Australia's secret billionaire unmasked

The richest person in Australia isn't billionaire property developer Frank Lowy or gaming mogul James Packer - it is a little-known former school teacher living in the NSW regional town of Scone.

Forbes magazine ranked US immigrant Blair Parry-Okeden as the world's 110th richest person with a fortune of $US4.5 billion (just over $7 billion in Australian dollars).

Parry-Okeden is the granddaughter of James Cox, a newspaper reporter-turned-media mogul, whose family owns Cox Communications, the third largest cable television company in the United States.

Parry-Okeden's mother, Barbara Cox Anthony, died in 2007, leaving a 25% stake in the Cox empire to her daughter. Parry-Okeden does not have any involvement in the business but remains a US citizen.

According to a report in The Australian, Parry-Okeden arrived in Australia after marrying Simon Parry-Okeden, the son of prominent agriculturalist William Parry-Okeden. The couple are now divorced but have two sons, Andrew and Henry, who both live in Australia.

Blair Parry-Okeden previously lived in Hawaii and worked as school teacher. She told the newspaper she was disappointed to be named on the list as it had blown the cover of her low-key lifestyle.

Forbes says Parry-Okeden's fortune has declined by $US2 billion in the past 12 months as a result of weaker ad revenues experienced by all media companies.

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This article first appeared on SmartCompany.com.au, Australia’s premier site for business advice, news, forums and blogs.