For the richest Australians, getting rich is only half the journey to achieving long-term wealth. The other half is maintaining and building their riches.

Australia has seen many billionaires over its history. But it’s those Australians able to keep and grow their fortunes who wind up having the biggest impact on our economy and cementing a lasting legacy.

The secrets of the rich are often hidden from us ‘ordinary people’.

But according to reporting in last week’s Australian Financial Review (AFR), it’s really not rocket science as to how the richest Australians have managed to not only keep their wealth, but increase it significantly over the past decade. In fact, the AFR reports that Australia’s top 20 richest people have collectively grown their wealth by almost 30% over the past year.

Who topped the list of richest Australians?

As reported in the AFR, mining baron Gina Rinehart regained the title of Australia’s richest person. Ms Rinehart clocked in with a fortune estimated at $21.2 billion, up a staggering 53% over the past 12 months. High iron ore prices have been exceedingly kind to Ms Rinehart, pushing her to the No. 1 spot for the first time since 2015.

But the second and third places went to 2 Australians who decided not to call Australia home. Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are the co-founders of Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM). Atlassian is a United States-listed company that develops software solutions for business. The company’s shares have exploded in recent months, propelling the fortunes of Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar to more than $18 billion each.

Hui Wing Mau, a Hong Kong-based property developer took out the fourth spot with a fortune of $17.8 billion.

Gina Rinehart’s fellow iron ore enthusiast Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest of Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) also chalked up a top year, achieving the fifth spot. His fortune is now estimated at $17.6 billion, an eye-watering 120.6% higher than this time last year.

What can we learn from these Aussie rich listers?

There’s not much point dissecting the list of richest Australians out of envy. Rather, consider the list with a view to the lessons we can draw. That is, what can we learn about how the rich get and stay wealthy? And how do we apply this to our own wealth creation?

Here is a common theme that has emerged. Two of Australia’s biggest wealth creation hotspots over the past year have been in mining and tech. Our country’s iron ore is cheap and abundant. I believe those companies that can harness it will continue to benefit from emerging markets like China and India. I also feel that to dismiss mining and ASX resources shares as ‘old fashioned’ is to do so at your own peril.

Turning to tech, we can see how just one Aussie tech company can build the fortunes of our second and third richest people whilst helping put Australia on the world stage. Atlassian isn’t even a large tech company by American standards, with its market capitalisation of US$45.48 billion. Nonetheless, it has succeeded in creating serious wealth for its founders and other share holders. If one Aussie company can achieve this, hopefully many others can follow in its footsteps!

Foolish takeaway

In my view, considering how and where the rich are making their money can be a very useful guide for your own investing. So don’t envy these rich Australians, instead take inspiration from them. Then perhaps one day you’ll join them!

More reading

• 5 winning ASX dividend shares to buy in June
• Why Austal, CSL, Fortescue, & Star shares are charging higher today
• 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy now
• Why ASX iron ore miners may outperform this morning
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Atlassian. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The European Cobalt Ltd (ASX: EUC) share price rocketed out a trading halt this morning in response to a potential acquisition. After flying by as much as 75% in morning trade, European Cobalt shares are sitting 45% higher at the time of writing at 2.9 cents per share.

It’s important to note that European Cobalt is very much at the smaller end of the ASX with a current market capitalisation of $22 million. The company is an ASX resources share that, as its name suggests, focuses on cobalt opportunities in Europe.

Its current projects include the Dobsina (Co-Ni-Cu) and Kolba (Co-Cu-Ni) mines in Slovakia, and the Jouhineva (Co-Cu-Au-Ag) mine in Finland.

Why the European Cobalt share price is rocketing

This morning, European Cobalt announced it has secured an exclusive option to acquire the Edleston Gold Project in Ontario, Canada.

The project covers an area of 64.33 square kilometres and is located within the Cadillac-Larder Lake fault zone which has produced around 75 million ounces of gold.

More than CDN$10 million has been spent to date on geophysics and drilling across the Edleston Project by 55 North Mining Inc.

As a result, extensive mineralisation has already been established at the site, with 156 diamond drill holes over 46,000 metres of drilling completed.

High-grade intercepts from this previous drilling include 5.3 metres at 81.39 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 110 metres and 3.3 metres at 57.4 g/t gold from 207.4 metres.

European Cobalt managing director Rob Jewson believes the project is an advanced exploration opportunity, commenting:

“The work done to date has outlined a significant mineralised system which can be effectively targeted using IP geophysics. To date, only 540m of strike has been tested along a corridor with multiple moderate to strong IP conductors delineated along a total strike exceeding 3,300m.”

Non-executive technical director Dale Ginn has prior involvement in the discovery of Edleston and said:

“The mapping and aeromagnetic interpretation we completed previously on the Project has shown that there is up to 10km of strike prospective lithologies which are yet to be tested in addition to the priority IP targets already defined.”

Commercial terms of the agreement

European Cobalt signed an agreement with vendor 55 North Mining for a 30-day exclusive option period for a non-refundable option fee of CDN$100,000.

If European Cobalt decides to exercise the option, it will acquire 100% of the Edleston Project by providing consideration of CDN$650,000 cash and 100 million shares. 

The proposed transaction remains subject to technical and legal due diligence to be undertaken by European Cobalt.

More reading

• I don’t normally buy ETFs, but I would buy these 2
• 5 winning ASX dividend shares to buy in June
• Top brokers are urging you to buy these ASX shares today
• How our richest Australians are getting richer
• Where to invest $10,000 into ASX shares immediately

Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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As I mentioned here at the weekend, the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) economic team is not ruling out negative interest rates in Australia.

While I’m not certain we will see rates fall into negative territory, I’m positive they will stay at ultra low levels for a long time to come.

In light of this, if you have $10,000 sitting in savings accounts, I would suggest you consider looking for superior returns in the share market.

But where should you invest it? Here are three top shares that I would buy with these funds:

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

I think the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF could be a good option for a $10,000 investment. It provides Australian investors with exposure to Wall Street’s famous NASDAQ 100 index. This index comprises the 100 largest non-financial shares on the NASDAQ and includes household names such as Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft. I believe the majority of the companies on this index have the potential to grow at a quicker rate than the global economy. As a result, I expect the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF to provide investors with strong returns for many years to come.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

Another top option for a $10,000 investment could be Nearmap. It is a leading aerial imagery technology and location data company. Last week the company released a market update which revealed that its annualised contract value (ACV) had hit $102 million financial year to date. This means the company is on course to achieve its FY 2020 ACV guidance of $103 million to $107 million. While this is a large number, it is nothing compared to the market opportunity it has in the countries it operates in. This is estimated to be worth $2.9 billion per year. Given the quality of its technology, I believe it is well-placed to capture a big slice of this market.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

A final option to consider investing $10,000 into is NEXTDC. It is a leading Data Centre-as-a-Service provider with operations in key locations across Australia. I believe it is well-placed for strong long term earnings growth thanks to the seismic shift to the cloud. Especially given its recent $672 million equity raising which will strengthen its balance sheet and fund its strategic expansion plans.

More reading

• I don’t normally buy ETFs, but I would buy these 2
• How bankable are the big four ASX bank shares in 2020?
• Why Nearmap’s share price surged by 50% in May
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Surging bank shares push ASX toward 6,000
• Here’s how ANZ, CBA, NAB, & Westpac performed in May

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited and Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and Nearmap Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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