Gina Rinehart is a mining magnate and Australia’s richest person, having acquired her wealth and renown through serving as executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting.
Rinehart inherited Hancock Prospecting from her father, Lang Hancock, upon his death in 1992.
When she succeeded him, the company was in dire financial straits.
However, her decades of leadership transformed it into the largest private company in Australia and one of the world’s most successful mining houses.
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Rinehart operates mainly in Western Australia, where her family has been granted special mining rights in the Pilbara region.
Now aged 68, Rinehart recently received an appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Australia Day Honours.
What is Gina Rinehart’s net worth?
As of 2022, Gina Rinehart has an estimated net worth of $28.9 billion USD, according to Forbes.
After establishing her dominance in the mining industry and becoming a billionaire in 2006, Rinehart branched into other industries including agriculture and media.
She has made investments in Ten Network Holdings and Fairfax Media and purchased several cattle stations, including the costly Fossil Downs Station, Liveringa Station and Nerrima Station.
Following this considerable expansion of her business ventures, by 2021 it was reported that, at over 9.2 million hectares, Rinehart owned over 1 per cent of the Australian landmass, making her the country’s single largest landholder.
Although Rinehart lost a significant amount of wealth following the slowdown of Australia’s mining boom, the renewed demand for Australian iron ore during 2021-22 has seen her net worth once again skyrocket.
Beyond business, Rinehart has a history of involvement in politics and philanthropy, having advocated for deregulation of Australia’s economy and the promotion of Australia’s mining industry.
In a recent speech to her old school St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls, she expressed views that questioned the scientific consensus on climate change.
Rinehart’s latest philanthropic venture is her sponsorship of the Australian Olympic Team, having come to an agreement with the Australian Olympic Committee to expand her financial support beyond the swimming team.
Rinehart also owns multiple homes.
In July 2021, she purchased ‘Webb House’, a mansion in Noosa worth $34 million that occupies 2,000 square metres right on the beachfront.
Another purchase was a riverside estate in Hawthorne worth $18.5 million.
And when she’s not residing in her Australian mansions, she has a $20 million penthouse on the luxury cruise ship, The World.
Joel Duggan