By one measure at least, Australia is falling behind the world: the growth in the wealth of our billionaires. But how can our obscenely rich citizens, who are on average each adding $600,000 per day to their coffers or 3 per cent a year, be trailing their international peers?

Globally the 48 Australians that are members of the rarefied billionaires club – which minted eight new local members last year – grew their wealth by around $10.5 billion in 2025. While that’s an enormous amount, it’s less than the yearly gains that some, such as Elon Musk and Larry Ellison, enjoyed on their own.

Elson Musk, the world’s richest person, has flirted with a net worth of a trillion dollars.Credit: AP

The increase in wealth concentration associated with the rise in the mega-rich is most often a proxy for inequality. So falling a few notches on the billionaires index isn’t something Australians should see as a poor grade mark.

No Australian government that wants to boost its bona fides for dealing with a cost of living crisis, crippling rents or mortgage........

© The Sydney Morning Herald