Australia - Rinehart mining family's $4 billion battle ends, for now

[zwiebel]

A lengthy legal battle between mining magnate Gina Rinehart and her children saw a court award control of the $4 billion family fortune to daughter Bianca Rinehart today. The fight has split the family, with Gina's son John fighting for control along with Bianca, while daughter Hope reached a settlement with her mother and daughter Ginia backed her mother in the legal battle.

In court, drinking problems, fear of wedding sabotage and insults including the siblings calling each other morons, idiots and saying one should 'wear a bag over her head' have been revealed.

John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart launched legal action against their mother in 2011, alleging she acted "deceitfully" and with "gross dishonesty" in her dealings with the trust, set up in 1988 by her father, Lang Hancock, with her children as the beneficiaries.

Mother Gina was named Australia's most powerful woman by Forbes magazine just yesterday, before the court's decision was announced.

Photo: Gina Rinehart
http://www.9news.com.au/National/2015/05/28/14/33/Gina-Rinehart-s-daughter-wins-right-to-control-$4b-family-trust

 

[zwiebel]

More info about the Forbes ranking:

Ms Rinehart's ranking has fallen 10 places over the last 12 months. While Forbes does not disclose the reason for individual ranking movements, it is likely to reflect the fall in her wealth, which is down from $US17.4 billion ($22.5 billion) in 2014 to $US12.2 billion ($15.8 billion) on Forbes' valuations.

The lower ranking may also reflect the sale of her interests in Fairfax Media, publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, earlier this year.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/mini...powerful-woman-by-forbes-20150526-ghaegs.html

 

[zwiebel]

The family is back in court again, battling over yet another trust fund which I imagine is worth billions.

John and Bianca's barrister Christopher Withers told the Federal Court Monday the proceedings were essentially about a "mother stealing assets from her children" and "fraud of the most serious kind".

"The conduct alleged is abhorrent. It's not just a trustee breaching fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries of a trust. It's a mother defrauding her children," Mr Withers said.

This included, Mr Withers said, Mrs Rinehart breaching her duties as a trustee of a family trust for which the children were beneficiaries and forcing them to sign five deeds, while they were still teenagers or in their early twenties, that effectively released Mrs Rinehart from challenges to her prior misconduct.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/gina-rinehart-accused-of-stealing-from-children-20150615-gho83h.html