The Australian has just released its annual study of Australia’s wealthiest and most successful people, the Richest 250 of 2025. This year, the collective wealth on the list totals $689.52 billion and it’s fascinating to see the rising (and occasionally falling) fortunes of Australia’s drinks billionaires.

Defining Australian drinks billionaires isn’t straightforward. Should it be those who’ve made their money in the drinks industry or include those who’ve diversified into it?

Should Len Ainsworth be mentioned, as he made his money from pokies? The founder of Aristocrat Leisure comes in at no.23 on the list with a wealth of $7.01 billion, up a smidgeon from last year’s $6.9 6 billion.

Possibly …

Here are the rest of Drinks Digest’s subjective picks from the list:

At number 32 is Alexandra Burt with $4.58 billion (up from $3.21 billion in 2024). Burt shares her wealth with her sister Leonie Baldock. Their late grandfather, Peter Wright, was a business partner of Lang Hancock and founded Wright Prospecting. Burt owns The Landsmith Collection luxury tourism and agriculture business and Voyager Estate vineyard.

The Wright family who have owned and operated Voyager Estate since 1991, with Burt taking over the management in 2005 and becoming the sole proprietor in 2018. 

At number 73 is Bruce Mathieson, founder of ALH Group, whose wealth slipped to $2.21 billion this year, down from $2.55 billion in 2024. As The Australian describes it, “Mathieson bought his first hotel in 1975 and went on to build an empire based on gambling and beer”.

Endeavour Group’s pubs and liquor outlets account for most of his wealth and Mathieson is unhappy with the company’s performance. He’s also incurred major losses through his holding in Star Entertainment.

At number 78 is John Casella, who co-owns Casella Family Brands with his brothers Guiseppe and Marcello. Their combined wealth is $2.02 billion, up from $1.82 billion in 2024.

The Australia notes that the Griffith-based Casella Family Brands “has so far been able to weather the storm of falling consumption of wine as it broadens its wine portfolio away from its flagship Yellow Tail brand”. In recent years Casella has bought other wine labels such as Peter Lehmann, Brands Laira, Baileys of Glenrowan and Morris of Rutherglen, while also diversifying into beer and buying a canned spirits business. However, Yellow Tail is still the major breadwinner, with annual revenue of about $476 million.

At number 81 on the list is Dick Honan, Chairman of Manildra Group. Honan’s wealth reached $2.01 billion in 2025, up from $1.86 billion in 2024.

Honan’s Manildra processes wheat into flour, starch, gluten, sugars and ethanol products, with the later used my many distillers throughout Australia to create vodka, RTDs, gin and blended whiskies.

At number 93 is Arthur Laundy & Family, owners of Laundy Hotels. Their wealth rose to $1.74 billion in 2025, from $1.65 billion in 2024. Laundy controls more than 90 pubs, with acquisitions in the past 12 months including Sydney’s Lord Nelson Hotel for $20 million, the same price he paid for the Light Bridge Hotel in Woollahra earlier in the year.

At number 110 is Justin Hemmes & Family, Chief executive of Merivale. Hemmes’ wealth rose to $1.61 billion in 2025 from $1.52billion in 2024.

Hemmes has more than 80 pubs, restaurants and hotels in his Sydney portfolio, plus holdings in coastal NSW and Melbourne.

At number 111 is Chris Morris, the executive chairman of Morris Group and Founder of Computershare. His wealth rose to $1.60 billion in 2025 from $1.28 billion in 2024.

Morris bought the Portsea Hotel on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula in the late 1990s, while running Computershare. He stepped down from Computershare as Chairman in 2015 and has been doing pub deals in Victoria since. He also owns Queensland tourism assets including the Ville Resort-Casino in Townsville and Orpheus Island Lodge and Mt. Mulligan Lodge.

At number 113 is Sandy Oatley & Family, Chairman of Hamilton Island and owner of Robert Oatley Wines. Oatley is worth $1.54 billion, up from $1.41 billion in 2024.

Hamilton Island’s holding company, 21st Century Resorts Holdings, made a $28 million net profit from about $332 million revenue, according to a financial report lodged with the corporate regulator. Oatley bought the island for about $200 million in 2003 after selling Rosemount Winery to Treasury Wine Estates for $1.4 billion two years earlier.

At number 133 is Theo Karedis & Family, co-founder of Theo’s Liquor and Arkadia Group. Karedis’ wealth hit $1.28 billion in 2025, up from $1.19 billion in 2024. The Theo bottle shop chain was the fourth-largest liquor retailer in Australia before being sold to Coles for about $200 million in late 2002. Arkadia owns shopping centres, retail homemaker centre assets and hotels, some of which have been purchased with the Laundy family.

While he’s not a billionaire, Jerry Schwartz, Principal of Schwartz Family Group, makes the Rich 250 List with wealth of $667 million, up from $596 million in 2024.

Schwartz’s wealth is based on his substantial hotel assets, which include five-star hotels in Sydney, resorts in the Blue Mountains, and holdings in Newcastle. However, he’s been making recent plays into brewing. His Sydney Brewery recently announced it was purchasing the brewing assets and long-term lease of the White Bay Brewery site in Sydney’s Rozelle.

Sydney Brewery’s new venue follows the takeover earlier this year of the Rocks Brewery and Brewhouse in Alexandria, which has been rebranded as Sydney Brewery Alexandria.

Sydney Brewery also operates a Brewhouse in Surry Hills and a large-scale brewing facility in the Hunter Valley.

View the full Rich 250 list here.