Tech helps the young get rich quicker

There are more people in their 20s in the BRW Young Rich List than ever before, helped by social media and technology.

Technology is helping people get richer younger, with more 20-somethings featured in this year's BRW Young Rich List than ever.

List editor John Stensholt said previous editions had been dominated by people in their late 30s, but the rise of technology and social media was creating wealth at an earlier age.

"I guess people are getting wealthier younger these days and technology has a bit to do with that," he told AAP.

The youngest entrants on the list are Kayla Itsines (25) and partner Tobi Pearce (24), who run Bikini Body Training Company. With a combined wealth of $46 million, they are ranked 51 and 52.

"Social media has driven their presence around the world, you wouldn't be able to do that with a fitness business back in the day," Mr Stensholt said.

The co-founders of business software development company Atlassian, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, top the list for a record fifth straight year, with a combined wealth of $4.68 billion.

Founded on a $10,000 credit card loan, Atlassian was created by the University of NSW classmates in 2002 and floated on the US Stock Exchange in 2015. It currently has a market value of $US6.2 billion.

Technology is the dominant industry on the rich list with 27 entries, followed by financial services and retail with 11 each.

There are just eight women in the top 100, the same number as in 2015, with Cyan Ta'eed, a co-founder of Envato, a digital marketplace for web designers, the highest placed at 13.

The total wealth of those on the list hit a record $12.3 billion.

THE TOP FIVE YOUNG RICH

* Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, Atlassian founders, $4.68b

* Dave Greiner and Ben Richardson, Campaign Monitor founders, $543m

* Paul Blackburne, Perth property developer, $483m


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Source: AAP



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