The Australian toymaker behind the Shopkins craze has cracked the Forbes list of world billionaires.
Manny Stul made his debut on the prestigious list with an estimated fortune of $US1.4 billion, putting him 1,467 spots below Microsoft founder Bill Gates who claimed the title of the world's richest person for the fourth consecutive year with $US86 billion to his name.
In total 33 Aussies were on the 2017 list, with mining magnate Gina Rinehart in top spot with $US15 billion followed by property magnate Harry Triguboff and iron ore miner Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest.
Mr Stul, who was born in a German refugee camp and brought to Australia after World War II ended by his Polish parents as a youngster, made his fortune after taking control of the struggling Moose Toys nearly two decades ago.
The company's colourful and collectable Shopkins toys - which are basically tiny models of supermarket products with cute faces and accessories - have proved a massive hit with young children in more than 80 countries.
Mr Stul made his debut on the Forbes list with 194 other newcomers, more than 60 per cent of whom hailed from Asia or the Asia Pacific.
Overall, the total number of billionaires jumped by 233 to a record 2,043 while their combined fortunes swelled by nearly a fifth to a record $US7.67 trillion.
Forbes said out of the 227 women on the list, Ms Rinehart had enjoyed the best year after her fortune nearly doubled, pushing her up the rankings to 69th spot from 127th a year ago.
"Unlike all the other women ahead of her, Rinehart also has bragging rights for actively building her fortune," Forbes said.
"Rinehart took her late father's bankrupted estate and rebuilt it into something much larger. Her massive Roy Hill project, a world-class iron ore mine in Western Australia, has shipped 30 million tons of iron ore in its first 14 months of production."
Just four other women were among the 33 Australians on the list, including sisters Fiona Geminder and Heloise Waislitz who hold large stakes in their family's packaging business Visy.
Seven Network founder Kerry Stokes returned to the list after a surge in the value of his shares in his media, mining and construction company Seven Group Holdings.
Fellow media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who wasn't included in the list of Australian billionaires because he holds US citizenship, took out 90th spot on the overall list with a $US13.1 billion fortune, up by about $US2 billion on a year ago.
Meanwhile, casino tycoon James Packer had about half a billion dollars sliced off his fortune while Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar - the 37-year-old co-founders of software group Atlassian - were the youngest Aussies on the list.
Nearly a fifth of the 33 Australian billionaires were aged over 70, including Westfield founder Frank Lowy and Linfox boss Lindsay Fox.
AUSSIES WHO'VE MADE IT ONTO FORBES' BILLIONAIRES LIST
*Gina Rinehart, ranked 69, $US15b (mining)
*Harry Triguboff, ranked 153, $US8.5b (property)
*Andrew Forrest, ranked 261, $US5.7b (Fortescue Metals founder)
*Frank Lowy, ranked 269, $US5.6b (Westfield shopping malls)
*Anthony Pratt, ranked 385, $US4.4b (Visy packaging)
*John Gandel, ranked 441, $US4b (shopping malls)
*Vivek Chaand Sehgal, ranked 501, $US3.7b (auto parts)
*Lindsay Fox, ranked 603, $US3.2b (logistics, real estate)
*James Packer, ranked 660, $US3b (casinos)
*Fiona Geminder, ranked 782, $US2.6b (packaging)
*Mike Cannon-Brookes, ranked 973, $US2.1b (co-founder of software firm Atlassian)
*Scott Farquhar, ranked 973, $US 2.1b (co-founder of software firm Atlassian)
*Michael Hintze, ranked 973, $US2.1b (investment)
*David Hains, ranked 1030, $US2b (finance)
*Stanley Perron, ranked 1098, $1.9b (property, retail)
*Gerry Harvey, ranked 1161, $US1.8b (retail)
*Kerry Stokes, ranked 1161, $US1.8b (Seven Network founder, mining)
*Heloise Waislitz, ranked 1161, $US1.8b (packaging)
*Maurice Alter, ranked 1234, $US1.7b (real estate)
*Jack Cowin, ranked 1234, $US1.7b (fast food)
*Kerr Neilson, ranked 1290, $US1.6b (investment)
*David Teoh, ranked 1290, $US1.6b (TPG Telecom and iiNet owner)
*Angela Bennett, ranked 1468, $US1.4b (mining)
*Manny Stul, ranked 1468, $US1.4b (toys)
*Bob Ell, ranked 1567, $US1.3b (property)
*Lang Walker, 1567, $US1.3b (property)
*Solomon Lew, ranked 1678, $US1.2b (retail)
*John Van Lieshout, ranked 1678, $US1.2b (real estate)
*Len Ainsworth, ranked 1795, $US1.1b (better machines)
*Judith Neilson, ranked 1795, $US1.1, (investments)
*Alan Rydge, ranked 1795, $US1.1b, (entertainment)
*Huang Bingwen, ranked 1940, $US1b (cigarette packaging)
*Terry Snow, ranked 1940, $US1b, (airports, property)
Oxfam Australia said the record number of billionaires on the list highlighted how inequality was now on a scale never seen before, with the nation's two richest people having the same wealth as the poorest 20 per cent of Australians.
"That a record number of new billionaires - an additional 233 according to Forbes' annual list - were created in the past year alone is part of an economic model that leads to more unequal societies that trap millions of people in poverty," Oxfam Australia's head of public policy and advocacy Rachel Ball said.
