Gina Rinehart
Encyclopedia
Georgina "Gina" Hope Rinehart (born 9 February 1954 at St John's, Perth
, Western Australia
) is a mining heiress. She is the heiress
of Hancock Prospecting
and the daughter of the late mining
magnate
Lang Hancock
and Hope Margaret Nicholas. During 2011, both Forbes Asia and Business Review Weekly
claimed that Rinehart was Australia's wealthiest person.
Rinehart was involved in a protracted legal battle with her stepmother, Rose Porteous
, over the circumstances that lead to the death of Hancock, and the distribution of his estate. The action, commenced by Rinehart in 1992, was eventually settled in 2003 following a coronial inquiry that determined Hancock died of natural causes. In a separate matter presently before the courts, three of Rinehart's four children, Hope Rinehart Welker, John Hancock, and Bianca Reinhart, commenced legal action over a commercial dispute relating to a family trust fund, where Rinehart is trustee. The reason for the dispute are unknown other than the children want Rinehart removed as trustee.
, until she was four, later boarding at St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls
in Perth
. She commenced studying economics at The University of Sydney before working for her father, gaining an extensive knowledge of the Pilbara iron-ore industry.
As a teenager Rinehart met Englishman Greg Milton, while both were working in Wittenoom
. In 1973 Rinehart, aged 19, married Milton, and he changed his surname to Hayward. Together they had two children, John Langley and Bianca Hope. However, the marriage did not last and Rinehart and Hayward separated in 1979 and divorced in 1981.
In 1983 she married Frank Rinehart, a 57 year old American corporate lawyer. They had two children together, Ginia and Hope, born 18 months apart. Frank died in 1990.
In 2003 following a falling out with his mother, Rinehart's son, John Langley Hayward, changed his surname by deed poll
to John Langley Hancock, and their relationship remains difficult.
Rinehart's daughter, Hope, married Ryan Welker, a director of Mineral Resources, in which Hancock Prospecting and Gina Rinehart have an 8 per cent stake.
Prior to his death, Lang Hancock established the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust, nominating Rinehart as trustee
, with his four grandchildren named as beneficiaries
. The Trust holds a significant proportion of the family's wealth. In 2011, Rinehart's daughter, Hope Rinehart Welker, commenced legal in the NSW Supreme Court over a commercial dispute, seeking to have Rinehart removed as sole trustee. Her brother, John, and half sister, Bianca, were later revealed as parties to the dispute. In an agreement reached between the aggrieved parties, the Court granted an interim non-publication order. In making the interim order, Brereton J stated "This is not the first occasion of discord in the family, which has immense wealth, no small part of which resides in the trust. In the past, the affairs of the family, including such discord, has attracted considerable publicity in the media." However, in a judgement handed down on 7 October 2011, Brereton J said he intended to dismiss an application by Rinehart that there be a stay
on court action and that the family be directed into mediation.
In 1999 her proposal to name a mountain range after her family, to commemorate its contribution to the establishment of the pastoral and mining industry in the Pilbara region, was approved. The so-named Hancock Range is situated about 65 km north-west of the town of Newman
at 23°00′23"S 119°12′31"E.
Recent years have seen her developing Hancock's undeveloped deposits rapidly, turning them into operating mines. As of 2010 her daughter Bianca Rinehart was a member of the executive management team and a director of several Hancock companies and appeared to be being groomed for succession after her mother.
. Rinehart also founded the anti-tax and climate change sceptic lobby group ANDEV, ("Australians for Northern Development & Economic Vision") and has paid for the trips of climate change deniers
to Australia.
In 2010 Rinehart departed from her normally private persona to join a campaign with Andrew Forrest
and others against the Federal Government's proposed Mineral Resource Rent Tax. Soon afterwards she took a 10% stake in Network Ten
; James Packer
had acquired an 18% stake in the same company shortly before. Since then she has also acquired a substantial stake in Fairfax Media
. This foray into media ownership is a major change from previous corporate activities.
list, published annually in the Business Review Weekly
(BRW), following the death of her father earlier that year. She has appeared every year since, and became a billionaire
in 2006. Due to Australia's recent mining boom
, Rinehart's wealth has increased significantly during 2010 and 2011, and she has diversified investments into media, taking holdings in Ten Network Holdings
and Fairfax Media
. According to BRW, she became Australia's richest woman in 2010, and Australia's richest person in 2011, and the first woman to lead the list. BRW estimates her wealth at A$10.31 billion
, with Ivan Glasenberg
being her closest rival, with net wealth estimated at A$8.8 billion.
Meanwhile, in 2007 she first appeared on Forbes Asia Australia's 40 Richest, with an estimated wealth of US$
1 billion; more than doubling that the next year to US$2.4 billion; and then, in spite of the global financial crisis, by 2011 had more than trebled to US$9 billion. Releasing the results in February 2011, Forbes was the first to name her as Australia's richest person; with BRW conferring the same title in May that year. In June 2011, Citigroup
estimated that she is on course to overtake Carlos Slim, the Mexican magnate worth £46 billion (US$74 billion) and Bill Gates
, who is worth £35 billion (US$56 billion), mainly because she owns her companies outright. Using a price-to-earnings ratio or 11:1, “It is possible to see Rinehart’s portfolio of coal and iron ore production spinning off annual profits approaching US$10 billion,” giving her a “personal net worth valuation of more than US$100 billion.”
and supporting the Hope Scholarship Award Program for girls run by SISHA, a Cambodian non-profit organisation campaigning against human trafficking
. Reinhart has also supported St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls, where the school hall is named in honour of her mother.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
) is a mining heiress. She is the heiress
Beneficiary
A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example: The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured...
of Hancock Prospecting
Hancock Prospecting
Hancock Prospecting is a Western Australian mining company chaired by Gina Rinehart the daughter of Lang Hancock. At stages of its trading it has been known as Hancock Prospecting Ltd, Hancock Resources, Hanwright Pty Ltd, Hancock & Wright Ltd, and Hancock Prospecting Pty. Ltd.The Hancock Group of...
and the daughter of the late mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
magnate
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
Lang Hancock
Lang Hancock
Langley Frederick George "Lang" Hancock was an Australian iron ore magnate from Western Australia who maintained a high profile in the competing spheres of business and politics...
and Hope Margaret Nicholas. During 2011, both Forbes Asia and Business Review Weekly
Business Review Weekly
BRW is an Australian weekly business magazine published by the Fairfax Media group. It regularly compiles lists which rank corporations and individuals according to various criteria, similar to Fortune magazine in the United States.BRW provides news and commentary on the economy, business and...
claimed that Rinehart was Australia's wealthiest person.
Rinehart was involved in a protracted legal battle with her stepmother, Rose Porteous
Rose Porteous
Rose Porteous , a Filipino-born Australian, is best known for her marriage to Lang Hancock, a West Australian iron ore mining magnate, and the protracted legal battle with her step-daughter, Gina Rinehart, over the circumstances that lead to the death of Hancock, and the distribution of his estate...
, over the circumstances that lead to the death of Hancock, and the distribution of his estate. The action, commenced by Rinehart in 1992, was eventually settled in 2003 following a coronial inquiry that determined Hancock died of natural causes. In a separate matter presently before the courts, three of Rinehart's four children, Hope Rinehart Welker, John Hancock, and Bianca Reinhart, commenced legal action over a commercial dispute relating to a family trust fund, where Rinehart is trustee. The reason for the dispute are unknown other than the children want Rinehart removed as trustee.
Early life and family
Rinehart lived with her parents at Nunyerry, 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) north of WittenoomWittenoom, Western Australia
Wittenoom is a ghost town located 1,106 kilometres north-northeast of Perth in the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is the site of Australia's greatest industrial disaster....
, until she was four, later boarding at St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls
St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls
Established in Claremont in 1896, the school currently caters for approximately 1,052 students from the Early Learning Centre to Year 12, including 150 boarders in Years 7 to 12...
in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. She commenced studying economics at The University of Sydney before working for her father, gaining an extensive knowledge of the Pilbara iron-ore industry.
As a teenager Rinehart met Englishman Greg Milton, while both were working in Wittenoom
Wittenoom, Western Australia
Wittenoom is a ghost town located 1,106 kilometres north-northeast of Perth in the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is the site of Australia's greatest industrial disaster....
. In 1973 Rinehart, aged 19, married Milton, and he changed his surname to Hayward. Together they had two children, John Langley and Bianca Hope. However, the marriage did not last and Rinehart and Hayward separated in 1979 and divorced in 1981.
In 1983 she married Frank Rinehart, a 57 year old American corporate lawyer. They had two children together, Ginia and Hope, born 18 months apart. Frank died in 1990.
In 2003 following a falling out with his mother, Rinehart's son, John Langley Hayward, changed his surname by deed poll
Deed poll
A deed poll is a legal document binding only to a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an active intention...
to John Langley Hancock, and their relationship remains difficult.
Rinehart's daughter, Hope, married Ryan Welker, a director of Mineral Resources, in which Hancock Prospecting and Gina Rinehart have an 8 per cent stake.
Prior to his death, Lang Hancock established the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust, nominating Rinehart as trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
, with his four grandchildren named as beneficiaries
Beneficiary (trust)
In trust law, a beneficiary or cestui que use, a.k.a. cestui que trust, is the person or persons who are entitled to the benefit of any trust arrangement. A beneficiary will normally be a natural person, but it is perfectly possible to have a company as the beneficiary of a trust, and this often...
. The Trust holds a significant proportion of the family's wealth. In 2011, Rinehart's daughter, Hope Rinehart Welker, commenced legal in the NSW Supreme Court over a commercial dispute, seeking to have Rinehart removed as sole trustee. Her brother, John, and half sister, Bianca, were later revealed as parties to the dispute. In an agreement reached between the aggrieved parties, the Court granted an interim non-publication order. In making the interim order, Brereton J stated "This is not the first occasion of discord in the family, which has immense wealth, no small part of which resides in the trust. In the past, the affairs of the family, including such discord, has attracted considerable publicity in the media." However, in a judgement handed down on 7 October 2011, Brereton J said he intended to dismiss an application by Rinehart that there be a stay
Stay of proceedings
A stay of proceedings is a ruling by the court in civil and criminal procedure, halting further legal process in a trial. The court can subsequently lift the stay and resume proceedings. However, a stay is sometimes used as a device to postpone proceedings indefinitely.-United Kingdom:In United...
on court action and that the family be directed into mediation.
Hancock Prospecting
Following the death of her father in March 1992, Rinehart became Executive Chairman of HPPL and the HPPL Group of companies. She commenced an acrimonious legal fight in 1992 with her stepmother, Rose Porteous, over the circumstances of her father's death and control of the Hancock assets. The court cases and negotiations ultimately took 14 years to settle.In 1999 her proposal to name a mountain range after her family, to commemorate its contribution to the establishment of the pastoral and mining industry in the Pilbara region, was approved. The so-named Hancock Range is situated about 65 km north-west of the town of Newman
Newman, Western Australia
Newman, located about 1186 km north of Perth and 9 km north of the Tropic of Capricorn, is a town in the Pilbara region. It can be reached by the Great Northern Highway...
at 23°00′23"S 119°12′31"E.
Recent years have seen her developing Hancock's undeveloped deposits rapidly, turning them into operating mines. As of 2010 her daughter Bianca Rinehart was a member of the executive management team and a director of several Hancock companies and appeared to be being groomed for succession after her mother.
Political activities and other investments
Rinehart has been a vocal opponent of the proposed Mineral Resource Rent Tax as well as the Carbon Pollution Reduction SchemeCarbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was a proposed cap-and-trade system of emissions trading for anthropogenic greenhouse gases, due to be introduced in Australia in 2010 by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy. It marked a major change in the energy policy of Australia...
. Rinehart also founded the anti-tax and climate change sceptic lobby group ANDEV, ("Australians for Northern Development & Economic Vision") and has paid for the trips of climate change deniers
Climate change denial
Climate change denial is a term used to describe organized attempts to downplay, deny or dismiss the scientific consensus on the extent of global warming, its significance, and its connection to human behavior, especially for commercial or ideological reasons...
to Australia.
In 2010 Rinehart departed from her normally private persona to join a campaign with Andrew Forrest
Andrew Forrest
Andrew Forrest also known by his nickname "Twiggy", is a Western Australian mining entrepreneur, former chief executive officer, non-executive chairman, and the major shareholder of Fortescue Metals Group...
and others against the Federal Government's proposed Mineral Resource Rent Tax. Soon afterwards she took a 10% stake in Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
; James Packer
James Packer
James Douglas Packer is an Australian businessman.Packer is the son of the late media mogul Kerry Packer and grandson of Frank Packer. He inherited the family company, Consolidated Press Holdings Limited, which controls investments in Crown Limited, Consolidated Media Holdings and other companies...
had acquired an 18% stake in the same company shortly before. Since then she has also acquired a substantial stake in Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
. This foray into media ownership is a major change from previous corporate activities.
Wealth and philanthropy
Rinehart first appeared on the 1992 BRW Rich 200BRW Rich 200
The BRW Rich 200 is a list of Australia's two hundred wealthiest individuals and families, ranked by personal net worth. The list is released annually during May in a special issue of the Business Review Weekly, published by Fairfax Media....
list, published annually in the Business Review Weekly
Business Review Weekly
BRW is an Australian weekly business magazine published by the Fairfax Media group. It regularly compiles lists which rank corporations and individuals according to various criteria, similar to Fortune magazine in the United States.BRW provides news and commentary on the economy, business and...
(BRW), following the death of her father earlier that year. She has appeared every year since, and became a billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
in 2006. Due to Australia's recent mining boom
Iron ore mining in Western Australia
Iron ore mining in Western Australia, in the financial year 2008-09, accounted for 47 percent of the total valueof the state's resources, with a value of A$33.56 billion...
, Rinehart's wealth has increased significantly during 2010 and 2011, and she has diversified investments into media, taking holdings in Ten Network Holdings
Ten Network Holdings
Ten Network Holdings Limited, is one of Australia's major media companies. It is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.-Assets:While originally focusing on running a television network, Ten has recently diversified into a range of other media areas over the past decade...
and Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
. According to BRW, she became Australia's richest woman in 2010, and Australia's richest person in 2011, and the first woman to lead the list. BRW estimates her wealth at A$10.31 billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
, with Ivan Glasenberg
Ivan Glasenberg
Ivan Glasenberg, is the CEO of Glencore, one of the world's largest commodity trading companies. He is also on the boards of mining companies Xstrata plc and Minara Resources Ltd.-Background and early career:...
being her closest rival, with net wealth estimated at A$8.8 billion.
Meanwhile, in 2007 she first appeared on Forbes Asia Australia's 40 Richest, with an estimated wealth of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 billion; more than doubling that the next year to US$2.4 billion; and then, in spite of the global financial crisis, by 2011 had more than trebled to US$9 billion. Releasing the results in February 2011, Forbes was the first to name her as Australia's richest person; with BRW conferring the same title in May that year. In June 2011, Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
estimated that she is on course to overtake Carlos Slim, the Mexican magnate worth £46 billion (US$74 billion) and Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, who is worth £35 billion (US$56 billion), mainly because she owns her companies outright. Using a price-to-earnings ratio or 11:1, “It is possible to see Rinehart’s portfolio of coal and iron ore production spinning off annual profits approaching US$10 billion,” giving her a “personal net worth valuation of more than US$100 billion.”
Wealth rankings
| Year | BRW Rich 200 BRW Rich 200 The BRW Rich 200 is a list of Australia's two hundred wealthiest individuals and families, ranked by personal net worth. The list is released annually during May in a special issue of the Business Review Weekly, published by Fairfax Media.... |
Forbes Australia's 40 Richest | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Net worth Net worth In business, net worth is the total assets minus total outside liabilities of an individual or a company. For a company, this is called shareholders' preference and may be referred to as book value. Net worth is stated as at a particular year in time... (AUD Aud Aud might refer to*Australian dollar *Ambedkar University, Delhi *American University in Dubai *Doctor of Audiology *Auðr, the son of Nótt and Naglfari in Norse mythology... ) |
Rank | Net worth Net worth In business, net worth is the total assets minus total outside liabilities of an individual or a company. For a company, this is called shareholders' preference and may be referred to as book value. Net worth is stated as at a particular year in time... (USD) |
|
| 2006 | 8 | $1.80 billion | ||
| 2007 | 4 | $4.00 billion | 14 | $1.00 billion |
| 2008 | 5 | $4.39 billion | 6 | $2.40 billion |
| 2009 | 4 | $3.47 billion | 7 | $1.50 billion |
| 2010 | 5 | $4.75 billion | 9 | $2.00 billion |
| 2011 | 1 | $10.31 billion | 1 | $9.00 billion |
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Icon | Description |
| Has not changed from the previous year | |
| Has increased from the previous year | |
| Has decreased from the previous year |
Philanthropy
In a 2006 Business Review Weekly article reviewing the way Australia's rich support philanthropy, it was noted that Rinehart prefers to keep a low profile, partly to stop being harassed by charitable causes, and also because she prefers to keep affairs private. Reinhart is publicly known for funding the construction of a girl's orphanage in CambodiaCambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and supporting the Hope Scholarship Award Program for girls run by SISHA, a Cambodian non-profit organisation campaigning against human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
. Reinhart has also supported St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls, where the school hall is named in honour of her mother.
External links
- Video portrait on ABC's Hungry BeastHungry BeastHungry Beast is an Australian television program, that is broadcast on Wednesday nights on ABC1 and repeated on Thursday night on ABC2. It is produced by Andrew Denton's production company,...