Australia's richest person worth £30bn and owner of sprawling £27mn mansion

The world has no shortage of incredibly wealthy people, and some of them live in the kind of luxury most of us can only dream about.

Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, is one such individual.

Worth an estimated £30 billion, according to Forbes, her success in mining has made her an important business woman, as well as the owner of a £27 million beach mansion.

Rinehart is the executive chairwoman of Hancock Prospecting, a company she transformed after inheriting it from her father, Lang Hancock, in 1992.

Back then, the company was struggling financially, but under her leadership, it became a huge success.

The Roy Hill iron ore mine, one of Hancock’s most important assets, now exports millions of tonnes of ore to Asia each year.

However, her success doesn’t stop at mining. Rinehart is also Australia’s second-largest cattle producer, owning huge properties across the country.

Recently, she has invested heavily in rare earth minerals and gas, industries that are increasingly important on the world stage.

In 2023, her company also made a £860 million bid alongside Chilean firm SQM to acquire Azure Minerals, a major lithium miner in Western Australia.

Beyond business, Rinehart’s lifestyle reflects her incredible wealth. In 2021, she was rumored to have purchased a £27 million beach mansion in Noosa, Queensland, making it one of the most expensive homes ever sold in the state.

As far as her personal life is concerned, Rinehart’s journey to success started in Perth, where she was born in 1954. She grew up in the Pilbara region, surrounded by the mining industry.

After briefly studying economics, she joined her father in running Hancock Prospecting, gaining the knowledge and experience she later used to expand the company.

But her influence now extends beyond mining. She has held major stakes in Australian media, including Fairfax Media and Ten Network Holdings, though she has since sold those shares.

Despite controversies and family disputes over her wealth, Rinehart remains one of the world’s most influential women, ranking among Forbes’ 100 most powerful women globally.