Reading this year’s BRW Rich 200, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the talent Australia’s business world has to offer. From property tycoons to entrepreneurs who built their technology business from the ground-up, all took risks and in turn built a fortune.
But at the same time, there are a number of patterns among Australia’s richest 200 people.
Want to see your name on the annual Rich List? Here’s how to go about it.
1. Work hard and start from the ground up
Gerry Harvey has been a familiar face on the BRW Rich 200 after making his fortune by setting up retail giant Harvey Norman.
But it wasn’t always this way. Harvey started out as a door-to-door salesman selling vacuum cleaners in the 1960s. It was through this that he met business partner Ian Norman, with the pair launching their business in 1982.
Ian Norman passed away earlier this year, but reportedly used to come into the office only once a week to collect his mail.
2. Join or inherit the family business
A number of people on the Rich List inherited wealth from their parents.
Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest person, is chair of Hancock Prospecting – a company founded by her father Lang Hancock. Following his death in 1992, Rinehart took control of the company and oversaw a number of significant projects and business deals. She is currently worth $20.01 billion.
James Packer, who made number three on the list with a net worth of $7.19 billion, is the son of the late Kerry Packer. He inherited control of the family company and has invested heavily in the casinos.
3. Or strike out on your own
The Rich List isn’t all businessmen from wealthy families. In fact, a handful of those who made the cut did so by launching their own IT start-ups.
Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, the founders of software development company Atlassian, joined the BRW Rich 200 for the second time in a row. Coming in at number 190 and 191last year, the entrepreneurs have since jumped to 35th and 36th place after their combined wealth grew to $2.13 billion.
4. Be a man
While Gina Rinehart took out the top spot with a net worth more than double her nearest competitor, only 14 of the 200 Rich Listers are women. This means a mere 7% of the 200 richest people in Australia are women.
This comes amid research indicating Australian businessmen believe women fail to get ahead in the workplace because of a lack of ambition.
Broede Carmody is a former senior SmartCompany reporter. Before this, he was a co-editor of RMIT University’s student magazine Catalyst.
