
The wealthiest individual with interests in ink on paper, or at least cardboard, remains Anthony Pratt of Visy. His worth went up from $4.6bn last year to $5.18bn, giving him the fourth place on the list.
Other high earners include Kerry Stokes, whose print media investments include Pacific Magazines and now West Australian Newspapers. Stokes ranks 12th on the list, said to be worth $2.55bn, a rise from $2.29bn last year.
Lindsay Fox, whose Linfox operation is the parent of print manager Foxprint Solutions, increased his wealth from $1.87bn to $2.05bn, making him the country’s 17th richest person, according to BRW.
Changes in the rules meant that last year’s $604m double act of John B Fairfax and Timothy Fairfax were pushed into the ‘Families’ section. The Fairfaxes were the country’s 23rd richest family, with $522m.
The rule changes wiped Salmat founders Peter Mattick and Philip Salter off the list entirely. Last year they were 93rd, with a shared wealth of $421m.
The cut-off point for individuals to appear on this year’s list was $215m, up $30m from last year.
Print’s wealthiest dynasty, the Hannans, maintained their place as the 16th richest family, though managed to add $13m to their wealth, which hit $643m. Led by Michael Hannan, they own IPMG, which is the parent company of Offset Alpine, Hannanprint and Craft Inprint.
Most of these tycoons have wide-ranging interests, with print or publishing forming just one part of their empire. For instance, the list includes Chris Morris and Tony Wales, who made their millions with Computershare, which has a strong presence in the transaction printing market. Morris is 63rd on the list, with $621m and Wales is 134th, with $323m.
Other notables include the $910m fortune of Paul Little, chief executive of Toll, which owns Stream Solutions, and Peter Scanlon and family, with a wealth of $620m.
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