Gina Rinehart has become the first woman to top the BRW rich list, with the iron ore magnate's fortune doubling over the past year to $10.3 billion.
In second place is Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg, who until recently had little public profile in Australia.
He's also the highest debutant on the list of the nation's 200 richest individuals, with a wealth of $8.8 billion after benefitting from the public listing of the Swiss-based commodities trading firm.
The estimated total wealth of the 200 people on the business magazine's annual list jumped 23 per cent to $167.25 billion.
BRW Rich 200 editor Andrew Heathcote said the jump in total wealth came on the back of the resources boom boosting mining magnates, including Ms Rinehart, and the recovery after the global financial crisis.
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"This is the first time in the 28-year history of the BRW Rich 200 that a woman has taken the number one spot," Mr Heathcote said on Wednesday.
Still, women in general are no better represented than last year, with just 15 among the 200.
Mr Heathcote said the biggest surprise was the emergence of Mr Glasenberg, who was born in South Africa and lived in Switzerland for 20 years.
"His citizenship and vast wealth were only revealed in recent weeks as part of Glencore's public listing process," he said. Shopping centre mogul Frank Lowy, who held top spot last year, came in at number six as his wealth declined slightly to $4.98 billion.
However, the Westfield chairman's ranking slipped mainly due to the growth in wealth of other billionaires around him.
Andrew Forrest, the chief executive of iron ore miner Fortescue Metals, came in third, followed by Anthony Pratt, the owner of packaging manufacturer Visy.
Clive Palmer, who owns mining company Mineralogy, rounded out the top five. Mr Forrest's wealth was estimated at $6.18 billion, Mr Pratt's at $5.18 billion and Mr Palmer's at $5.05 billion.
While resources is the source of wealth for most of the ultra-rich on the list, property is the industry that made the fortune of just under a quarter of those in the 200.
Mining magnate Nathan Tinkler was the youngest member of the list at 35, with a $1.01 billion fortune, while property investor David Mandie was the oldest, at 92, with a $263 million fortune.
Former federal coalition leader Malcolm Turnbull, now an opposition frontbencher, was on last year's list as the wealthiest politician, but dropped off the top 200 this year.
