Gina Rinehart is an Australian mining tycoon. She is the heiress of Hancock Prospecting and the daughter of the late Lang Hancock and Hope Margaret Nicholas. In the 2010s, Rinehart bought a stake in media organisations, becoming the largest shareholder in Fairfax Media and taking a significant share in the Ten Network Holdings. During 2011, both Forbes Asia and Business Review Weekly reported that Rinehart was Australia’s wealthiest person. In May 2012 BRW named her as the world’s richest woman, having surpassed Christy Walton.

Richest Woman In The World

Gina Rinehart

Gina Rinehart

Net Worth: A$29.17 billion (Australian Dollars)

Net Worth: $30.2289 billion (US Dollars)

Rinehart first appeared on the 1992 BRW Rich 200 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 mining boom in the early 21st century, Rinehart’s wealth has increased significantly since 2010, 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. In 2012, Rinehart became the world’s richest woman, surpassing Wal-Mart owner Christy Walton. BRW estimates her wealth at A$29.17 billion, with Ivan Glasenberg being her closest rival, with net wealth estimated at A$7.4 billion. BRW stated that it was now possible Rinehart would become the first person with a net wealth of US$100 billion.