AFR Rich List 2020: Property tycoons Harry Triguboff, Frank Lowy among Australia's richest people

The biggest property names on the AFR Rich List have been revealed, with a string of property developers and trophy home owners topping the list.

Four of the 10 richest Australians made their wealth in the property industry, and retain billionaire status even amid the uncertain economy and global health crisis, while almost a quarter of the richest 200 built their empires in the property sector.

Shimao Property Holdings chairman Hui Wing Mau ranked fourth overall, valued at an eye-watering $18.06 billion, after the Hong Kong-based Australian citizen made his fortune in property developments in China and Australia.

Meriton founder and prolific apartment developer Harry Triguboff took seventh place with a $14.42 billion fortune. Mr Triguboff lives on a vast waterfront landholding in Sydney’s Vaucluse, although his trophy home is set to be demolished and the block subdivided.

Westfield shopping centre empire Frank Lowy was ninth, at $8.3 billion. Mr Lowy splits his time between Israel and a waterfront residence in Sydney’s exclusive Point Piper.

Kerry Stokes – better known as Seven chairman but with significant stakes in building materials company Boral and aged care group Estia Health – ranked 10th at $6.26 billion. Mr Stokes lives in the well-heeled Perth suburb of Dalkeith on a large block he has owned since the 1970s.

Property has traditionally been “one of the backbones of the list,” Rich List co-editor Michael Bailey said, even though some developers recorded a drop in wealth during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It has not been such a good year because of what happened with the property market generally … they are not a patch on where they were last year.”

Owners of Melbourne shopping centres and CBD office towers took a hit as their assets emptied out during the city’s strict stage four lockdown, he said.

But owners of other types of real estate, such as farmland or warehouses that supply e-commerce, fared better this year.

The number of Rich Listers in Victoria fell slightly from 62 last year to 59, with assets there worth slightly less as the economy took a hit, while the number in NSW rose from 62 to 69.

Among Australia’s richest 200 people, 48 made their money through property, compared to 11 in iron ore mining, 21 in technology and 11 in agriculture.

Many rich listers from other industries have amassed substantial real estate holdings, with trophy homes in their own city and further afield.

Iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart topped this year’s Rich List with a net worth of a whopping $28.89 billion as the iron ore price soared.

Ms Rinehart’s residence in Perth’s Dalkeith consists of three properties in a cluster, plus a strip of land next door and an adjoining empty block that is for sale with a $9 million price guide.

She also owns two adjoining riverfront properties in Brisbane’s Hawthorne, snapped up for about $18 million in 2014.

Another iron ore baron Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, chairman of Fortescue Metals Group, ranked second with wealth of $23 billion.

The Perth-based billionaire made headlines when he bought a historic Cottesloe home for $16 million in 2015, used it to house five refugee families, then planned a grand restoration.

He more recently snapped up a waterfront residence in Sydney’s Point Piper for more than $16 million.

Cardboard box king Anthony Pratt, ranked third and worth a cool $19.75 billion, resides in historic Raheen mansion in Melbourne’s leafy Kew.

The Visy executive chairman also has a significant business in the US and was last year reportedly eyeing a New York estate for sale by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas.

Tech titan Mike Cannon-Brookes rose to fifth spot on the list, worth $16.93 billion.

The Atlassian co-chief executive has amassed arguably the country’s largest collection of private homes, weekenders and farms, spending almost $250 million on real estate over the past decade.

His primary residence is the $100 million Fairwater estate on the Point Piper beachfront, the only nine-figure house sale in Australia.

Other holdings include a $24.5 million purchase in Newport on Sydney’s northern beaches and the $18.5 million former residence of Germany’s consul-general in Woollahra, as well as his $15 million Southern Highlands farm Widgee Waa. His most recent buy was an empty block of land on the northern beaches, purchased for $1.425 million after one day on the market.

Buying a trophy home is a a classic move for someone who has amassed substantial wealth, Mr Bailey said.

“The perfect example is Mike Cannon-Brookes who just seems to be buying properties up left, right and centre,” he said.

“And obviously Andrew Forrest has houses all over the place, as does Anthony Pratt.”

Next year, Mr Bailey expects big property developers and landlords will still face tough market conditions as unemployment stays high and immigration remains low, posing a challenge to those who build new apartment towers for a growing population.

But he is upbeat about the outlook for property and its role in Australians’ fortunes longer term.

‘I think it will continue to be a wealth-generating tool for years to come,” he said.

Other Rich List property players

12 – Alan Wilson & family (Melbourne) $4.93 billion. Reece bathrooms owner, with profits up 13 per cent after a reno-filled pandemic

19 – Lang Walker $4.27 billion (Sydney). $35 billion worth of projects in the pipeline

27 – Terry Snow $3.19 billion (Canberra). Canberra Airport owner

33 – Michael Hodgson (Perth) $2.33 billion. Owner of industrial sites and Perth residential subdivision Midland

46 – Greg Goodman & family (Sydney) $2.02 billion. Goodman Group owns warehouses for e-commerce

47 – Bob Ell (Surfers Paradise) $1.98 billion. Owns Sydney industrial property

76 – Maha Sinnathamby (Brisbane) $1.35 billion. Behind the Greater Springfield Project master-planned community

82 – Con Makris & family (Gold Coast) $1.32 billion. Property empire includes shopping centres and marina piers

177 – Bob Rose (Sydney) $605 million. Built Breakfast Point

185 – Tim Gurner (Melbourne) $581 million. Apartment developer in Melbourne and Brisbane

198 – Danny Hill (Monaco) $546 million. Owner of Chandon Development Group

200 – Nigel Satterley (Perth) $540 million. Australia’s biggest private land developer