Australia Now Has More Billionaires Per Capita Than the US or UK

The number of billionaires doubled over the past decades, as well as philanthropy.

Gina Rinehart attends day seven of the Australian National Swimming Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia, on April 9, 2015. Matt King/Getty Images

The number of Australian billionaires has doubled from 74 in 2015, to 161 in 2025, amid what appears to be a billionaire boom.

The total wealth of Australia’s richest people increased 160 percent to $667.8 billion over the past 10 years, with property being the most frequent source of wealth accumulation.

The data, collated and released by anti-poverty organisation Oxfam, comes just days after mining magnate and businesswoman Gina Rinehart once again topped the Australian Financial Review list of most affluent Australians.

Rinehart, who is worth $38.11 billion and is a known contributor to charity, has spent six years in the top spot.

Statistics show the number of people who fell into the billionaire category moved up from 150 last year, to 161 people this year.

In fact, when comparing developed nations per capita, Australia is leaps and bounds ahead.

The United States with a population of 342 million people, has only 735 billionaires, about 2 billionaires per million people.

In comparison, Australia has about 6 billionaires per million people, while the UK has 1.6 billionaires per million people.

Reports also show philanthropy increased year-on-year alongside billionaire growth with Canva founders Cameron Adams and Lisa Miller, notably pledging to give away at least half of their $7 billion fortune

Yet Oxfam Australia’s Acting Chief Executive Chrisanta Muli was concerned about the widening gap between those earning the most and least.

“This level of inequality is not just morally wrong—it’s economically and socially dangerous,” she said.

“While millions of Australians are struggling to make ends meet, the country’s richest continue to amass eye-watering fortunes, often without lifting a finger,” she claimed.

“It is scandalous and unjust that property continues to be one of the biggest drivers of wealth across the decade while over 99 percent of rentals are unaffordable for people earning a full-time minimum wage.”

Oxfam is calling for more examination into heavier taxation of highest earners.

Driving a Divide

The theory that state control of wealth will somehow benefit society is one that has gained traction over time in Western society, but there are other views.

According to The Epoch Times’ editorial series, How the Specter of Communism is Ruling our World, the ideal of shutting down private wealth to boost state coffers is just offshoot of communist ideology.

“Communism advocates absolute egalitarianism. Superficially, this may sound like a high-minded aim, leading many to blindly believe it is righteous,” it says.

“In reality, absolute egalitarianism evokes hatred and jealousy, as people believing in it can’t tolerate the success of others, or others being wealthier and having better lives, easier work, or more luxurious living conditions.”