Australia's wealthiest female billionaires revealed

Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

We have the 12th largest economy, over two million millionaires, and, the nation is also home to the fifth-highest number of female billionaires globally.

These wealthy ladies have total combined net worth of a whopping $70 billion, and while some of them may look familiar to you, others may require a refresher.

From mining magnates, to technology entrepreneurs and heiresses, here's the top 10 richest Aussie women, according to City Index data, using Forbes' live billionaire tracker.

Andrew and Nicola Forrest, believed to be Australia's richest couple, officially announced their separation yesterday.

As result, the news has likely catapulted Nicola right up the nation's wealthiest women list, according to The Australian's rich list.

They duo said the split would have no impact on their mining company, Fortescue Metals, or other projects.

But, it has had a major impact for Nicola. 

"After 31 years of marriage, we have made the decision to live apart," the couple said in a joint statement.

"Our friendship and commitment to our family remains strong."

Also remaining strong is Nicola Forrest's bank account as a result of the transfer of some Fortescue Metals Group shares in her name and the splitting of some other family assets.

The split has seen Nicola Forrest named as Australia's 140th billionaire, eclipsing many women in wealth on this list.

Click through to see the top 10. 

Landing at number 10 is the very reclusive Angela Bennet, who based in Perth.

Bennett, who is an iron ore heiress, inherited a vast swathe of mining interests from her father, similar to some other entrants on this list.

Though she has a total net worth of $2.18 billion, you won't find many pictures of Bennett, who is said to highly value her anonymity. 

Sister of James Packer and first-born of Kerry Packer and wife Roslyn, Gretel Packer has landed at number nine on the list.

She has consciously avoided the media glare and has a key stake in the $7 billion Packer fortune, and chairs the Packer Family Foundation, which runs a $200 million National Philanthropic Fund.

She has been married twice – first to British financier Nick Barham and then her spiritual advisor Shane Murray. She lives in Sydney, where she raises her three children Francesca, 19, Benjamin 16, and William Kerry Amadeus, 8.

Hope Welker is the third child of Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart.

Together with her three other siblings, she is the beneficiary of a trust that owns a large stake in the Perth-based mining giant Hancock Prospecting.

Welker joined, then abandoned, a court battle waged by her family to remove their mum as trustee.

Bianca Rinehart is the eldest daughter of Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart, a trustee of the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust, and has landed at joint seventh on the list.

She replaced mother, Gina, as trustee in 2015, after a prolonged court battle.

Rinehart completed a hospitality degree at Flinders University in Adelaide. 

Yet another entry courtesy of the Rinehart family, Ginia Rinehart, daughter of Gina, has landed at sixth on the list.

Ginia avoided the bitter court battle to gain control of the trust from her mother and also has a degree in business, majoring in Spanish, which she completed in London.

Melbourne-based billionaire Heloise Pratt is the sister of fellow billionaires Anthony Pratt and Fiona Geminder.

The three siblings hold stakes in the the family's Visy packaging business, which employs more than 9,500 people in Australia and the US, with total sales exceeding more than $5 billion.

Heloise also founded Thorney Investments with her ex-husband, Alex Waislitz.

The slightly wealthier sibling of fellow billionaire Heliose Pratt, Fiona Germinder, with a net worth of $3.7 billion, has landed in fourth spot on the list.

Geminder owns a large stake in listed plastics-packaging business Pact Group, with her husband Raphael Geminder.

She also holds a substantial stake in her family's multibillion-dollar paper packaging and recycling company, Visy.

Sydney-based Melanie Perkins is technology entrepreneur, who is the CEO and co-founder of design platform Canva.

Perkins is one of the youngest female CEOs of a tech start-up valued over $1 billion and started her business in her very own living room.

The third-richest woman in the country, Perkins is worth over $5 billion. 

After this week's news, Nicola Forrest, ex-partner of Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, has been propelled to the second spot.

Some estimates now believe, in the wake of the split, Forrest could be worth in excess of $10 billion. 

Towering over every other entry by a longshot, Gina Rinehart, the Perth-based mining magnate, businesswoman and Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting has of course taken out the top spot on this list.

With a net worth of an excruciating $43 billion, Rinehart is not only the richest woman in Australia - by a large margin - she is also the eighth-richest woman in the world and among the wealthiest humans alive.