Judgment expected on 15 April in the billion-dollar dispute between Gina Rinehart and the Wright heirs over mining royalties at Hope Downs
The Western Australian Supreme Court will decide whether the wealthy heiress should share mining profits with the family of her father's partner in a decades-long legal battle.
Australian billionaire Rina Rinehart awaits the verdict, expected on 15 April 2026, on third-party claims to her immense wealth, at the end of a trial that began in July 2023.
The ruling will decide whether the proceeds of some iron ore mining projects of the Hancock Prospecting - mining pioneer Lang Hancock was Gina's father - should be shared with the family of her father's business partner, Peter Wright. A claim that has been going on for over 40 years.
Gina Rinehart stands to lose billions of dollars of accumulated wealth in her Pilbara mining empire and her title as Australia's richest person.
At the centre of the claim is the lucrative Hope Downs mining complex in the north-west of Western Australia, a joint venture between Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto, which in 2025 alone generated a profit of $832 million for Hancock Prospecting.
The Wright family's heirs, including billionaire Angela Bennett and her granddaughters Leonie Baldock and Alexandra Burt, claim to be entitled to an equal 2.5% share of royalties from Hope Downs.
