Meet Australia’s Seven Billionaires Amid Technology Wealth Boom

2019 has by far been a roller coaster ride in the Australian business space. ASX 200 has been on uptrend, witnessing record highs, as recent as 30 July 2019. Meanwhile, NASDAQ has also been on a similar path. These records resulted in a profound technology boom in the country. The revolutionary year of the 5G Boom, Electric Vehicle Revolution, Satellite Stocks on the rise and Cultured Meat in advanced stages are few examples to depict that technology in Australia has made an impression and is here to stay.

The technology space has attracted local and foreign investors to take advantage of the prevailing low-interest rates in Australia, after the RBA historically slashed the interest rate to 1 per cent, as of 2019.

Amid these progresses, the tech-savvy land welcomed seven individuals/couples who have derived wealth from the software space, to get listed in the billionaire list of Australia. As per an exclusive list rolled out by the Financial Review (Rich Lists), the below individuals/couples have made to the billionaires list, as reported on 6 August 2019:

Let us get to know more about these billionaires:

Mike Cannon-Brookes

Leading the billionaire chart with a net worth of $ 14.2 billion, Mr Mike is the co-founder and CEO of software company Atlassian. He has received several international recognitions for his work. Mr Mike has been the recipient of the titles of Australian IT Professional of the Year (2004) and Young Global Leader (2009). Moreover, he was named the Australian Entrepreneur of The Year (2006). In 2016, Mr Mike made it to the Fortune's 40 under 40 list along with his peer Scott Farquhar. Taking forward his interest in the tech space is his role in Tyro. Mr Mike is a non-executive director in the technology-focused Australian bank.

Mike Cannon-Brookes (Source: Atlassian website)

Scott Farquhar

Second to his peer Mike Cannon-Brookes is Scott Farquhar, co-founder and co-CEO of Atlassian with a net worth of $ 13.4 billion. He was the youngest person ever to have bagged Australian Entrepreneur of the Year (2006) by E&Y along with Mr Mike. Australian IT Professional of the Year (2004) and Corporate Social Responsibility Award (2011) are few of his other accolades, besides being on the list of Fortune's 40 under 40 (2016). A widely sought-after keynote speaker, Mr Scott participates in the Sydney start-up scene. Besides mentoring and lecturing, he contributes to Australian seed fund StartMate and venture capital fund Blackbird Ventures.

Scott Farquhar (Source: Atlassian website)

Richard White

Billionaire number three with a worth of $ 4.62 billion and founder of WiseTech Global Limited (ASX: WTC) Richard White proves that founder led companies have a great trajectory. He has been the company’s CEO and an Executive Director since inception in 1994. With 30+ years of software and BM experience and 20+ years freight/logistics industry experience, Mr Richard was founder and managing director of tech company Real Tech Systems Integration before starting WTC.

Post closure of trade on 6 August 2019, WTC’s share was valued at A$ 26.95, down by 8.02% relative to its last trade, with a market cap of A$ 9.32 billion. Contrasting to the context being discussed in our article, the WTC stock showcased the biggest decline on the Australian Securities Exchange on 6 August 2019.

Richard White (Source: WTC’s Website)

Cliff Obrecht and Melanie Perkins

The power couple with a net worth of $ 1.35 billion has an interesting story. Despite being a student of The University of Western Australia, Melanie Perkins taught graphic design programming to other students. Realising the scope of the business, she went on to partner with Cliff Obrecht to co-find Fusion Yearbooks, which was recognised as a runner up for the Ready to Market category of the WA Inventor of the Year (2008) and is still going strong. With the help of Cameron Adams, a hardcore Googler, the couple co-founded Canva, a simplified graphic-design tool website.

Tim Kentley-Klay

In 2014, Billionaire Number 5 with a net worth of $ 1.16 billion, Tim Kentley-Klay, an Australian artist-designer, co-founded Zoox along with Jesse Levinson. Zoox is a self-driving tech-development business and is headquartered in California. In December 2018, Mr Tim’s company was the first ever to be granted a nod in California to cater self-driving transport services for the local public.

Anthony Barry Hall

Part of the Rich List with a net worth of $ 1.04 billion, Anthony Barry Hall is an alumnus of the La Trobe University and in 1983, he co-founded Pro Medicus Limited (ASX:PME) along with Dr Sam Hupert. The company is a provider of radiology information systems, Picture Archiving and Communication Systems and advanced visualisation solutions. Mr Anthony serves as an Executive Director presently and has been a key architect and developer of the core software systems, aiming at transitioning and developing the next-gen RIS systems.

Cyan and Collis Ta'eed

Collis Ta’eed co-founded Envato in 2006 along with his wife Cyan Ta’eed, and the couple has a net worth of $ 1.01 billion. The couple has been instrumental in taking the company from a mere garage-start-up of four, to a global magnate with a team of over 200. Envato serves its clients with marketplace, studio and courses. The company enables file purchasing and freelancer hiring. Moreover, it helps in getting skilled for building websites, graphics, apps, among others.

Technology Sector Performance on ASX

As we are discussing the tech-billionaires, it would be interesting to understand the performance of the ASX-listed technology players. After the trading hours on 6 August 2019, the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Sector closed at 1,300.5 basis points and was down by 4.07% or 50.9 basis points, relative to the last close. The underperformance of the sector, along with the benchmark index S&P/ASX 200, which fell 2.5% to 6,640.3 on the day’s trading, is attributed to the ever escalating US and China trade conflict, which market participants fear might damage the global economy.

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