Australia’s wealthiest individual, Gina Rinehart, has significantly bolstered her investment portfolio during the first quarter of the year, injecting nearly US$100 million into prominent US weapons manufacturers. Her privately held company, Hancock Prospecting, is a major force in the Australian mining and agricultural sectors. The firm acquired shares in industry giants such as RTX, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris Technologies, and Lockheed Martin. These holdings were valued at a combined US$97 million as of March 31, according to recent regulatory filings, marking a notable strategic move into the defence sector.
Beyond defence, Hancock Prospecting also expanded its interests in the resources sector. The firm increased its stake in Hudbay Minerals by 1.35 million shares and initiated a new position in Newmont. These latest acquisitions, combined with existing holdings in miners Teck and MP Materials, now account for almost half of Hancock’s substantial stock portfolio, which Bloomberg calculations estimate at approximately US$3.3 billion. Rinehart, whose personal fortune stands at US$43.8 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has also been actively expanding her global footprint in rare-earth elements.
In a further demonstration of this focus, Hancock Prospecting recently secured a 6 per cent stake in the newly listed US miner Rare Earths Americas. The acquisition involved approximately 1.2 million shares, valued at about US$34 million, as detailed in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission last week. This investment aligns with Rinehart’s broader strategy of accumulating the world’s largest portfolio of rare-earth element investments outside of China, underscoring a calculated move into critical minerals essential for modern technology and strategic industries.
