Meriton's Harry Triguboff is now Australia’s richest person after Gina Rinehart’s fortune was savaged.

Rinehart left the top spot in the annual BRW Rich 200 list for the first time in five years after her wealth fell from $14.02 billion last year to $6.06 billion.

Meanwhile, the apartment developer nicknamed “High-rise Harry” has hit a record $10.62 billion in wealth as Australia's apartment building boom pushes Meriton’s value ever higher.

In fact, real estate magnates and developers dominated this year's list, with 54 of the richest 200 Australians making most of their money in the property sector.

Interestingly, this year's list contains the most billionaires ever at a total of 53.

Overall, the nation's wealthiest 200 people control $197.3 billion in assets, an increase of 2 per cent on last year's total.

Toy creator Manny Stul, who owns Moose Toys, has made the list for the first time. Stul’s wealth has been seriously boosted by the success of the globally popular Shopkins toy line.

Jonathan Munz debuted on the list as well, sailing in at 50th place after his family-owned plumbing firm Reliance Worldwide Corporation’s IPO netted him $1.07 billion.

Rich list stalwart James Packer has suffered a fall in wealth to $5 billion, losing over $1 billion in falling casino share prices.