GINA Rinehart has been named by BRW as the world’s richest woman, with a fortune of $29.17 billion, despite a horror year of bitter personal battles over the family wealth.
BRW said Rinehart, who has topped the magazine’s Australian Rich 200 List for the second year running, had surpassed Forbes' calculation of $26 billion for reigning global queen Christy Walton, the widow of John Walton and holder of a major stake in US retail giant Wal-Mart.
Walton has held the top spot on Forbes' list for the past seven years.
The mining magnate has grown her wealth by an unparalleled $18.8 billion this year even as the acrimonious feud with her three eldest children continues to play out in court.
BRW Rich List editor Andrew Heathcote said Ms Rinehart was a contender for the world’s richest person.
To do this she would have to pass the $69 billion fortune of Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu.
A recovery in the iron ore price in the past six months and foreign investment in new projects has driven her growth and Heathcote said a $100 billion fortune within years was not out of the question.
“If the demand for natural resources remains strong, additional multi-billion mines are almost inevitable,” he said.
“There is a real possibility that Rinehart will become not just the richest woman in the world but the richest person in the world.”
Unlike Ms Rinehart, many on this year’s rich list, which will be unveiled in full tomorrow, have had had their wealth levelled by global uncertainty.
When her fortune is included, the BRW Rich 200 increased their wealth by 8.4 per cent to $181.2 billion. Without her, overall wealth fell by 3.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, Ms Rinehart today missed out on a Fairfax board seat.
Fairfax Media ignored her push for a seat, instead appointing former Ernst & Young chief executive James Millar.
Mrs Rinehart is the biggest shareholder of Fairfax with a 12.6 per cent stake and has held several meetings with the media.
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