Australia’s 178 billionaires are $25.7bn richer than last year as 3.7 million live in poverty

Gina Rinehart (left) and Anthony Pratt, first and third place respectively on the AFR Rich List. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Gina Rinehart (left) and Anthony Pratt, first and third place respectively on the AFR Rich List. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images Australia’s 178 billionaires are $25.7bn richer than last year as 3.7 million live in poverty Oxfam finds the 20 richest Australians now hold more wealth than the bottom 3 million households, analysis shows Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The wealth of Australia’s billionaires increased by $25.67bn in the past year, equivalent to almost $50,000 a minute, according to new Oxfam Australia analysis of the 2026 Australian Financial Review Rich List. The anti-poverty organisation said the total wealth of Australian billionaires in 2026 has reached more than $686bn, while Acoss figures show 3,706,000 people live in poverty, including 757,000 children under 15 years. 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, at 178, up 17 from last year. A large amount of this new wealth has come from artificial intelligence and datacentres. In addition to regular rich listers such as Gina Rinehart , the new billionaires include property developers Anthony El-Hazouri and Charbel Hazzour, 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. Australian billionaires increased their wealth by almost $600,000 a day on average over last year, report shows Read more Oxfam said the figures highlighted the widening gap between Australia’s wealthiest people and ordinary households, with the 20 richest Australians now holding more wealth than the bottom 3 million households. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Oxfam Australia’s chief executive, Jennifer Tierney, said while many Australians continue to feel the brunt of high living costs, billionaire wealth was continuing to surge. “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,” she said. 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, she said. While AI and datacentres brought new names on to the billionaires list, most have made their money through property development, mining and other technology, she said. Tierney said the budget included some welcome measures to ease pressure on households and begin reforming unfair tax settings,