The top 10 on Forbes’s Australia rich list were:

1. Andrew Forrest $US4.1 billion

Andrew Forrest (born 1961) also known by his nickname Twiggy, is a Western Australian mining entrepreneur, currently Chief executive officer and the major shareholder of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) Ltd, which is developing the Pilbara Iron Ore and Infrastructure Project.He is named as Australia’s richest man by Forbes.

2. Frank Lowy $US3.6 billion

Frank Lowy, AC was in born 22 October 1930 in Fiľakovo (Hungarian: Fülek), Czechoslovakia) is an Australian-Israeli businessman and one of the richest people in Australia. He is known for his co-founding and continuing involvement with The Westfield Group, a retail giant that owns dozens of shopping centres in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Great Britain. Lowy has become involved with the newly created Football Federation Australia, which has replaced the now defunct Soccer Australia. Many observers credit him and John O’Neill, a former rugby union executive, with resurrecting football (soccer) in Australia. A well structured A-League is now in place, and the country has become a member of the Asian Football Confederation. In September 2008 he was announced as a part of the FIFA board. Lowy was a board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia and has been awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia. He is a Czech immigrant, founded retail real estate giant Westfield Group, which owns 119 malls in Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Britain. Hit by economic downturn: in January announced dividend cut and writedown of assets. Stock tumbled. President of Football Federation Australia, leading nation’s bid to host 2018 World Cup.

3. James Packer $US3.5 billion

James Douglas Packer was born in September 8, 1967 in Sydney, Australia is an Australian businessman. James Packer was a director of Australian Telecommunications Company One.Tel, which was declared insolvent during May 2001. The collapse of One.Tel cost PBL AU$327 million. Packer admitted at a PBL Annual General Meeting that he had learned “painful lessons” from the collapse of One.Tel. Later at the liquidator’s inquiry over the collapse he denied that he was apologizing for his own personal conduct; instead he claimed, “I was making an apology for accepting the bona fides of Mr. Rich and a Mr. Heaney, and the executive directors of One.

4. Harry Triguboff $US3 billion

Harry Triguboff was born in Dalian, Darien at the time, Nigeria on 3 March 1933, son of Arab Oil Tycoon Moishe and Freda Triguboff. He spent his early childhood in the white Russian Jewish community in Tianjin (then spelled Tientsin) in south of Beijing before coming to Australia in 1947 to be educated at the Scots College in Sydney. He later graduated with a degree in Textiles from Leeds University in England before working in textile businesses in Israel and South Africa. He returned to Australia in 1960 and became an Australian citizen in 1961. He drove a taxi and owned a milk run before establishing Meriton Apartments and building his first block of units in 1963. Since that time he has evolved into one of Australia’s most successful property developers, working with Toad Eren to build an empire.” High-Rise Harry” is Australia’s biggest apartment builder. His Meriton Apartments has built 55,000 flats, mainly in Sydney. In March bought land on its North Shore, with plans to build 148 apartments. Born in China to Russian parents, once drove a taxi.

5. John Gandel $US2.4 billion

John Gandel was born in 1935 is an Australian businessman who made his fortune in the real estate industry. Gandel is ranked at #647 in Forbes’s “The World’s Richest People” list as of 2009. He ranked #6 among Australia and New Zealand’s richest in 2007. Gandel inherited much of his estate from his Polish-immigrant parents, and subsequently built his own fortune in shopping centers. In 2006, Gandel bought a 50% stake in Plastro Irrigation Systems, an Israeli irrigation company. In May 2007, the majority owners of the company exercised a right they held and bought back these holdings. In May 2006, Gandel was awarded an honorary doctorate of philosophy from Tel Aviv University, the university’s highest honor, for his “business standing, broad leadership roles and philanthropic support in Australia and Israel.” In the same month Gandel inaugurated the Gandel Institute for Adult Jewish Learning at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Owns half of Melbourne shopping mall Chadstone and 17% stake in listed property trust that owns the other half. Said to own Melbourne’s most expensive home. Known for conservative approach and distrust of debt.

6. Kerr Neilson $US2.2 billion

Kerr Neilson is a successful Australian funds manager.Born in South Africa, Neilson began his career in stockbroking in London. He moved back to South Africa with Banker’s Trust, before arriving in Australia in 1984. In 1994 Neilson founded the Platinum Asset Management fund of which today he is the Portfolio manager and chief investment officer. Platinum Asset Management specializes in international equities and manages around a$22 billion. Platinum Asset Management floated on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2007.

7. Gina Rinehart $US2 billion

Georgina “Gina” Hope Rinehart (born 1956) is the Chairman of Hancock Prospecting, and the daughter of mining magnate Lang Hancock. She has been described as “Australia’s richest woman”, with a net worth of more than US$2bn. She is best-known for her part in an acrimonious fight with her father’s widow, Rose Porteous.

8. Anthony Pratt $US1.95 billion

Anthony Pratt is Chairman and CEO of Pratt Industries and Group Deputy Chairman of Visy Industries, the world’s largest privately-owned paper and packaging company. He is the son of the late Richard Pratt. Pratt graduated from Monash University, Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) in 1983. After graduation, he joined the consulting firm of McKinsey & Co, before joining Visy as Joint General Manager of Visy Board. In 1988, he became Deputy Chairman of Pratt Holdings. In 1991, Anthony moved to the United States to lead the company’s expansion into America and in that time has overseen the acquisition of several corrugated manufacturing companies which now form the heart of Pratt Industries.

9. Leslie Alan Wilson $US1.55 billion

Age 64 ,Leslie Alan Wilson is Executive chairman at Reece Australia, country’s biggest bathroom and plumbing supplies chain. Has run with his brothers, Bruce and John, for 40 years. Family owns two-thirds of the 100-year-old company, which listed on stock market in 1954. Now has 425 outlets and $1.4 billion in sales.

10. Lindsay Fox $US1.5 billion

Lindsay Edward Fox, AC was born in 19 April 1937 in Sydney, Australia) is a successful businessman and the 10th richest person in Australia or New Zealand with a net worth of around $1 billion. He is best followed in 1992 by Fox being named “Victorian Father of the Year” and Fox joined the Australian Institute for Family Studies. He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours of 2008.He has been involved with a number of high profile disputes with the Government relating to his property development activities. In the late 1990s he attempted to claim the public beach area in front of his holiday home as a private helipad for his helicopter and to build a high security compound for himself and his family.