The first big shots have been fired in what will become one of the most bitter and family clashes in Australian legal history, as the Rinehart siblings face off in their billion dollar battle with mother Gina.
The son of mining magnate John Hancock, 47, and his sister Bianca, 46, are looking for assets they believe their grandfather Lang Hancock left to them.
The claim that they owe billions that mom has transferred Gina – the world’s richest woman – from a family fund to her own company.
However, their mother is supported by younger sisters Ginia, 36, and Hope Welker, 37 (from Gina’s second marriage to Frank Rinehart) who have both remained loyal to the family empire.
Bianca (left) believes she and brother John owe billions in assets she claims mother Gina hid
John Hancock hunts for their share of the assets they say their grandfather Lang Hancock left them as part of the Hope Downs operation
John and Bianca who last week won the first public victory in a separate civil case in the WA Supreme Court between Gina and reclusive mining herald Angela Bennett.
Bennett, the daughter of Lang’s former business partner Peter Wright, is among those challenging Rinehart’s fortunes, along with his son Michael Wright and his children, Leonie Baldock and Alexandra Burt.
The court heard that a 37-year-old letter from her Gina’s father Lang was “significant evidence” that Gina knew that a Pilbara iron ore mine that has since brought her company billions of dollars was meant to be shared with Mr. Wright.
That letter was dug up by Bianca and John and presented to the court by attorney Julie Taylor on behalf of Wright Prospecting.
In the letter, Lang had outlined the division of assets and determined that his company would jointly retain Hancock Prospecting East Angelas – now known as Hope Downs 4, 5 and 6 – for the “Hanwright” partnership.
“Lang and Ms. Rinehart knew and understood that those areas were jointly held for the partnership,” Taylor told the court.
Gina knew a tenement, rich in iron ore, was jointly owned by another company before she signed a deal with Rio Tinto to mine it, a lawsuit has found.
Although this civil case is still in its infancy, the letter in question is seen as a potential game changer for both the Wright family and Bianca and John, both of whom have lawyers present at the hearing in Perth.
The outcome of this case will greatly affect their own case which is currently in confidential arbitration – the culmination of a years-long feud between the four siblings and Gina, now the world’s richest woman.
The basis of their claim is that their grandfather would have left their assets that Rinehart allegedly illegally moved from a family fund to her own company.
Hope and Ginia are from her second marriage to Frank Rinehart and are not involved in the claim against their half-siblings.
It is clear that, along with their mother, they are deeply estranged from Bianca and John, with Ginia already anointed as the successor to the Hancock Prospecting empire once Gina steps down.
Bianca Rinehart married businessman Sasha Serebryakov in 2013, but mother Gina was not present at the wedding
Based in Bondi with her personal trainer husband Simon Robinson, Ginia is the richest of Gina’s children, ranked 46th on the 2022 Forbes Rich List with a fortune of $2.47 billion.
Her marriage to Robinson at the luxury Qualia resort on Hamilton Island in 2016 drew a who’s who of Australian power-listers, including Fairfax Media executive Jack Cowin, advertising kingpin John Singleton and Nutrimetics pioneer turned wealthy real estate developer Imelda Roche.
It was only her children’s second wedding where Gina was a guest; she was not invited to daughter Bianca’s or son John’s weddings, but did attend the 2005 wedding of reclusive daughter Hope.
However, that marriage, to US mining executive Ryan Welker, ended in 2013 – around the same time Hope dropped out of the legal battle against her mother after previously siding with Bianca and John.
Ginia Rinehart has long supported mom Gina and is tipped to succeed her at Hancock Prospecting
Gina and Ginia here together in 2011. The youngest sibling is believed to be her mother’s “favorite”
Hope reportedly took a $300 million payout from Gina and has since kept quiet about all family matters, though her personal wealth now stands at $2 billion, according to Forbes.
She retains the surname Welker and is said to live in New York with her three children.
Bianca’s personal wealth is slightly higher at $2.42 billion, while John’s is $2 billion.
John is a senior advisor at Lind Partners LLC, also runs his own private investment fund and shares three children — Georgia, 17, Jasmine, 14, and Zara, 9 — with wife Gemma.
The clan is believed to live just outside London in the UK and regularly travel to Dubai and Switzerland.
Both he and sister Bianca could significantly increase their financial interest in the family trust if their claim against Gina – who is currently in secret arbitration – is successful.
The trust is now worth an estimated $9.2 billion.
However, the civil suit in WA’s Supreme Court is expected to take a long time, with lawyers reportedly on all sides until December 2023.
The Rinehart Children
John Hancock, 48 (against)
Hancock, an investment banker and the only son of Gina Rinehart, has led the decade-long legal campaign against his mother and Hancock Prospecting, despite Hope throwing the first grenade.
Based in the UK, John shares three children with his wife Gemma and is reportedly estranged from younger sisters Hope Welker and Ginia Rinehart.
Bianca Rinehart, 47 (against)
The glamorous Brisbane-based Bianca is the eldest daughter of Gina Rinehart and is a trustee of the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust. She has long sided with brother John in their fight for a larger share of the family fund.
She has a degree in hospitality and hotel management from Flinders University in Adelaide.
Ginia Rinehart, 36 (with)
The youngest of the Rinehart clan and believed to be the closest to her mother, Ginia has remained loyal to Gina throughout the years of family strife and is touted to take over Hancock Prospecting when her mother steps aside.
Hope Welker, 37 (with)
Despite now standing firmly behind Gina Rinehart in the family legal battle, Hope initially sided with brother John and sister Bianca. However, a divorce from mining executive’s husband and what she called “financial strains” at the time led her to switch sides in 2013.
It is believed that Hope now lives in New York under her former married name.