Gina Rinehart

Gina Rinehart
Born	Georgina Hope Hancock 9 2, 1954
Birthplace	Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Executive chairman, Hancock Prospecting
Known for	Executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting; Australia's richest person
Education	St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls
Children	4
Awards	Forbes World's 100 Most Powerful Women

Georgina Hope Rinehart (née Hancock; born 9 February 1954) is an Australian billionaire mining magnate and businesswoman who serves as the executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company founded by her father, Lang Hancock. Born and raised in Western Australia, Rinehart took the helm of the family business following her father's death in 1992 and oversaw its transformation from a royalty-collecting enterprise into one of Australia's largest mining conglomerates. Her stewardship of Hancock Prospecting through the iron ore boom of the early 2000s propelled her to the top of Australia's wealth rankings, and she has been identified as Australia's richest person in multiple years since 2011 by both Forbes and The Australian Financial Review. Beyond mining, Rinehart has made notable investments in media companies, agriculture, and more recently in rare earths and critical minerals. At various points during the 2010s and 2020s, she was ranked among the world's richest women and was included on the Forbes list of the world's 100 most powerful women.

Early Life

Georgina Hope Hancock was born on 9 February 1954 in Perth, Western Australia, to Lang Hancock and Hope Nicholas (née Hancock). She was Lang Hancock's only child. Her father was a prominent Western Australian mining figure who, along with partner Peter Wright, had discovered vast iron ore deposits in the Pilbara region of Western Australia in the 1950s, which would later form the basis of the family's fortune.

Rinehart spent her early years in the remote Pilbara region, where her father's mining interests were concentrated. The Pilbara, a sparsely populated area in the north of Western Australia characterised by its red earth and extreme heat, shaped her upbringing and gave her an early familiarity with the mining industry that would define her career.

For her secondary education, Rinehart boarded at St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls in Perth, one of Western Australia's established private schools. After completing her schooling, she enrolled at the University of Sydney but left before completing her degree to return to Western Australia and work alongside her father at Hancock Prospecting. This decision to forgo a university degree in favour of direct involvement in the family business proved consequential, as it gave Rinehart years of practical experience in the mining industry under her father's tutelage before she would eventually assume full control of the company.

Education

Rinehart attended St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls in Perth as a boarding student during her secondary school years. She subsequently enrolled at the University of Sydney but did not complete her studies, choosing instead to return to Western Australia to join her father's mining business.

Career

Early career at Hancock Prospecting

After leaving the University of Sydney, Rinehart began working with her father, Lang Hancock, at Hancock Prospecting. The company had been established by Lang Hancock to manage the mining royalties and exploration rights that flowed from his discovery of iron ore deposits in the Pilbara. Rinehart gained experience in the operations and management of the business during the decades she worked alongside her father.

Lang Hancock died in 1992, and Rinehart succeeded him as executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting. At the time she assumed control, the company's primary asset was its royalty stream from iron ore mining agreements in the Pilbara, particularly arrangements with major mining companies operating in the region. The transition of leadership was not without complications, as Rinehart navigated both the legal and business complexities associated with inheriting control of a privately held mining empire.

Expansion and the iron ore boom

Under Rinehart's leadership, Hancock Prospecting underwent a significant expansion over the decade following her assumption of the chairmanship. She pursued the development of several major mining projects, moving the company beyond its historical reliance on royalties towards becoming an active mining operator.

The iron ore boom of the early 2000s, driven largely by surging demand from China's rapidly industrialising economy, proved transformative for both Hancock Prospecting and Rinehart's personal wealth. Iron ore prices rose dramatically during this period, and the value of Hancock Prospecting's mining assets and royalty agreements increased correspondingly. By 2006, Rinehart had become a nominal billionaire.

The pace of wealth accumulation accelerated further in subsequent years. By early 2011, Rinehart was identified as Australia's richest person on the BRW Rich List, making her the first woman to hold the top position on the list. An article in SmartCompany in mid-2011 noted her trajectory towards becoming one of the world's richest individuals.

In January 2012, The Australian reported that her stakes, including a play involving POSCO, had made Rinehart a "$20 billion woman." By February 2012, Bloomberg News reported that Rinehart had doubled her fortune and was among the richest individuals in the Asia-Pacific region.

In May 2012, The Age reported that Rinehart had become the world's richest woman, with her wealth having tripled in a single year. BRW separately confirmed this assessment, identifying her as the world's richest woman. Her wealth reached approximately A$29 billion in 2012, and The Australian reported she topped the BRW Rich List that year as "the $29.17 billion woman." At that point, she had overtaken Christy Walton as the world's richest woman.

However, a subsequent slowdown in the Australian mining sector and a decline in iron ore prices led to a significant reduction in Rinehart's estimated net worth. In May 2013, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that she had experienced a substantial drop in wealth. She remained Australia's wealthiest person from 2011 to 2015, according to both Forbes and The Australian Financial Review.

Media investments

In the 2010s, Rinehart expanded her investment portfolio beyond the mining sector, making notable forays into Australian media companies. In November 2010, she acquired a stake in Ten Network Holdings, one of Australia's three commercial free-to-air television networks.

Rinehart also made a substantial investment in Fairfax Media, the publisher of major Australian newspapers including The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. By early 2012, a share raid had made her the largest stakeholder in the company. Her accumulation of Fairfax shares generated considerable public debate about the potential influence of a mining magnate over editorial content at major news organisations. Commentary in The Australian noted that Rinehart's Fairfax interest would not necessarily give her control over the mining tax debate.

Rinehart reportedly sought a seat on the Fairfax Media board but was not offered one, with reports indicating that Fairfax would not agree to her conditions. She subsequently sold her interest in Fairfax Media in 2015.

Agricultural investments

In addition to her media investments, Rinehart expanded into agriculture during the 2010s, purchasing several cattle stations across northern Australia. These acquisitions represented a diversification of Hancock Prospecting's interests beyond the mining sector. However, Rinehart divested these agricultural holdings within a decade of acquiring them.

Rare earths and critical minerals

In the mid-2020s, Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting made significant investments in the rare earths and critical minerals sector. In November 2025, Yahoo Finance reported that Rinehart had become the largest shareholder in MP Materials, a United States-based rare earths producer. Earlier that month, the Investing News Network reported on Hancock Prospecting's key mining investments, noting the company held positions in lithium, rare earths, and copper through stakes in companies including Azure Minerals, Liontown Resources, and others. In October 2025, Bloomberg reported that Rinehart had doubled her stake in a rare earths firm.

In February 2026, the Australian Financial Review reported that Rinehart had purchased shares in Netflix during a period of merger and acquisition activity, suggesting a continued interest in diversifying her investment portfolio beyond the resources sector.

Wealth trajectory

Rinehart's position on various wealth rankings has fluctuated with commodity cycles and the fortunes of the mining industry. Prior to the iron ore boom, other Australian business figures occupied the top positions on the national rich lists. In 2007, James Packer topped the Australian rich list. By 2008, the list showed movements among Australia's wealthiest individuals. The global financial crisis of 2008–2009 affected wealth rankings across the board, with The Sydney Morning Herald noting that the "rich get poorer" in 2009.

After reaching the peak of her estimated wealth in 2012, the subsequent decline in iron ore prices reduced Rinehart's net worth. However, her wealth recovered again during 2020, driven by increased demand for Australian iron ore. By May 2023, the Financial Review Rich List estimated her net worth in excess of A$37 billion. Rinehart regained her position as Australia's wealthiest person from 2020 onwards, according to both The Australian Business Review and The Australian Financial Review. As of September 2020, Forbes considered Rinehart one of the world's ten richest women.

In February 2026, VnExpress reported on Australia's top billionaires, noting that the country's five wealthiest individuals had seen their combined wealth rise 14 percent to $94 billion that year.

Personal Life

Rinehart has four children. Her father, Lang Hancock, was one of the most prominent figures in the history of Western Australian mining. Her mother was Hope Nicholas.

Rinehart has been a private individual who has attracted significant public attention owing to her wealth and business activities. She has been involved in a prolonged family legal dispute with several of her children regarding the management of a family trust. The dispute became one of the most publicised family legal battles in Australian corporate history.

Rinehart has also been involved in political activities. In February 2026, The Guardian reported that One Nation leader Pauline Hanson had failed to declare a flight provided by Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting, and had subsequently updated her register of interests to include the flight.

Recognition

Rinehart has been the subject of extensive coverage in Australian and international business media throughout her career. Her most notable recognitions include:

• Named Australia's richest person on the BRW Rich List in 2011, becoming the first woman to hold the top position.
• Identified as the world's richest woman in 2012 by BRW and other publications, overtaking Christy Walton, with an estimated wealth of approximately A$29 billion.
• Included on the Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women.
• Ranked among the world's ten richest women by Forbes as of September 2020.
• Named Australia's wealthiest person from 2011 to 2015 according to both Forbes and The Australian Financial Review, and again every year since 2020 according to The Australian Business Review and The Australian Financial Review.

Rinehart's wealth and business influence have made her one of the most recognisable figures in Australian business. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index has tracked her wealth among the world's richest individuals. Britannica has described her as an Australian business executive who built a fortune through the mining industry.

Legacy

Rinehart's career at the helm of Hancock Prospecting represents one of the most significant chapters in the history of Australian mining. She inherited a company that was primarily a royalties-based operation and expanded it into an active mining enterprise with diversified interests across iron ore, rare earths, lithium, copper, and other commodities. Her strategic decisions during the iron ore boom positioned Hancock Prospecting to capitalise on the surge in global demand for Australian resources.

Her investments in media companies, though ultimately temporary, generated significant national debate about the relationship between corporate wealth and media ownership in Australia. The episode involving Fairfax Media in particular raised questions about editorial independence that resonated in Australian public discourse for several years.

Rinehart's more recent pivot towards rare earths and critical minerals reflects broader strategic trends in the global mining industry, as demand for these materials has grown with the expansion of renewable energy technologies and electronic manufacturing. Her acquisition of a major stake in MP Materials and investments in lithium and rare earths companies position Hancock Prospecting in sectors that are considered strategically important by governments worldwide.

As Australia's richest person for much of the period since 2011, Rinehart has occupied a unique position in Australian public life. Her story—from growing up in the remote Pilbara to overseeing a multibillion-dollar mining empire—encapsulates the central role that resource extraction has played in the Australian economy and in the country's wealthiest dynasties.