36 Facts About Gina Rinehart

Georgina Hope Rinehart is an Australian heiress, billionaire mining magnate and businesswoman.

Gina Rinehart is the executive chairwoman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company founded by her father, Lang Hancock.

Gina Rinehart boarded at St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls and then briefly studied at the University of Sydney, dropping out to work with her father at Hancock Prospecting.

Gina Rinehart was Lang Hancock's only child, and when he died in 1992 she succeeded him as executive chairwoman.

Gina Rinehart oversaw an expansion of the company over the following decade, and due to the iron ore boom of the early 2000s became a nominal billionaire in 2006.

Gina Rinehart made sizeable investments in Ten Network Holdings and Fairfax Media, and expanded into agriculture, buying several cattle stations, divesting them within a decade.

Gina Rinehart's wealth reached around 29 billion in 2012, at which point she overtook Christy Walton as the world's richest woman and was included on the Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

Gina Rinehart was 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.

Gina Rinehart was born on 9 February 1954 at St John of God Subiaco Hospital in Perth, Western Australia.

Gina Rinehart is the only child of Hope Margaret Nicholas and Lang Hancock.

Later Gina Rinehart boarded at St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls in Perth.

Gina Rinehart briefly studied economics at the University of Sydney, before dropping out and working for her father, gaining an extensive knowledge of the Pilbara iron-ore industry.

Gina Rinehart rebuilt the HPPL company to become one of the most successful private companies in Australia's history.

In 1973, at age 19, Gina Rinehart met Englishman Greg Milton while both were working in Wittenoom.

Frank Gina Rinehart received a scholarship to Harvard for his services in the then US Army Air Corps.

Gina Rinehart was top of Harvard College, and then top of Harvard Law School, while studying engineering, and holding a full-time and two part time jobs.

Since 2014, Gina Rinehart has had a difficult relationship with her son, John; and was not present at his wedding to Gemma Ludgate.

John's sister, Bianca Hope Gina Rinehart, who was once positioned to take over the family business, served as a director of Hancock Prospecting and HMHT Investments until 31 October 2011, when she was replaced by her half-sister, Ginia Gina Rinehart.

In 2013, Bianca married her partner Sasha Serebryako in Hawaii, but Gina Rinehart did not attend the wedding.

Gina Rinehart achieved the Roy Hill tenements in 1993, the year after her father's death, having applied for them five months after her father's passing, and focused on developing Roy Hill and Hancock Prospective undeveloped deposits, raising capital through joint venture partnerships and turning the leases into revenue producing mines.

In 2010, Gina Rinehart took a 10 per cent stake in Ten Network Holdings; James Packer had acquired an 18 per cent stake in the same company shortly before.

Gina Rinehart was a major player in the media and no longer limits her interests to the mining business.

In 2015, Gina Rinehart was listed as the 37-most-powerful woman in the world by Forbes; a decline from her 2014 and 2013 rankings as the 27- and the 16-most-powerful woman, respectively.

Later the same year, Gina Rinehart acquired Fossil Downs Station after it was placed on the market for the first time in 133 years.

Gina Rinehart had some involvement with the Workers Party, a libertarian organisation founded by businessman John Singleton.

Gina Rinehart opposed the Rudd government's Mineral Resource Rent Tax and Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme as part of a group of mining magnates that included Andrew Forrest.

Gina Rinehart founded the lobby group ANDEV, and has sponsored the trips of prominent climate change denier Christopher Monckton to Australia.

In October 2021, Gina Rinehart garnered controversy after expressing climate change denialist views during a speech at her childhood primary school.

Gina Rinehart stresses that Australia must do more to welcome investment and improve its cost competitiveness, particularly when Australia faces record debt.

In 2023, Gina Rinehart withdrew her previous sponsorship of Netball Australia after Indigenous player Donnell Wallam asked to not wear the Hancock Prospecting logo on her kit.

In May 2024, Gina Rinehart demanded that an "unflattering" portrait of herself by Indigenous artist Vincent Namatjira be removed from display at the National Gallery of Australia.

Gina Rinehart was appointed to run the trust until the youngest of her four children, Ginia Rinehart, turned 25 in 2011.

In March 2012, when the suppression order was lifted, it was revealed that Gina Rinehart had delayed the vesting date of the trust, which had prompted the court action by her three older children.

Gina Rinehart stood down as trustee during the hearing in October 2013.

Gina Rinehart has appeared every year since, and became a billionaire in 2006.

In 2022, Gina Rinehart was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to the mining sector, to the community through philanthropic initiatives, and to sport as a patron".