BRW’s FIRST EVER RICH WOMEN LIST

The inaugural BRW Rich Women list, on-sale today Thursday March 7, showcases the extraordinary things Australian women are achieving in business.  The special issue, that celebrates the success of Australia’s wealthiest women, goes on-sale the day before International Women’s Day tomorrow Friday March 8.

As with the BRW Young Rich list, BRW’s first ever list of the 30 richest self-made women excludes inherited wealth.  This means that Gina Rinehart is not featured on BRW’s Rich Women list, despite her huge success in business, for the same reason that James Packer never made the Young Rich list.

“One glass ceiling that is yet to crack is the one hanging over the rich list. The number of women on the BRW’s Rich 200 and Young Rich editions remains too low and we wanted to use International Women’s Day to put the spotlight on Australia’s wealthiest women,” said BRW editor James Thomson. 

“We also wanted to celebrate the ground breaking achievements some of the early pioneers of women in business, such as Imelda Roche who, with her forward thinking husband Bill, bought the Nuritmetics company to Australia in 1968.  The whole issue this week looks at the rising power of females in business,” added Thomson.

Entertainers feature prominently among BRW’s Rich Women – actress Nicole Kidman is equal fourth with a wealth of $320 million and the list is peppered with familiar names like Kylie Minogue, Elle Macpherson, Cate Blanchett and Naomi Watts.

The highest-profile representative of the corporate world is Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly who comes in at equal 16th, with an estimated fortune of $70 million.

The real stars of BRW’s Rich Women’s list are however Australia’s female entrepreneurs. At the very top of the list is the co-founder of internet company TPG, Vicky Teoh, with a wealth of $390 million.

All of the women on the BRW Rich Women share self belief, determination and strong work ethic - while the support of family has been key to success for many women, especially those who combined business with raising children.

                       

Many of the women on the list work in family businesses, often in partnership with their husbands. This includes Teoh who founded TPG with her husband David and Charlotte Vidor, co-founder of property development and hotel company Toga Group.

It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman but BRW reveals that in the instance of many of the top 30 wealthiest Australian women the reverse is true as well. The entrepreneurs’ own families play an important role in many cases as well, particularly where there are children in the picture.

The special March 7 Rich Women’s issue of BRW also features articles on selling to women, strategies women can use to bridge the gap between the amount men and women retire with, and the practical experience of using quotas in the workplace. 

 

BRW’s Top 6 Rich Women
Name	WEALTH ($m)		INDUSTRY	STATE
Vicky Teoh	390		Telecommunications	NSW
Rhonda Wyllie	346		Property	WA
Patricia Ilhan	320		Telecommunications	VIC
Nicole Kidman	320		Property	NSW
Charlotte Vidor	250		Entertainment	NSW
Therese Rein	210		Recruitment	QLD

States
STATE	NUMBER
New South Wales	11
Victoria	8
Overseas	2
Queensland	6
Western Australia	2
South Australia	0
Australian Capital Territory	0
Tasmania	1

INDUSTRY	NUMBER
Retail	7
Entertainment	5
Employment services	3
Investment	3
Technology	3
Fashion	2
Financial services	2
Property	2
Manufacturing	1
Media	1