Gina Rinehart facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gina Rinehart
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Rinehart in 2015
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| Born |
Georgina Hope Hancock
9 February 1954 Perth, Western Australia
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| Education | St Hilda's School |
| Occupation | Mining magnate; company chairwoman, heiress. |
| Board member of | Hancock Prospecting |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 4, including John Hayward-Hancock |
| Parents |
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Georgina Hope Rinehart is a very successful Australian businesswoman. She is known for her work in the mining industry. Gina Rinehart is the leader of Hancock Prospecting. This company explores for and digs up minerals. Her father, Lang Hancock, started the company.
Gina Rinehart was born in Perth, Western Australia, in 1954. She spent her early childhood in the Pilbara region. She went to St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls. Later, she studied briefly at the University of Sydney. She left university to work with her father. When her father passed away in 1992, she took over the company.
Gina Rinehart helped Hancock Prospecting grow a lot. Because of a big demand for iron ore in the early 2000s, she became a billionaire in 2006. In the 2010s, she started investing in other areas. She bought shares in media companies and also in farms.
Gina Rinehart is Australia's richest person. In 2012, her wealth was about A$29 billion. At that time, she was the world's richest woman. She was also on the Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women. Her wealth changed over the years. By 2023, her net worth was estimated to be over A$37 billion.
Contents
Early Life and Family Background
Gina Rinehart was born on 9 February 1954. Her parents were Hope Margaret Nicholas and Lang Hancock. She lived with her parents in the Pilbara region until she was four. This area is in Western Australia.
Later, she went to a boarding school in Perth called St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls. She studied economics for a short time at the University of Sydney. But she left to work for her father. She learned a lot about the iron ore industry in the Pilbara. She helped rebuild Hancock Prospecting into a very successful company.
In 1973, Gina Rinehart married Greg Milton. They had two children, John and Bianca. They separated in 1979 and divorced in 1981. In 1983, she married Frank Rinehart. They had two more children, Hope and Ginia. Frank Rinehart passed away in 1990.
In 1999, a mountain range was named in honor of her family. It is called Hancock Range. This was to celebrate her family's role in developing the mining industry in the Pilbara.
Gina Rinehart has had some family disagreements. Her son, John, changed his last name to Hancock in 2003. Her daughter, Bianca, was once expected to lead the family business. However, her half-sister Ginia took over that role in 2011.
Leading a Mining Business
After her father passed away in March 1992, Gina Rinehart became the leader of Hancock Prospecting. This company is privately owned. Her father's work mainly involved finding new mining areas. Gina Rinehart helped turn these areas into working mines.
She focused on developing the Roy Hill area. She also worked on other undeveloped mining sites. She found partners to invest money. This helped turn the mining leases into places that make money.
Today, Hancock Prospecting owns half of the Hope Downs mines. These mines produce a lot of iron ore every year. They also have a share in the Nicholas Downs mine. This mine produces manganese.
In 2010, Gina Rinehart bought a share in Ten Network Holdings, a media company. She also bought a large share in Fairfax Media. This showed she was expanding beyond just mining. By 2012, she was the biggest shareholder in Fairfax. She wanted to have a say in how the company's newspapers were run. However, she sold her shares in 2015. This happened after disagreements about editorial independence.
In 2015, Forbes magazine listed Gina Rinehart as the 37th most powerful woman in the world. By 2023, she was ranked 48th on the list of the "World's 100 most powerful women".
In 2015, Gina Rinehart bought Fossil Downs Station. This was a very large cattle farm. She also invested in other cattle stations. In October 2015, the huge Roy Hill mine opened. It started sending iron ore to China. In 2016, Hancock Prospecting invested in a UK mining company called Sirius Minerals.
In April 2024, Gina Rinehart bought shares in Lynas Rare Earths and MP Materials. These companies produce rare earth materials. China currently produces most of the world's rare earth materials.
Views on Politics and Economy
In the 1970s, Gina Rinehart supported the idea of Western Australia becoming a separate country. Her father had started this movement. She also had some involvement with a group called the Progress Party. This group supported individual freedom.
Gina Rinehart did not agree with some government policies. These included taxes on mining and plans to reduce pollution. She started a group called ANDEV. This group promotes development in Northern Australia. She believes Australia needs to welcome more investments. She also thinks Australia should improve its ability to compete with other countries.
In 2012, Gina Rinehart wrote an article. She said that people who want more money should "stop complaining." She suggested they should "spend less time drinking or smoking and socialising, and more time working." She also criticized government policies that she saw as having "high taxes" and "too many rules."
In a video, she said that workers in Africa are willing to work for very low wages. She worried this would make Australia less competitive. The Australian Prime Minister at the time, Julia Gillard, disagreed. She said it was "not the Australian way to toss people $2" for a day's work. She said Australia supports fair wages and good working conditions.
Gina Rinehart is a supporter of Donald Trump.
Hope Margaret Hancock Trust
In 1988, Gina Rinehart's father set up a trust fund. It was called the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust. Gina Rinehart was chosen to manage this trust. Her four children were named as the beneficiaries. The trust owns a large share of Hancock Prospecting. In 2015, it was worth about A$5 billion.
In 2011, three of Gina Rinehart's children started a legal case. They wanted to remove her as the manager of the trust. This was because of disagreements about how the trust was being handled. The court decided to keep the details of the case private at first.
In March 2012, the court allowed the details to be made public. It was revealed that Gina Rinehart had changed the date when the trust would be fully given to her children. This change led to the court action.
Gina Rinehart stepped down as the trustee in October 2013. In May 2015, the court decided that her daughter, Bianca, would become the new trustee.
Wealth and Rankings
Gina Rinehart is one of Australia's wealthiest people. In 2019, Forbes estimated her wealth at US$14.8 billion. In 2023, The Australian Financial Review estimated her wealth at A$37.41 billion. She was the richest Australian on their list.
She first appeared on the Financial Review Rich List in 1992. She became a billionaire in 2006. Her wealth grew a lot after 2010 because of the mining boom. She also invested in media companies. In 2011, she became Australia's richest person. In 2012, BRW magazine said she was the world's richest woman.
Her wealth changed over the years due to iron ore prices and currency exchange rates. By 2016, her wealth had decreased. However, by 2020, she was again the wealthiest Australian. She has kept this title since then, with her wealth growing each year.
As of March 2024, Forbes ranked Gina Rinehart as the 56th richest person in the world. Her net worth was estimated at US$30.8 billion.
Wealth Rankings Over Time
| Year | Financial Review Rich List |
Forbes Australia's 50 richest |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Net worth A$ | Rank | Net worth US$ | |
| 2006 | 8  |
$1.80 billion |
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| 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 |
| 2012 | 1  |
$29.17 billion |
1 |
$18.00 billion |
| 2013 | 1 |
$22.02 billion |
1 |
$17.00 billion |
| 2014 | 1 |
$20.01 billion |
1 |
$17.60 billion |
| 2015 | 1 |
$14.02 billion |
1 |
$12.30 billion |
| 2016 | 4 |
$6.06 billion |
2 |
$8.50 billion |
| 2017 | 3 |
$10.40 billion |
1 |
$14.8 billion |
| 2018 | 3 |
$12.68 billion |
1 |
$17.4 billion |
| 2019 | 2 |
$13.81 billion |
1 |
$14.8 billion |
| 2020 | 1 |
$28.89 billion |
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| 2021 | 1 |
$31.06 billion |
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| 2022 | 1 |
$34.00 billion |
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| 2023 | 1 |
$37.41 billion |
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| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Icon | Description |
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Has not changed from the previous year |
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Has increased from the previous year |
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Has decreased from the previous year |
Giving Back to the Community
Gina Rinehart likes to keep her charitable giving private. This is partly to avoid being asked for money by many different groups. She is known for visiting orphanages for girls in Cambodia. She is also on the advisory board of SISHA. This is a non-profit group in Cambodia.
In 2012, Gina Rinehart's foundation gave $10 million to Swimming Australia. This money helped the Australian Swim Team. It supported top swimmers and helped develop new talent. It also supported less common sports like synchronised swimming. This support was renewed in 2015. It included naming rights for some swimming events.
Awards and Recognitions
Bond University gave Gina Rinehart an honorary doctorate in 2013. This was to recognize her contributions to Australia's economy and community.
In 2022, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). This award was for her great service to mining and her charity work. It also recognized her support for sports.
In 2023, Forbes magazine listed her as the 48th most powerful woman in the world.
