South Korean company Posco has decided to buy a 15% interest in the Roy Hill mining project in the Pilbara region. The steel making giant is investing $1.5 billion in the mine owned and operated by Gina Rinehart’s company, Hancock Prospecting.
The sale is likely to give a more accurate estimation of the mining heiress’ personal fortune. Last year she was valued by Citigroup at $11 billion. The current sale is estimated to have doubled her personal fortune, bringing her to the top of the list of the world’s richest people.
Gina Rinehart is already considered the wealthiest woman in Australia based on an estimated $20 billion personal fortune. Based on how the Roy Hill project goes, this could change to make her the wealthiest woman in the world, a position currently held by the Walmart heiress Christy Walton.
Christy Walton is said to have a fortune of $24.5 billion as per Forbes. However that is a far cry from the richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, who has a personal fortune of $63 billion. Still if commodities prices stay high and some of her projects in the pipeline pay off, Gina Rinehart may soon overtake Christy Walton.
Unfortunately her three eldest children are suing her in the Supreme Court over their inheritance. The case John Hancock, Bianca Rinehart and Hope Walker have brought up against her is going to be further complicated by the sale of the stake in the Roy Hill mine. The children are trying to remove her from the position of trustee of the multibillion dollar family trust that was set up by her father Mr Lang Hancock before he died.