Twiggy Forest richest Australian manager in BRW list

Fortescue Metals' Andrew "Twiggy'' Forrest has jumped from number two to number one on the BRW executives' list of the richest 200. The BRW rich list is based on the shareholdings of executives in the companies they manage.

The Fortescue Metals chief executive has seen his wealth ramp up by a third in the past year due to soaring iron ore prices and is among 81 executives from the mining and resources sector who have made the list.

Mr Forrest, who will appeal a Federal Court ruling that could see him banned from running the company he founded, is at the top with $6.2 billion.

Rupert Murdoch has clung to the No.1 position for the past two years, but earnings from his News Corp shares remained relatively flat during the year, sliding to $5.7 billion from almost $6 billion.

James Packer, classified among the lucky ones as his fortune is inherited from his late billionaire father and media mogul Kerry Packer, is at the third spot with $3.6billion.

Kerry Stokes rose to fourth position with $1.8 billion in executive wealth. Strong demand for industrial and mining equipment in China and Australia, plus a rise in advertising, made him a billionaire once again.

Australian-Israeli Czech-born Frank Lowy ranks fifth at $1.75 billion. Mr Lowy fled postwar Europe and started 50 years ago with a delicatessen in Sydney. Today he is mostly known as a man who co-found The Westfield Group, which is a major retail chain operating in New Zealand, Australia, United States and United Kingdom.

2011 Top 10 Richest Executives