As ordinary Australians have battled cost-of-living pressures over the past year, some of the country's richest people have grown their substantial fortunes.

The Australian Financial Review has revealed its 2026 Rich List, and the country's 200 largest fortunes have collectively leapt by $39 billion to a total of $707 billion.

When the rich list was first published in the Business Review Weekly magazine in 1983, the total worth of Australia's wealthiest people was $4.6 billion.

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Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has topped the rich list for the seventh consecutive year, with an estimated wealth of $39 billion, up $900 million from last year.

Meriton founder Harry Triguboff is number two on the list.

The property developer is worth an estimated $32.29 billion, up from $29.65 billion.

Visy executive chairman Anthony Pratt and his family are ranked third on the list.

Their fortune is worth an estimated $25.19 billion, which they amassed by running Australia's biggest packaging and recycling company.

Former Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg saw his wealth explode from $13 billion last year to $22.38 billion this year.

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Out of the top 178 rankings of this year's Rich 200 list, just less than one in nine people carried estimated fortunes of $1 billion and above.

While total wealth is up, there have been some falls in the technology sector, as a result of the billions of dollars wiped off the value of listed software-as-a-service companies.

Mike Cannon-Brookes went from 13th on the Rich List to 22nd after his estimated fortune dropped from $12.18 billion last year to $6.71 billion this year.

His Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar and wife Kim Jackson, who leads Skip Capital, have dropped from fourth to 13th after the couple saw their wealth plummet from $21.4 billion to $11.7 billion.

WiseTech founder Richard White went from 15th to 17th after his wealth dropped by nearly $2 billion to $8.8 billion.

Marriage breakdowns continue to reshape the top Rich List rankings, with miner Andrew Forrest falling from Australia's second-richest person in 2023 to eighth this year, with a fortune worth $15.93 billion.

He was overtaken by his former wife, Nicola, who is ranked seventh at $17.32 billion.

Some Rich Listers have amassed their fortunes from artificial intelligence and data centres, including Swipejobs founder Katrina Leslie (worth $2.5 billion), Firmus co-founder Oliver Curtis (worth $1.25 billion) and Grafana Labs co-founder Anthony Woods (worth $881 million).

Australian Financial Review Rich List editor Hannah Tattersall said behind each Rich Lister was a story about they built their wealth and where their ideas came from.

"Mining, property and tech always dominate the Rich List but this year's list shows there's money to be made in waste management, in chicken restaurants, in hoodies and of course AI," Tattersall said.

The Financial Review Rich List 2026's top 10

1. Mining magnate and businesswoman Gina Rinehart – $39.01 billion – Mining
2. Meriton founder and managing director Harry Triguboff – $32.29 billion – Property
3. Visy Industries executive chairman Anthony Pratt and family – $25.19 billion – Manufacturing
4. Former Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg – $22.38 billion – Mining
5. Mining magnate Clive Palmer – $19.56 billion – Mining
6. Canva founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht – $17.56 billion – Technology
7. Philanthropist Nicola Forrest – $17.32 billion – Mining
8. Miner Andrew Forrest – $15.93 billion – Mining
9. Stonepeak founder Michael Dorrell – $13.82 billion – Investment
10. Chemist Warehouse founders Mario, Marcello & Adrian Verrocchi – $12.76 billion – Retail

Where Australia's Rich Listers are based

NSW – 78 Rich Listers
Victoria – 52 Rich Listers
Queensland – 21 Rich Listers
Western Australia – 19 Rich Listers
South Australia – Five Rich Listers
Australian Capital Territory – 0 Rich Listers
Northern Territory – One Rich Lister
Tasmania – Two Rich Listers
USA – Eight Rich Listers
New Zealand – Two Rich Listers
United Kingdom – Three Rich Listers
China – Three Rich Listers
Switzerland – One Rich Lister
Argentina – One Rich Lister
Bahamas – One Rich Lister
Cyprus – One Rich Lister

Three brothers have hooked a monster tuna weighing 107.5 kilograms off the coast of south-west Victoria.

Peter, Michael and Andreas Salloum were fishing with their cousin in Apollo Bay on the state's Surf Coast this week when they came across the southern bluefin.

It took two hours for the four to wrangle the massive fish.

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"We were all in just pure shock," Michael told 9News.

"Even the charter captain we had, he was in disbelief as well."

Southern bluefin tuna are among the world's most prized fish, fetching up to $683 per kilogram, however recreational fishers in Australia can't sell their catch.

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The brothers have shared their monster trophy among family and friends.

"Some of it is in our freezer, some of it is in our bellies and some of it has been eaten by our friends and family," Michael said.

"Definitely something we'll remember, a hundred kilos is not something you catch every day," Peter said.

A 243-kilogram bluefin tuna sold for a record 510 million yen ($4.47 million) at a Tokyo market in January.

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The thief took about $400 in cash and several bottles of alcohol.

Vasa Fia Collins marked her late husband’s third ‘heavenly birthday’ with a loving letter.

Kaixiao Liu told jurors he wants the deported women to testify at trial.

Melanie Kingi used the money for household expenses but then started gambling.

A family in Sydney's south-west has been left terrified after a drive-by shooting and firebombing at their home in what police say appears to be a case of mistaken identity.

Emergency crews were called to Sapphire Place at Eagle Vale after neighbours reported a shooting about 4.30am today.

When officers arrived, a black BMW sedan was found well alight outside the family home.

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Acting Commander Michael Moroney said while the home itself appeared to be targeted, the occupants were not the intended targets.

"What I understand at this stage is that those residents were only new to that location," Moroney said.

"So they … were not the intended targets.

A husband, wife, and three children who were inside the home were left terrified, telling 9News the shooting and firebombing was a case of mistaken identity.

The home owner said her family was asleep when multiple shots rang out.

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"We just moved here, haven't been here long," she told 9News.

"Obviously a case of mistaken identity, we are not bad people.

"There was a bullet hole that skimmed across [the kids'] heads and into the roof."

Police believe the hit was planned well in advance, with the same group spotted on security cameras 30 minutes before the ambush, arriving to scope out the street.

While only three men were captured on CCTV before fleeing in a dark coloured ute, police say they are searching for a wider network.

"We are looking closely at who lived there previously as a main line of inquiry for this ongoing investigation," Moroney said.

Authorities are appealing to anyone in the Eagle Vale area with dashcam or CCTV footage to come forward immediately.

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The Foreign Minister says he has made it known NZ wants the situation resolved quickly.

Better-than-expected inflation figures could spare rate-hike weary borrowers from another increase next month, but economists have warned there will likely be more pain around the corner. 

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released this morning showed headline inflation cooled from 4.6 per cent to 4.2 per cent in the 12 months to April.

The trimmed mean, which is the primary measure of underlying inflation used by the Reserve Bank, rose slightly to 3.4 per cent in the 12 months to April, up from 3.3 per cent in the 12 months to March.

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Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomed the news but acknowledged that inflation is "still too high". 

"We've had an inflation challenge in our economy, which is made worse by the war in the Middle East and what we see in these numbers is some encouraging numbers," he said.

The lower headline figure was the result of softening fuel prices, which dropped last month due to the temporary halving of the fuel excise, more supply secured and free transportation in some states.

The data came in slightly lower than market expectations, which had predicted inflation to come in around 4.4 per cent. 

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AMP economist My Bui said today's inflation figures mean the Reserve Bank can comfortably hold rates in June, but will do little to change the bank's forecast of trimmed mean inflation rising to 3.8 per cent later this year.

"We believe that the Reserve Bank will hike once more this year (likely in August), following confirmation of further rises in trimmed mean figures as well as solid GDP data for the first quarter," she said. 

eToro lead analyst Josh Gilbert said the RBA still has a battle with inflation and has little breathing room as inflation is still well above the 2-3 per cent target.

"The RBA meets again in June and is widely expected to hold at 4.35 per cent. Today's print won't change that, but it does reinforce why we've seen three rate hikes and why another is still pencilled in this year," he said.

"With trimmed inflation edging higher and the cost of the current conflict feeding deeper into supply chains, it's an uncomfortable position for the RBA to be in, and shows the job is not done."

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Inflation in Australia is higher than in the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, European Union and Japan.

This is despite Australia having the highest cash rate and three consecutive hikes this year.

Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said inflation has remained "stickier than a toffee apple".

"In the last 12 months, the only moves it's made were in the wrong direction," she said.

"If the (RBA) board does pause in June, it won't signal the end of the hikes.

"If the current cash rate setting doesn't get inflation moving back in the right direction, the RBA will have no option but to ratchet up the pressure even further."

All big four banks are forecasting the Reserve Bank to hold interest rates at its next meeting in June.

ANZ and Commonwealth Bank are forecasting no more increases for the rest of the year, while Westpac has predicted two more hikes and NAB one more.

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