Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, ranked number eight on the BRW list courtesy of his $2.38 billion Fortescue Metals Group fortune, alternates between a Mercedes convertible "old enough to vote" and a relatively humdrum Toyota LandCruiser, which is ideal for towing his horse float.
Transport king Lindsay Fox (worth $1.58billion), who rose from humble truck driver to one of Australia's richest men, is still driving a truck an imported American GMC pick-up truck.
And Aussie battler John Symond's (worth $303 million) main set of wheels is a home-grown Holden Caprice.
The list mirrors a similar one compiled by Forbes magazine in 2006, which revealed that Ikea founder and number five on the 2009 Forbes billionaires list Ingvar Kamprad drove a 1993 Volvo 240GL, while billionaire investor Warren Buffett drove a 2001 Lincoln Town Car.
But before you lament the lack of automotive taste among our rich and famous, it may warm your heart to know that on the weekends Symond, founder of Aussie Home Loans, blows away the cobwebs in a $500,000 12-cylinder Bentley Continental Flying Spur. Or that Fox has one of the world's most enviable car collections, valued at more than $15 million and including cars formerly owned by John Lennon and Ringo Starr.
Symond says his choice of ride depends on the occasion. "A lot of my work demands getting around the suburbs and I feel more comfortable in (the Holden) when I go out and deal with the public in shop fronts. It's more appropriate being in an Australian-made car," he says.
"But on the weekends I spoil myself. The Bentley is a feel-good car with a lot of torque and power, it looks great, has lots of technology and is a lot of fun to drive."
Symond says he has been a car buff all his life but only recently got to indulge his passion. "When I started Aussie (Home Loans) I drove around in an ex-water board Holden for the first five or six years," he says. "When things improved I got myself into a Mercedes as a bit of a reward.
"I had Mercs for about 10 years but in the past 18 months I've been driving the Bentley and the Caprice."
Hedge fund manager and founder of Platinum Asset Management, Kerr Neilson (worth $1.6 billion), politely declined a request to discuss his car choice but Sydney property tycoon and former taxi-driver Harry Triguboff (number two on the list with $3.66 billion) is more than happy to flaunt his wealth with twin Bentleys an Arnage and GTC convertible number-plated "Hot One" and "Hot Two".
James Packer (worth $3 billion) is also a rich-lister who likes to splurge on fancy machinery. The media mogul, who once bought a yacht so expensive they threw in an Aston Martin in lieu of a free set of steak knives, is a big fan of British sports cars.
But last year, Packer joined the Bentley camp, trading in his Aston Martin DB9 for a "near-new" Bentley Continental GT.
David Jackson, from Bentley agent Trivetts in Sydney, declines to name names but says he has sold "more than half-a-dozen" Bentleys to rich-listers. "There are a few names on the list I recognise," he says.
He says that while money is no object to most Bentley buyers, they still like to drive a hard bargain. "These people don't get successful without knowing how to haggle a bit. It's not the priority when you're spending that amount of money," he says.
Trivett's Bevin Clayton, who has sold three Rolls-Royce Phantoms to Fox in recent years, says there are "three or four" names on the list who have signed up for a Rolls or two. And, as with Jackson, he admits it is sometimes hard work closing a sale.
"I don't think anybody buys anything without wanting a deal. I haven't had a client yet who has paid full price for a car," he says.
Clayton says luxury car buyers are inevitably drawn by the quality rather than status symbol. "They don't need to tell people they are wealthy, they are, and people know they are," he says.
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