Clive Palmer and US tech giants Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are the least liked billionaires among Australians while US investor Warren Buffet had the highest net positive rating, according to the latest DemosAU research.
The poll of 1,497 Australians asked respondents whether they had a positive or negative opinion of 12 prominent business figures, with respondents also able to say they were unsure.
Buffett recorded the strongest net positive rating of 12%, with 26% holding a positive opinion of the US investor and 14% a negative opinion. Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest came in second place with a net positive score of 7%.
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart, the only woman on the list, came in third with 33% positive and 28% negative, giving her an overall net positive score of 5%.
At the bottom of the list, Clive Palmer recorded the lowest net rating at -35%, with 49% of Australians holding a negative opinion and 14% a positive opinion.
Mark Zuckerberg recorded a net positive rating of -25% (20% positive, 45% negative) and Elon Musk -23% (26% positive, 49% negative).
Rupert Murdoch and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also had minus net positive scores; -22% and -17% respectively.
The results also show that many prominent business figures remain relatively unknown to Australians. Almost eight in ten respondents were unsure of Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brooks (78%), while 81% were unsure about fellow Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar.
DemosAU Head of Research George Hasanakos said the results showed enormous wealth and public prominence did not necessarily translate into positive public sentiment.
“Some of the world’s best-known billionaires are also among the most polarising, and in several cases Australians are much more likely to hold a negative than positive view of them,” Mr Hasanakos said.
“What is interesting is the contrast between figures such as Warren Buffett, who has a relatively low negative rating, and Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Clive Palmer, where negative sentiment is much stronger.”
The poll also points to significant political differences in attitudes towards some billionaires.
Rinehart recorded a net positive rating of +41 among One Nation voters and +38 among Coalition voters, compared with -20 among Labor voters and -40 among Greens voters.
The DemosAU poll of 1,497 Australians was conducted via internet panel between 16 and 18 June 2026. The effective margin of error was +/- 3.3%.
