Sia Makes Debut On BRW Young Rich List

Ubiquitous Aussie songstress Sia could probably deck out her house with real crystal light fixtures now, if she wanted to — the Chandelier scribe has been announced as the only new female entrant on this year's BRW Young Rich List.

Sia makes her debut (along with 22 other newcomers) among the nation's 100 wealthiest self-made citizens under 40 at 96th on the ladder, with a projected worth of $20 million.

Sure, that's a little ways off the kind of figures being raked in by list leaders and Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar (a combined $2.1 billion), but it's not like $20 million is anything to scoff at anyway, especially taking into account a) Sia's field and b) the fact she also has to compete with ingrained gender-based wage inequality.

If you think that's merely glib politicking, think again; Carolyn Cresswell, of Carmans Kitchen — the highest-placing woman on the list (of which there are only six this year, down one from last year) — took home $83 million, an incredible effort that, regardless, doesn't even see her enter the top ten.

In fact, for placing context, the ninth-placed Hezi Leibovich, of online shopping collective The Catch Group, earned a comfortable $213 million, with the twelfth-and-thirteenth-placed Ivan Brown and Atkinson Charan still clearing $177 million between them. The wage gap: it's a real thing.

But, yes, the rich are indeed getting richer — total wealth for the list has reached a record amount ($8.3 billion, up $3.1 billion from last year), while average wealth per person has risen $29 million to hit $83 million a pop.

Here's hoping Sia's fortunes stay strong. Let's see her crack 90th spot next year, at least.