From rich lists to the Titan implosion that stopped the world – we’ve looked through the numbers to find the top 10 most-read stories on Forbes Australia in 2023.
Let’s take a look at the most-read stories for 2023.
1. Australia’s 50 richest
True to form, our most-read story this year was Forbes Australia’s inaugural 50 Richest list. Gina Rinehart maintained her position as Australia’s richest person, with a US$30.6 billion fortune (at the time of publication). Coming in hot on her heels was mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, who bet big on renewable energy and had an estimated fortune of US$21.7 billion.
2. Inside Richard White’s rise to the top
Richard White graced the cover of Forbes Australia’s fifth issue to tell his story of refrigeration-mechanic-to-billionaire – and everyone wanted to know how he did it. His personal fortune had more than doubled in the 12 months to June to more than $10 billion as the founder and CEO of freight software company WiseTech Global.
3. ‘Banging’ noises heard during desperate search for missing Titanic sub
Who could forget the tragic June implosion of the Titan – a submersible operated by US tourism and expeditions company, OceanGate. Communication was lost with the submersible nearly 2 hours into its dive, and a days-long search-and-rescue mission ensued. It captured the globe – and of course, Forbes readers.
4. The world’s most powerful passports for 2023
With revenge travel booming this year, it’s no surprise Forbes readers wanted to know which passports would be most efficient. Japan, which had held the top spot for five years and had visa-free access to 191 destinations, was dethroned by Singapore – and Australia sat comfortably in 6th position, with access to 186 destinations.
5. 200,000 users abandon Netflix as password crackdown backfires
Netflix launched its password crackdown this year which forced individual users to pay a monthly subscription fee, rather than mooch off each other. While the tech giant initially reported a large uptake in new subscribers following the changes, that honeymoon period appeared to be over, in Australia at least, with many users opting to leave Netflix behind.
6. The 25 richest people in the world: Revealed
Who wouldn’t want to know? Forbes readers lapped up the news that the world’s richest were about US$200 billion poorer than last year, but still worth US$2.1 trillion combined. Bernard Arnault and his family were worth a reported US$211 billion, topping the list, followed by Elon Musk, worth US$180 billion, and Jeff Bezos, worth US$114 billion.
7. The top 10 richest women in 2023
Show me the money! There were 337 women billionaires around the globe in 2023, including Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Mackenzie Scott. Forbes readers watched as – for the first time in three years – a self-made woman earned a spot among the top 10, and so did Aussie Gina Rinehart.
8. Former billionaire Whitney Wolfe Herd out as Bumble CEO amid stock’s 80% slide
All eyes on Herd in November as the co-founder of Bumble stepped down from her role as CEO to become executive chairwoman, handing over the reins to Lidiane Jones. Nothing to see here – except the move followed an extended slide for Bumble stock since the company’s February 2021 initial public offering.
9. Airbnb stock craters as co-founders lose US$3 billion in one day
A rough day for Airbnb in May as the property rental giant projected the busy summer travel season may not be such a boon for its business this year, knocking out billions of dollars from the fortunes of their top executives as the San Francisco-based travel firm loses its luster among investors.
10. The average Aussies’ net-worth revealed
Nosy Nancy’s across Australia wanted to know what the average net-worth of their peers was – and how they stack up. A report found Australian adults lost more than US$80,000 across 2022 compared to 2021, due in large part to stock market losses – and the new mean wealth of Australian adults was $778,353 (US$496,820), placing us fourth behind Switzerland (first, at US$685,230), the United States (second, at US$551,350), Hong Kong (third, at US$551,190).
Look back on the week that was with hand-picked articles from Australia and around the world. Sign up to the Forbes Australia newsletter here or become a member here.
