Canva co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht have topped the Financial Review 2025 Young Rich List for the sixth consecutive year, increasing their combined wealth by $4.5 billion to $18.5 billion.
The couple, aged 38 and 39 respectively, maintain a commanding $13.9 billion lead over second-placed Ed Craven, co-founder of online casino site Stake.com, whose fortune is estimated at $4.6 billion.
The Young Rich List, which recognises Australia’s wealthiest self-made citizens aged 40 and under, will be published in full on Friday, October 31 on afr.com and in a special edition of The Australian Financial Review Magazine.
Cliff Obrecht, Cameron Adams and Melanie Perkins
Tech continues to dominate the top ranks
In third place are Robbie and James Ferguson, founders of blockchain gaming company Immutable, with $1.7 billion combined. Adrian Portelli has grown his wealth to $1.4 billion, while Jack Zhang, co-founder of fintech unicorn Airwallex, rounds out the top five with $1.3 billion.
The combined net worth of the top 10 reached $31.7 billion, up 9.7 per cent from $28.9 billion in 2024, with tech founders continuing to drive the bulk of the gains.
Sport and entertainment feature strongly
Margot Robbie remains Australia’s richest entertainer under 40, ranked #36 with $193 million. In sport, basketballer Ben Simmons leads the field with $260 million, followed by former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, who increased his wealth by $7 million to $194 million.
F1 driver Oscar Piastri makes his debut at #56 with an estimated $122 million, while golfers Cameron Smith and Jason Day are valued at $176 million and $167 million respectively.
New faces and rising industries
There are 22 debutants on the 2025 list, the most since 2022, collectively worth $4 billion. Among them are AI entrepreneurs, a former banker, The Block judge Marty Fox, and the founders of a collagen beauty brand.
Ukrainian-born entrepreneur Anna Podolsky, founder of pet food company Lyka, is the highest-ranked female debutant at #30 with a fortune of $220 million.
Retail remains a strong wealth driver, with 21 entrants contributing $4.5 billion collectively. However, technology continues to dominate, accounting for more than $28 billion, or 62 per cent, of the total net worth of this year’s list.
List milestones and record-breaking growth
To qualify for the 2025 Young Rich List, entrants needed a minimum fortune of $44 million, up from $38 million in 2024. The collective wealth of the 100 listers has grown 1700 per cent since the list’s inception in 2003, when the total net worth of 62 entrants was just $2.5 billion.
“It’s been another record-breaking year for the wealthiest Australians aged 40 and under,” said Yolanda Redrup, Financial Review Rich List editor. “The list has charted the rise – and sometimes fall – of many of the country’s most notable entrepreneurs, highlighting both the rewards and risks of building a business from scratch.”
Top 10: Financial Review Young Rich List 2025
- 1. Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, 38 & 39 – Canva – $18.5 billion
- 2. Ed Craven, 30 – Stake.com – $4.6 billion
- 3. Robbie and James Ferguson, 33 & 28 – Immutable – $1.7 billion
- 4. Adrian Portelli, 36 – LMCT+ – $1.4 billion
- 5. Jack Zhang, 40 – Airwallex – $1.3 billion
- 6. Nick Molnar, 35 – Block – $1.1 billion
- 7. Andrew Tulloch, 35 – Thinking Machine Labs, Meta – $953 million
- 8. Paul Stovell, 39 – Octopus Deploy – $637 million
- 9. Jessica Sepel and Dean Steingold, 36 & 40 – JSHealth – $486 million
- 10. Nik Mirkovic and Alex Tomic, 30 & 32 – Hismile – $470 million each
The Financial Review Young Rich List 2025 will be published on afr.com and in a special edition of AFR Magazine on Friday, October 31.
Top image: Max Marchione