dominated the first Young Rich Lists.

The 2024 Young Rich List features 17 debutants including Dovetail co-founders Benjamin Humphrey and Bradley Ayers with estimated net worths of $146 million, the Greeff brothers  – Frank, Jacques and Ken – who sold their real estate tech company to Domain for $180 million, and the Tran brothers – Aengus and Dimitry – who are developing AI algorithms to improve and speed up diagnoses in radiology and pathology, having already tackled IVF.

The five re-entrants include musician Vance Joy (whose real name is James Keogh) and Stephanie Miller, the co-founder of fitness app Kic.

“The fortunes of the richest Australians aged 40 and under have soared almost 1600 per cent in 21 years. When the list launched in 2003, the total net worth of the 62 people featured was only $2.5 billion,” Rich List editor Yolanda Redrup said. 

“While much has changed, the dominant industries have stayed the same, with technology and retail driving the wealth creation of young Australians.”

Of the 100 Young Rich List entries (where siblings and couples are counted as a single listing), there are 18 women on the list, compared to 16 last year, with retailer Lucy Henry-Hicks of Dissh fame the only female debutant. Queensland-based Henry-Hicks and her partner, Mitchell Lau, recently bought a $40 million beachfront block in Palm Beach, setting a residential record for the Gold Coast. 

 The Financial Review Young Rich List 2024 Highlights

TOP 10 (worth a collective $28.9 billion)

1. Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht,37 & 38, $14 billion  – Canva
2. Ed Craven, 29, $4.8 billion – Stake.com
3. Sam Prince, 40, $1.8 billion – Zambrero, 
4. Robbie and James Ferguson, Immutable
5. Jack Zhang, 39, $1.3 billion – Airwallex 
6. Adrian Portelli, 35, $1.3 billion – LMCT+ 
7. Robert Chamberlain, 40, $1.2 billion – Huno Group 
8. Nicholas Molnar, 33, $1.1 billion – Afterpay
9. Jacob Dai, 40, $898 million – Airwallex
10. Max Li, 40, $716 million – Airwallex

ENTERTAINMENT 

1. Margot Robbie, 34, $191 million – Actress (#31) 
2. Kevin Parker (Tame Impala), 38, $40 million – Musician (#99) 
3. Vance Joy (James Keogh), 36, $38 million – Musician (#100)

 SPORT

1. Ben Simmons, 28, $244 million (#20) – Basketballer
2. Daniel Ricciardo, 35, $187 million (#32) – F1 driver
3. Cameron Smith, 32, $151 million (#38) – Golfer 
4. Jason Day, 35, $148 million (#39) – Golfer
5. Andrew Bogut, 39, $120 million (#47) – Retired basketballer

The Financial Review Young Rich List is available on www.afr.com and in a special 21st birthday edition of AFR Magazine this Friday, October 25.

Image of cover of AFR Magazine Young Rich List HERE

For further information, please contact:
Adrian Motte
Senior Communications Manager – Trade & Publishing 
amotte@nine.com.au

Thursday, October 24, 2024