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Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart has become a formidable force in the global mining industry. After taking the helm of her father’s iron ore firm Hancock Prospecting in 1992, she embarked upon a diversification strategy that has vastly expanded her resource empire. Now Australia’s richest person, Rinehart has investments in many of the world’s most strategic commodities such as lithium, rare earths, copper, potash and natural gas. One of those investments is Arafura Rare Earths (ASX:ARU,OTCPL:ARAFF), which even in a low price environment for rare earth metals managed to secure nearly AU$1.5 billion in debt financing in mid-2024 to advance its Nolans project in the Northern Territory. Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting is Arafura's largest shareholder, after committing an additional AU$85 million to the project in May 2026, raised its stake in the company to 17.5 percent. In addition to Arafura, entrepreneur Rinehart’s investment portfolio contains other ex-China, critical mineral companies like Australian lithium firm Liontown (ASX:LTR,OTCPL:LINRF), as well as rare earths producers MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC,OTCQX:LYSDY). Rinehart’s role in the acquisition of Azure Minerals and its Andover lithium project in Western Australia alongside lithium giant SQM (NYSE:SQM) also made headlines.
In this article
Who is Gina Rinehart?How did Gina Rinehart get rich?What mining companies does Gina Rinehart own?Where does Hancock Prospecting mine iron?Gina Rinehart’s iron ore investmentsGina Rinehart’s lithium investmentsGina Rinehart’s rare earth metals investmentsGina Rinehart’s copper investmentsGina Rinehart’s oil and gas investmentsGina Rinehart’s potash and agriculture investmentsGina Rinehart's gold investmentsFAQs for Gina Rinehart
Who is Gina Rinehart?
Gina Rinehart is an Australian iron ore magnate and the executive chair of Hancock Prospecting. She is the richest person in Australia and one of the world’s richest women with an estimated net worth of AU$35.6 billion. Rinehart is the daughter of Australian mining mogul and Hancock Prospecting founder, the late Lang Hancock.As the current executive chair of Hancock Prospecting, Rinehart won the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from CEO Magazine in 2019. Rinehart was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2022 for her “distinguished service to the mining sector, to the community through philanthropic initiatives, and to sport as a patron.”
How did Gina Rinehart get rich?
Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting acquired the Roy Hill tenements in 1993. Centring the massive project as the cornerstone of the company, Hancock Prospecting has greatly benefited from the iron ore market boom that began in the early 2000s.Today, Roy Hill is Australia’s largest iron ore mine, with production of 61.6 million tonnes of iron ore in 2025. Success at Roy Hill has made Hancock Prospecting Australia’s second highest private company by revenue in 2025 at an estimated AU$15.8 billion following five years in first place. As with many of the world’s most successful billionaires, Gina Rinehart has developed an investment strategy based on strategic partnerships as well as diversification to mitigate risk and build value. Under her leadership, Hancock Prospecting Pty Limited (HPPL) as well as the HPPL Group of companies has expanded into some of the world’s most economically important markets, such as real estate, agriculture, energy and critical metals. For the 2025 fiscal year, Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting reported a profit of AU$3.08 billion, down from the AU$5.6 billion posted in the previous year.
What mining companies does Gina Rinehart own?
Through her company Hancock Prospecting, Gina Rinehart owns interest in mining companies across many sectors, including iron ore, lithium, rare earths, copper, oil and natural gas, and potash. These include exploration-stage firms such as Titan Minerals (ASX:TTM) and development-stage Azure Minerals as well as producers such as Atlas Iron and MP Materials.While much of her investment portfolio is focused on Australia and ASX companies, Rinehart is actively strengthening the geographical diversification of her investments. In recent years, Rinehart has made a series of key investments in mining companies, especially targeting critical metals projects in Germany, Brazil, Ecuador and the United States.
Where does Hancock Prospecting mine iron?
Photo of Roy Hill iron ore mine via Roy Hill.Vehicles hauling ore at Roy Hill iron ore mine.Hancock Prospecting’s Roy Hill and Hope Downs iron ore mines are in Western Australia's resource-rich Pilbara region. Roy Hill has attracted strategic partnerships with major global enterprises: Marubeni (TSE:8002) has a 15 percent equity stake, POSCO Holdings (NYSE:PKX,KRX:005490) has a 12.5 percent stake and China Steel (TPE:2002) has a 2.5 percent stake. The minority partners purchase a combined 28.75 million tonnes of iron ore annually from Roy Hill’s production.In September 2024, Hancock Prospecting got the green light to begin construction at the McPhee Creek iron mine located about 100 kilometres north of the Roy Hill mine after a long approval process. Hancock announced in June 2026 that the mine achieved first production.The McPhee iron mine is expected to produce around 8 million tonnes of the metal each year over an estimated 15 year mine life, and ore will be transported by road trains to Roy Hill for processing and blending. The goal is to improve the larger mine's product mix and sustain its production volumes.The Hope Downs iron ore complex is another of Australia’s largest iron ore projects. A 50/50 joint venture partnership with Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO), Hope Downs hosts four open-pit mines and has an annual production capacity of 47 million tonnes.In June 2025, the partners announced a combined investment of US$1.6 billion to develop the Hope Downs 2 iron ore project, a part of the main JV. The project hosts the Hope Downs 2 and Bedded Hilltop deposits, which together will have a total annual production capacity of 31 million tonnes.Hope Downs has also been the subject of a more than decade-long civil dispute in a Western Australian court over royalties, put forth by the descendants of Lang Hancock's business partner Peter Wright as well as Rinehart’s own children. An April 2026 ruling determined that Wright Prospecting should receive 50 percent of the royalties from Hope Downs, but denied her children's claims that Hope Downs was removed from the trust Lang Hangcock left to them.
Gina Rinehart’s iron ore investments
Gina Rinehart’s iron ore investments in Western Australia extend beyond Roy Hill and Hope Downs to Atlas Iron’s three producing mines and a pipeline of development projects.As of July 1, 2025, Hancock Prospecting has consolidated its Roy Hill and Atlas Iron under the new name Hancock Iron Ore. The new entity represents combined iron ore exports of about 74 million tonnes per year.Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting acquired Atlas Iron in 2018 through a AU$427 million deal that turned out to be dirt cheap as the company would go on to deliver AU$1.5 billion in revenues over the following three years alone. Today, Atlas Mines operates the Mount Webber, Sanjiv Ridge and Miralga Creek mines. Production from these mines in its fiscal year ended June 2023 led to a AU$222 million dividend payment for Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.Additionally, Hancock owns a 63.43 percent managing stake in the Mount Bevan magnetite project joint venture with Legacy Iron Ore (ASX:LCY) through its Hancock Magnetite Holdings subsidiary. Hancock acquired a majority stake through an earn-in agreement for the Western Australian project, previously owned by Legacy and Hawthorn Resources (ASX:HAW).As part of its earn-in agreement, Hancock completed a prefeasibility study (PFS) for a 12 million tonne per year high-grade magnetite project in July 2024. The PFS incorporated a resource estimate totalling 1.29 billion tonnes, which was completed by Atlas, and delineated a capital cost of AU$5 billion to develop Mount Bevan.Completion of the PFS increased Hancock’s stake from 30 percent to 51 percent, and it was raised to 63.43 percent a few months later when Hawthorn chose to convert its remaining 19.6 percent interest to a 1 percent free-on-board royalty.Like iron, coal is another essential material in steel manufacturing. To this end, Rinehart is also pursuing an investment in a past-producing metallurgical coal mine in Alberta, Canada. Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Northback Holdings is the owner of the proposed Grassy Mountain steelmaking coal project in the province’s Crowsnest Pass region. Exploration licences for the Northback project were greenlit by Alberta regulators in May 2025.
Gina Rinehart’s lithium investments
Gina Rinehart's lithium investments include Azure Minerals' Andover lithium project, Liontown Resources, Delta Lithium (ASX:DLI,OTCPL:DLITF) and Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX:VUL,OTCPL:VULNF). In early 2021 that Rinehart became a substantial investor in Vulcan Energy Resources at 6.66 percent when it served as the cornerstone investor in a AU$120 million funding round. Rinehart later upped her stake in the company to 7.5 percent with a 12.5 million euro investment in June 2024. Subsequent large funding rounds have diluted its holdings, and as of August 2026 Hancock Prospecting is the sixth largest shareholder in Vulcan Energy.Vulcan Energy is advancing the flagship Phase One Lionheart lithium brine and renewable energy project in Germany’s Upper Rhine Valley. The company will use direct lithium extraction and produce a geothermal energy coproduct that will be used to both power the operations themselves and support the community.In December 2025, Vulcan announced it had secured a AU$3.9 billion investment package and made its final investment decision, targeting first lithium production in 2028. Phase One is targeting annual production of 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate, 275 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable power and 560 GWh of heat. In September 2026, Vulcan released details about Phase Two, dubbed Project Ludwig, which would add 21,100 tonnes of lithium carbonate and 3,125 GWh of co-heat production.However, the majority of her lithium investments came in a flurry in 2023 and 2024.In June 2023, Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting signed a separate joint venture earn-in agreement for the Mount Bevan magnetite project discussed above, this time for the lithium, nickel and copper mineralization at the project. The agreement will similarly see Hancock able to earn a 51 percent interest by completing certain milestones.In September 2023, Rinehart made headlines when she took a position in Liontown Resources and then rapidly increased the position to 19.9 percent over the following month. This allowed Hancock, which was now Liontown's largest shareholder, to effectively block Albemarle’s (NYSE:ALB) accepted takeover of the smaller lithium company. However, Liontown took a hit as the economics for its near-production Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia were affected by high inflation and low lithium prices. In January 2024, Albemarle decided to sell off its 4 percent stake in Liontown. The lack of any further moves or comment by Rinehart in relation to Liontown Resources has led to speculation she may be waiting for the right opportunity to buy up the lithium company at a discount. Kathleen Valley entered open-pit production in late July 2024, and is expected to produce approximately 500,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year. In April 2025, the operation became Australia's first underground lithium mine when it commenced production from its Mount Mann deposit, and it has since transitioned to a fully underground mine.Albemarle's Liontown acquisition wasn't the only lithium bid Rinehart blocked in October 2023. As is her strategy, Rinehart scooped up an 18 percent stake in Azure Minerals after SQM announced its intention for a total takeover of the company and its Andover lithium project in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia. This story had a different ending, though, as Hancock Prospecting instead joined the lithium giant in a AU$1.7 billion deal to become a co-owner of the exploration-stage Andover project, which closed in May 2024. In 2026, the joint venture filed a plan with the government to develop an open-pit mine at the site targeting annual production of 1.1 million tonnes of lithium concentrate. Shortly after its Liontown and Azure moves, Hancock Prospecting continued investing in Western Australia's lithium prospects when it participated in a AU$70.2 million fundraising for Delta Lithium in November 2023. The proceeds were earmarked to help Delta Lithium fund the development of its Mount Ida lithium-gold project, which is adjacent to Hancock's Mount Bevan joint venture project. As of November 2025, Hancock Prospecting owns 10.7 percent of Delta Lithium. Delta Lithium has since spun out Mount Ida's gold resource into Ballard Mining (ASX:BM1), in which Hancock also holds a small stake.
Gina Rinehart’s rare earth metals investments
clayton harrison / ShutterstockFacilities at MP Materials' Mountain Pass rare earths mine.Through Hancock Prospecting, Gina Rinehart has made investments in some of the world’s most well known rare earth mineral producing companies — US-based MP Materials and Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths — as well as development-stage Arafura Rare Earths and exploration-stage companies Brazilian Rare Earths (ASX:BRE,OTCQX:BRELY), St George Mining (ASX:SGQ,OTCPL:SGQMF) and Rare Earths Americas (NYSEAMERICAN:REA). Rinehart taking a position in these rare earth minerals companies shows she is looking to capitalise on the significant need for these critical metals outside of China.As mentioned in the introduction to this article, Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting is the largest shareholder of Arafura Rare Earths with a 17.5 percent stake in the company and its advanced-stage, construction ready Nolans rare earth project in the Northern Territory, Australia. Rinehart made incremental, on-market investments in Arafura during 2022 before investing AU$60 million as part of a AU$121 million raise in December of that year. Hancock has upped its stake multiple times since, including the October 2025 investment of AU$125 million. The US Export-Import Bank is considering US$300 million in financing support for the Nolans rare earths project following an October minerals agreement between the US and Australia.Arafura made its final investment decision in May 2026, with the expectation that construction on the project would begin in September. Following the decision, the Northern Territory government assigned Nolans with significant project status, the first project to receive the designation, allowing for a fast track permitting process under the Territory Coordinator Act of 2025. As for her other rare earth investments, in April 2024, Rinehart made two significant moves into the sector. The first came on April 9, when it was revealed that Hancock Prospecting had acquired a 5.3 percent stake in MP Materials, the second largest rare earths producer outside of China. The company’s California-based Mountain Pass mine is the only integrated rare earth mining and processing operation in the US.That same week, Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting took a 5.82 percent interest in Lynas Rare Earths, the largest ex-China rare earths producer. The Australian rare earth miner produces the critical metals at its Mount Weld mine in Western Australia and ships the raw material to Malaysia for processing. Lynas is also ramping up processing at its Kalgoorlie rare earth facility in Australia, and building light rare earths processing facilities and a heavy rare earths separation facility in Texas, US.Rinehart’s near simultaneous investments in Lynas and MP Materials came after merger talks between the two rare earths behemoths stalled in February 2024. She has made further investments in both companies since. In November 2025, it was reported that the mining mogul increased her position in MP Materials over Q3 to 8.4 percent, becoming the company's largest shareholder. As for Lynas, she raised her stake to 7.14 percent in July 2024 and then 8.21 percent in January 2025. As of April 2026, her stake in the company has fallen to 7.6 percent, potentially due to share dilution following a AU$750 million private placement in August 2025. In July 2025, the US Department of Defense announced it was taking a stake in MP Materials worth US$400 million in preferred stock and guaranteed a floor price of US$110 per kilogram for neodymium and praseodymium from MP Materials, representing nearly double that of China’s rates as the Trump administration seeks to build the nation's domestic rare earth industry.The news of the DoD's investment significantly elevated both MP Materials' and Lynas' share prices, with Forbes reporting that the value of Rinehart's holdings in the two companies at that time increased by about US$200 million and US$100 million respectively.There was previously speculation stirring that Rinehart’s participation in MP and Lynas could renew merger discussions, Reuters reported, and Rinehart's increased positions further raised the possibility of a merger down the road. However, the US Government's major shareholder position in MP Materials makes such an acquisition a long shot.Rinehart has also gotten her foot in the rare earths door at the exploration level. In 2023, Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting made a pre-IPO investment for a 5.85 percent share in Brazilian Rare Earths, which went on to list on the ASX in December of that year. The rare earth explorer is working its district-scale Rocha da Rocha rare earth asset in the state of Bahia, Brazil. In June 2026, St George Mining secured AU$60 million in funding for its Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Brazil. Hancock's purchase of 200 million shares represented 33.3 percent of the placement value and increased Rinehart's stake in St George Mining to 10.5 percent. Rinehart's company first invested in the Brazilian firm in October 2025, when it paid AU$22.5 million for a then 6.24 percent stake.In addition to Hancock's operating stakes and joint ventures, the company also has a portfolio of US securities that includes MP Materials. According to a August 2026 13F filing with the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), as of June 30, 2026, Rinehart's US rare earth investments also include a stake in Rare Earths Americas that was worth US$19.1 million at the time. She invested in Rare Earths Americas in Q2 2026.
Gina Rinehart’s copper investments
Gina Rinehart’s copper investments are centered on Ecuador’s Andean copper-gold belt, and include explorer Titan Minerals and Ecuador's state-owned Empresa Nacional Minera (ENAMI). Hancock also holds a small interest in multiple US-listed copper majors, with holdings of Hudbay Minerals (TSX:HBM,NYSE:HBM) and Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) valued at US$374.39 million and US$612.34 million respectively as of its June 30, 2026, 13F filing.Ecuador has seen a rush of major mining companies taking up positions in key copper and gold projects in recent years, placing Hancock Prospecting in the company of Barrick Mining (TSX:ABX,NYSE:B), Zijin Mining (HKEX:2899) and Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF).Rinehart’s Ecuadorian copper investments are in line with her shift toward the critical metals necessary for the green transition and her strategy to expand the global footprint of her mining empire. Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Hanrine Ecuadorian Exploration and Mining has been in the region since 2017, and has continued to make more investments. In March 2024, Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Hanrine Ecuadorian Exploration and Mining acquired a 49 percent stake in six mining concessions for US$120 million. The deal sees it partner with state mining company ENAMI for the concessions, which surround the stalled Llurimagua copper-molybdenum project in Northern Ecuador. In late April 2024, Ecuador’s constitutional court nixed appeals by ENAMI and its partner in the Llurimagua project, Chile’s state-owned CODELCO, to review the March 2023 decision by Imbabura’s provincial supreme court suspending the environmental licence for Llurimagua.Shortly after the investment with ENAMI, Rinehart's Hanrine made another play in Ecuador by striking a staged earn-in agreement with Titan Minerals for up to an 80 percent ownership stake in the explorer’s Linderos copper-gold project contingent on AU$120 million in exploration spending. Linderos is an early-exploration stage project with the potential to host a large-scale copper porphyry system. In July 2026, Titan Minerals announced that Hanrine had met its milestone funding requirement of US$20 million, earning it a 51 percent stake and controlling interest in the Linderos copper project. Her most recent acquisition came in mid-September 2026 when White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN,OTCQB:WCMLF) announced that Hancock Prospecting had made a AU$8.77 million investment in the company, representing a 13.5 percent interest, contingent on shareholder approval. White Cliff is currently working to advance its Rae copper project in Nunavut, Canada.
Gina Rinehart’s oil and natural gas investments
Gina Rinehart’s oil and gas investments have expanded significantly in recent years as Hancock moves to become a major natural gas producer in Western Australia from Hancock Energy's proposed AU$850 million Belisama conventional gas project revealed in late 2025, which brings together three assets discussed below. Her moves in the sector are headlined by a late 2024 deal with Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN,OTCPL:MALRF) (MinRes) for assets in Western Australia's Perth and Carnarvon Basins. They also include private firms Warrego Energy in Western Australia and Senex Energy in Queensland as well as a range of small holdings in US-listed oil and natural gas companies in America's Appalachian Basin.In October 2024, Rinehart offered financial assistance to MinRes, a lithium, iron and gas company headed by another mining heavyweight, Chris Ellison. Hancock wholly acquired 100 percent of two exploration permits from MinRes that include the Moriarty Deep prospect and the Lockyer gas and Erregulla oil discoveries in December 2024 for initial consideration of AU$780 million, with potential for a further AU$327 million. Separate to that sale, Hancock and MinRes formed two 50/50 exploration joint ventures for MinRes' remaining permits in the Perth and Carnarvon Basins. Hancock acquired 50 percent of the MinRes Explorer drill rig, which is the largest in Australia.Hancock Energy plans to develop the Lockyer and Erregulla gas field as part of the Belisama plant, aiming for a production launch in 2029. Belisama was approved by the Environmental Protection Authority in August 2026 and is designed to produce up to 210 terajoules of gas per day.As late August 2026, a deal is in place for Belisama to process production from the West Erregulla onshore gas field as well. Hancock Energy subsidiary Warrego Energy is one half of the 50/50 Mid West joint venture that owns West Erregulla.Rinehart gained the stake in the joint venture in February 2023, after Hancock Prospecting won a protracted bidding war for the then-public Warrego with Warrego's joint venture partner Strike Energy (ASX:STX) at a price of AU$0.36 per share. Warrego and operator Strike Energy maintain their 50/50 joint venture on the West Erregulla onshore gas field, located within exploration permit EP 469 near Perth in Western Australia. At the end of August, Hancock Energy announced a deal that will see it become operator of the West Erregulla project following a final investment decision. Hancock will provide up to AU$30 million in funding to Strike.As for Senex Energy, it is a joint venture between POSCO (50.1 percent) and Hancock Prospecting subsidiary Hancock Energy (49.9 percent) that holds the Atlas and Roma North natural gas developments in Queensland’s Surat Basin. The two JV partners acquired Senex in 2022, with Rinehart’s company putting up AU$440.89 million.Senex Energy has embarked on a AU$1 billion expansion endeavor at Atlas and Roma North that will see 60 petajoules of natural gas delivered to Australia’s east coast market annually once fully ramped up. Regulatory approval for the expansion was finally received following an uphill battle with a Federal government more interested in renewable energy projects than the natural gas variety. According to a 2026 half year update from Senex, the first flows of gas production from the expansion field came in early 2026. Rinehart once had a significant stake of nearly 20 percent in Lakes Oil, now Lakes Blue Energy (ASX:LKO), through subsidiary Timeview Enterprises. Timeview's stake in Lakes Blue Energy has been lowered in recent years, and stood at 3.73 percent as of Lakes Blue's 2025 annual report.Rinehart's US oil and gas investments were reported in Hancock's 13F filing with the SEC for the June 2026 quarter alongside their value at the time. She held US$82.58 million worth of EQT (NYSE:EQT), US$25.24 million in Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE), US$38.61 million in Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR), US$15.03 million of Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) and US$13.3 million in Infinity Natural Resources (NYSE:INR).These companies are all centred on the country's Appalachian region, with each company's portfolio including natural gas operations in the Marcellus or Utica Shale.
Gina Rinehart’s potash and agriculture investments
Gina Rinehart’s potash and agricultural investments center on Hancock Prospecting’s ownership interests in multiple premium cattle stations in Australia, and the company's royalty revenue generated from the Anglo-American-controlled Woodsmith potash project currently under construction in the United Kingdom.With an original investment of AU$380.6 million in 2016 to then-owner Sirius Minerals, Hancock Prospecting has a 5 percent revenue royalty on the first 13 million tonnes of fertiliser produced from Woodsmith each year and 1 percent thereafter. Hancock also has a 20,000 tonne per year offtake option. Although Anglo had previously cut spending at Woodsmith following BHP’s (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) failed mega-merger with Anglo American, it is again advancing, with a final investment decision scheduled for 2028.
Gina Rinehart's gold investments
Investing in gold assets is a new direction for Gina Rinehart and Hancock. In December 2025, Hancock's subsidiary Midana Exploration formed a joint venture with Saudi Arabia's Maaden to explore for gold in Saudi Arabia. The joint venture was initially awarded five exploration licenses totaling 24,000 square kilometres in the Nabita Ad-Duwayhi gold belt. Hancock owns a 49.9 percent stake in the joint venture, with Maaden holding the majority 50.1 percent interest. Additionally, Hancock holds a 5.9 percent stake in Ballard Mining (ASX:BM1), a gold-focused company spun out from Delta Lithium that is advancing the Mount Ida gold project in Western Australia. Lastly, according to its August 2026 13F filing with the SEC, Hancock has an investment in gold major Newmont (NYSE:NEM,ASX:NEM) valued at US$17.75 million as of June 30, 2026.
Investor takeaway
With Gina Rinehart at the helm of Hancock Prospecting, the Roy Hill iron ore mine has generated stellar revenues. That wealth creation not only made her Australia's richest person, but has also built a powerful war chest from which Rinehart is expanding her mining empire. Investors can take cues from her recent and future moves in the mining sector. Although she may be defensive toward renewable energy technologies encroaching on agricultural land, she understands the strategical importance of investing in critical metals such as lithium, rare earth metals and copper. Rinehart has also made a significant move into the natural gas sector, positioning Hancock Energy to become one of Western Australia's biggest natural gas producers.
FAQs for Gina Rinehart
How much is Gina Rinehart worth?
Gina Rinehart's net worth is reported to be AU$39.01 billion, maintaining her spot as the richest Australian, according to figures from the Australian Financial Review's Rich List 2026. However, her total wealth is up 2 percent over the previous year."This is iron ore magnate Rinehart’s seventh year topping the Rich List. The long-awaited verdict over ownership of one of the Pilbara’s richest iron ore operations was handed down in April and did little to dent her fortune," the list's authors explain.
What company does Gina Rinehart own?
Gina Rinehart owns Hancock Prospecting, a private company founded by her late father Lang Hancock. Originally an iron ore mining company, today the firm has strategic stakes in a wide-range of metals and commodities from lithium and rare earths to copper and agriculture, which are detailed in this article.
Can I buy shares in Hancock Prospecting?
While investors can't buy public shares in privately held Hancock Prospecting, they can take equity positions in the publicly traded stocks in which the company itself holds interest. Some of these stocks include Arafura Rare Earths (ASX:ARU,OTC Pink:ARAFF), Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR,OTC Pink:LINRF), MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC).
Does Gina Rinehart own Rio Tinto?
Although she has interest in many mining companies and the two companies share the Hope Downs joint venture, Gina Rinehart does not own mining giant Rio Tinto. Market Screener reports that Aluminum Corporation of China (SHA:601600) is its largest shareholder at 14.5 percent, followed by BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and others at around 3 percent and below.
What does Gina Rinehart think about nuclear energy?
Gina Rinehart is pro-nuclear energy. During a speech at The Australian Bush Summit in 2023, she railed against the impact of wind and solar farms on much needed agricultural land in Australia. She suggested that nuclear energy offers a more viable solution for reaching the country's net zero targets.
Is Gina Rinehart the richest person in Australia?
Gina Rinehart is the richest person in Australia. In 2026, she topped the Australian Financial Review's Rich List for the seventh consecutive year in a row with a net worth of AU$39.01 billion. The next richest Australian, real estate developer Harry Triguboff, trails her at AU$32.28 billion.
Is Gina Rinehart the richest woman in the world?
Gina Rinehart is not the richest woman in the world. While she did rank as the world's ninth richest woman in 2024, as of March 2025, she is no longer in the top 10. The distinction of richest woman in the world goes to Walmart (NYSE:WMT) heiress Alice Walton. Rinehart previously held the title in 2012.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2024. Don't forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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