Australian billionaires increased their wealth by almost $600,000 a day on average over last year, report shows | Inequality

New analysis from Oxfam reveals that Australian billionaires increased their wealth by an average of close to $600,000 a day last year, for a total increase of more than $10.5 billion.

The anti-poverty organization, which released the information in a report Monday, used its findings to call for an end to negative guidance and capital gains deductions, concessions currently under review in a federal investigation.

Eight new Australian billionaires have emerged since 2020, bringing the total to 48. Together, they own more wealth than the bottom 40% of the population (about 11 million people) combined.

The average annual wealth gain of an Australian billionaire is equivalent to the annual income of more than 2,000 average-earning Australians, the report found. Oxfam relied on Forbes’ data real time billionaires list, World Inequality database and Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Jennifer Tierney, chief executive of Oxfam Australia, said the wealth of billionaires globally was “growing at an unprecedented rate, three times faster than we have seen in the past”.

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“What we’re seeing are tax systems that work for the wealthy, and tax systems that don’t try to fill government coffers with money that could provide support for things like housing or child care support,” he said.

According to Oxfam, the new names added to Australia’s billionaire rankings in November 2025 include Canva co-founders Cliff Obrecht, Melanie Perkins and Cameron Adams; brothers Alan, John and Bruce Wilson, who own a majority stake in the Reece plumbing and bathroom supply chain; Jack Gance and Mario Verrocchi, co-founders of Chemist Warehouse, and Jack’s brother Sam, the company’s real estate manager; Sam Hupert and Anthony Hall, co-founders of medical imaging software company Pro Medicus; Online gambling magnate Ed Kraven; Coal mine owner Sam Chong; and fund manager Michael Heine.

Tierney said Australia should introduce fairer tax laws, including removing capital gains tax relief for individuals and trusts, phasing out unfavorable practices and introducing a net worth tax on the richest 0.5 per cent of households, with rates increasing with increasing wealth.

Tierney said a 5% wealth tax imposed on Australia’s billionaires last year could raise $17.4 billion, enough to provide cheap childcare for all families, extend energy bill relief for another two years and increase the humanitarian aid budget almost sevenfold.

“We have a prime minister who talks about creating a kinder, fairer Australia. The government has the tools to act,” he said.

“Ensuring the richest Australians pay their fair share of tax will reduce inequality, prevent excessive wealth growth and generate much-needed revenue for essential services at a time when people are doing difficult work at home and human needs are increasing globally.”

While the number of billionaires is increasing, more than 3.7 million people in Australia live in poverty, including 757,000 children under 15, the report said. One in three households experienced food insecurity in the past year, meaning they are stressed or struggling to put food on the table.

“We still see a huge disparity between the average Australian struggling to pay their bills and the billionaires who are essentially unable to spend their entire fortune in their lifetime,” Tierney said.

A federal parliamentary inquiry into the 50% capital gains tax (CGT) cut last week heard he highlighted tax concessions and policies including first home buyer relief as “adversely impacting incentives for property investment”.

In a submission to the inquiry, NSW Treasury officials said the CGT cut had cost the federal budget about $23 billion in lost revenue, with about $8.7 billion of that coming from NSW.

“Tax settings such as the CGT deduction increase these pressures by increasing the purchasing power of investors,” the presentation said.

“CGT relief allows them to bid more aggressively, increasing after-tax returns for investors by reducing the effective tax rate on capital gains and allowing tax deferral.”