Claudia Byatt
Money & Banking

Australia's top earners revealed – and it might be you

A new report has found Australians are the third most wealthy citizens in the world, with a surprising way to make the cut as one of the richest.

A six figure salary will qualify an Aussie to be among the top 10 per cent richest in the world, while homeowners in Sydney are included among the global elite.

The top 10 per cent of earners in Australia make $122,664 or more, with some of the highest paid incomes in the country including miners who earn $124,550 on average, school principals who rake in $130,142 and dentists that receive $131,773.

Prestige property company Frank Knight’s report revealed anyone with $1.5 million in assets was classified as a “high-net-worth individual”, which would qualify plenty of Sydney homeowners.

Meanwhile, the net worth required to be in the top one per cent of Australia’s rich was the third highest figure globally, behind Monaco and Switzerland.

However, to be considered in Australia’s highest percentage of wealth, you must have a total net worth of an eye-watering US%5.5 million ($A8.26 million).

Its annual Wealth Populations report as part of its Wealth Report Series found that wealth levels across every country analysed had seen an increase since 2021, despite experiencing a “dip” the following year.

Australia has almost doubled its 2021 wealth figure, revealing that the rich got richer during the pandemic.

In 2021, Australia was number seven, with $US2.8 million as the baseline.

Monaco reportedly has the world’s “densest population of super-rich individuals” which saw it at the top of the list out of 25 countries analysed.

To be considered one of the top earners in Monaco, people must have income and assets that equate to US$12.4 million in overall net worth.

Switzerland calls for just half of Monacos, coming in at $US6.6 million.

New Zealand earned a spot right behind their neighbour at number four, with a $US5.2 million net worth qualifying an individual to be in the country’s top percentile.

The US rounded out the top five, at US$5.1 million.

Ireland, Singapore, France, Hong Kong and the UK made it into the top 10 on the “One per cent club” respectively.

China was number 15 on the list, with US$960,000 marking out the number its top one per cent exceeds.

In a staggering comparison, having a net worth of more than US$20,000 in Kenya would make you one of the richest in the African nation, which saw itself last on the list.

Despite the remarkable wealth of the people detailed in the report, the authors pointed out that every country still fell “well short” of an “ultra high net individual”.

The elite must have a net worth that exceeds US$30 million to earn the title.

After a tumultuous financial year, the filthy rich remained unaffected with their number increasing by 2 per cent to almost 70 million nationwide.

The report’s authors said the Middle East was “the standout region” regarding adding mega rich individuals to their list, with a 16.9 per cent growth.

However, during that time, the number of billionaires dropped by five per cent to 2,629.

It is expected over the next five years that another 750,000 people will join the exclusive club of remarkably high net worth individuals.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Tags:
Annual Wealth Populations, Wealth Report Series, Australia, Money, Wealth