Most Powerful

• #1 Clive Palmer
  AustraliaQueenslandWestern Australia PoliticalResource Extraction ControlResources 21st Century State Power Power: 77
  Clive Palmer (born 1954) is an Australian businessman and political figure known for combining resource-asset control with highly visible campaigning and litigation. His business interests have included iron ore, nickel, and coal projects, along with resort and shipping ventures. Palmer’s political career has included service as a member of parliament and leadership of several party vehicles, most prominently the Palmer United Party and the United Australia Party, with later attempts to establish new political branding. He became one of Australia’s most recognizable examples of a resource magnate who seeks influence not only through industrial ownership but through elections, advertising, and public controversy.
• #2 Andrew Forrest
  Asia-PacificAustraliaChina (iron ore demand)Global commodities marketsWestern Australia IndustrialResource Extraction ControlResources 21st Century Finance and Wealth Power: 47
  Andrew Forrest (born 1961) is an Australian mining executive and philanthropist associated with Fortescue Metals Group, the iron ore producer he helped found and scale into one of Australia’s largest resource companies. His public profile combines the high-stakes mechanics of commodity extraction with an unusually prominent philanthropic and advocacy platform, including initiatives on modern slavery, Indigenous engagement, disaster relief, and global health. Forrest’s business career is often presented as a case study in how a late entrant can break into a market dominated by entrenched incumbents by assembling rights to deposits, building export logistics, and securing demand through aggressive commercial positioning.
• #3 Gina Rinehart
  AustraliaWestern Australia AgriculturePoliticalResource Extraction ControlResources 21st Century State Power Power: 47
  Gina Rinehart (born 1954) is an Australian mining magnate whose fortune and influence were built on the transformation of Hancock Prospecting from a stressed family company into one of the country’s most powerful private resource groups. Best known for iron ore, and especially for Roy Hill and legacy royalty streams associated with Pilbara development, Rinehart has spent decades turning mineral rights, joint ventures, and patient capital into industrial dominance. She has also become a prominent voice in Australian political and regulatory debates, making her influence extend beyond the mine gate.