POST WRITTEN BYLucinda SchmidtBUSINESSAustralia's Richest 2019: In ADown Year, Two Miners BreakBack Into The Top 50Forbes Guest ContributorForbes Asia Contributor GroupJan 16, 2019,04:45pm ESTThis article is more than 3 years old.BY LUCINDA SCHMIDTFlamboyant mining mogul Clive Palmer is back with a bang. He returnsto the list of Australia’s 50 richest for the first time since 2014 with anestimated fortune of $1.8 billion, placing him at No. 20. It’s also hisClive Palmer during a press conference called to announce that he would not seek re-election inthe... [+]debut as a billionaire, thanks to court-ordered royalty payments fromCITIC Pacific Mining’s huge Sino Iron project in Western Australia.This story is part of Forbes' reportingon Australia's 50 Richest 2019. See full coverage here.Coal baron Chris Wallin also returns to the list, at No. 41, bucking thetrend that saw most mining fortunes fall. While Gina Rinehart retainsher position as the country’s richest person, her estimated net worth fellby $1.8 billion, or 10.8%, to $14.8 billion on faltering iron-ore prices.Likewise, her four children, led by eldest daughter Bianca Rinehart, lost$1.9 billion, or 38% of their combined estimated wealth—the biggestdrop in both dollar and percentage terms. That pushed them down tothe 11th spot, from No. 5.Overall, 22 fortunes fell, partly because of the Australian dollar’s 8.7%drop against the U.S. dollar since the last Australian rich list, inNovember 2017. Of the 23 fortunes that rose, the biggest gain—in dollarand percentage terms—went to Atlassian founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, up $3 billion each, or 88.2%. Their $6.4billion fortunes put them in a tie for fifth place, up five spots. Australia’sother tech billionaire, WiseTech Global founder Richard White, jumped16 places to No.17, after his fortune swelled by $950 million, or 76%, to$2.2 billion.The tech kings are 3 of 35 individual billionaires, one fewer than our lastlist. Just six women are billionaires, from a total of seven on the entirelist, the same as in November 2017.Only one new entrant joined the list this year: financial-services whizMichael Heine, cofounder of investment platform Netwealth. Since itsNovember 2017 IPO, Netwealth’s share price has more than doubled,placing Heine at No. 50 on the list, with an estimated fortune of $750million. And Computershare founder Chris Morris returns to the list atNo. 49, with $760 million, after missing the $700 million cutoff lasttime.Four depart the list, including 96-year-old property billionaire StanleyPerron, who died in November and left the bulk of his $2.3 billion inassets to the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation. Flight Centre founderGraham Turner, property developer Tim Roberts, and Chris Thomas,founder of Adelaide-based meat processor Thomas Foods, fell below the$750 million cutoff.METHODOLOGYThe list was compiled using information from the individuals, stockexchanges, analysts, private data bases, government agencies and othersources. Net worth numbers were based on stock prices and exchangerates as of the close of markets January 11. Private companies werevalued by using financial ratios and other comparisons with similarcompanies that are publicly traded. The estimates include a spouse’swealth, and where the person is the company founder, they also includethe wealth of sons and daughters that’s derived from that company. Incases in which the fortunes of family members are based on the samecompany, we combine these members into one listing, as long as each ofthem has enough wealth to qualify for the list on his or her own.Additional reporting on valuations by Kathleen Chaykowski, JamesDunn, Antoine Gara, Nicole Lindsay and Jennifer Wells.Forbes GuestADVERTISEMENTEditorial Standards Reprints &