Australia's 178 billionaires have seen their collective wealth increase by $25.67 billion over the past year, equivalent to nearly $50,000 per minute, according to new analysis by Oxfam Australia based on the 2026 Australian Financial Review Rich List.
Record Billionaire Wealth Amidst Poverty
The anti-poverty organization reported that the total wealth of Australian billionaires in 2026 has surpassed $686 billion. Meanwhile, Acoss figures indicate that 3,706,000 people live in poverty, including 757,000 children under the age of 15. One in three households experienced food insecurity last year, meaning they stressed about or struggled to put food on the table.
Australia now has its highest number of billionaires on record, with 178 individuals, up 17 from the previous year. A significant portion of this new wealth has come from artificial intelligence and data centers. In addition to regular rich listers such as Gina Rinehart, the new billionaires include property developers Anthony El-Hazouri and Charbel Hazzouri, AI-driven jobs platform founder Katrina Leslie, mining boss Chris Ellison, fashion label White Fox founders Daniel and Georgia Contos, and luxury property developers Adrian and Peter Puljich.
Widening Gap Between Rich and Poor
Oxfam emphasized that the figures highlight the widening gap between Australia's wealthiest people and ordinary households. The 20 richest Australians now hold more wealth than the bottom 3 million households. Oxfam Australia's chief executive, Jennifer Tierney, stated, "There is something fundamentally wrong with a system where extreme wealth keeps skyrocketing while so many people are struggling to afford the basics, and governments claim there is not enough money for housing, healthcare, climate action and essential services."
The increase in billionaire wealth in the past year alone could have lifted nearly a million Australians out of poverty or covered household electricity bills for every single Australian household for well over one year, according to Tierney. While AI and data centers brought new names onto the billionaires list, most have made their money through property development, mining, and other technology sectors.
Calls for Tax Reform
Tierney noted that the federal budget included some welcome measures to ease pressure on households and begin reforming unfair tax settings, but it did not go far enough to address the scale of wealth inequality growing in Australia. "While modest, reforms to capital gains tax and negative gearing are important steps towards a fairer tax system. Australia should not continue rewarding wealth accumulation more generously than work, particularly at a time when so many households are under pressure," she said.
"While misinformation and misplaced fears about small business and aspiration continue to dominate debate around these reforms, the reality is that the wealth of the super-rich continues to grow while poverty persists. Without structural reform to the tax system, that divide will only deepen. A fairer approach to taxing extreme wealth would help ensure governments can properly invest in affordable housing, healthcare, climate action and support for communities doing it tough here and abroad," Tierney added.
