Richest People in Papua New Guinea 2026/2027. Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous nearby islands. It is known for its cultural and linguistic diversity, mountainous terrain, dense rainforests, and rich natural resources.
Location: PNG lies north of Australia, east of Indonesia, and southwest of the Pacific islands, with its capital at Port Moresby.
Richest People in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is especially known for its incredible cultural diversity, with over 800 spoken languages — the highest number of languages in any country in the world.
Richest People in Papua New Guinea
Determining the wealthiest person in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is not straightforward, because PNG does not have transparent, publicly verified billionaire/millionaire rankings like Forbes or Bloomberg. Wealth is often tied to private businesses, land, politics, and family holdings — many of which are not publicly disclosed.
However, based on consistent mentions across business sources, corporate histories, and local reporting, the individuals most commonly identified as among the wealthiest are:
People / Families Often Named Among PNG’s Wealthiest
Name / Family
Reason They’re Named / Source of Wealth
Notes / Uncertainty
Chow family
Said to own major food & beverage businesses (e.g. a biscuit/food manufacturing firm)
Combined wealth at ~ US $350 million.
Sir Kostas Constantinou
Business investments — often listed near top in wealth rankings for PNG
Estimated net worth ~ US $308 million.
Peter O’Neill (former Prime Minister)
Political influence + business interests — often appear in “richest PNG” lists
Estimated net worth ~ US $207 million.
Paias Wingti (former PM)
Political career + possible investments
Estimated net worth ~ US $60 million.
Mekere Morauta (former PM)
Political and business history
Estimated net worth ~ US $45 million
Sir Julius Chan (former PM)
Long-time politician with presumed investments
Ranked around ~ US $23 million
Sir Rabbie Namaliu (late former PM)
Former political leader — appears in some “top 10” mentions
Estimated net worth ~ US $10 million.
Belden Namah (politician)
Political and possibly business interests
Estimated net worth ~ US $8 million.
John Momis (politician)
Former leadership roles in PNG / Bougainville, sometimes listed among wealthy
Estimated net worth ~ US $5 million.
James Marape (current Prime Minister)
Because of position — often included in speculative “richest” lists