Australia’s richest woman doubles US stocks bet to US$2.5 billion

[SYDNEY] Billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart poured hundreds of millions of US dollars into broad market-tracking funds during the first three months of the year, boosting holdings of US equities as Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Rinehart’s closely held Hancock Prospecting held a portfolio of US-traded stocks and exchange-traded funds worth about US$2.5 billion as of Mar 31, according to a May 15 regulatory filing. The iron ore tycoon, a Trump supporter, nearly doubled her holdings since the end of last year. The ramp up came just before the US announced higher tariffs on many countries sending global stocks into a tailspin, though they have since clawed back losses.

Most of Rinehart’s new investment went into simple index trackers for the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average. She also bought stakes in Etsy and PayPal Holdings She closed out stakes in four petroleum companies, including Chevron and ExxonMobil, which were worth a combined US$109 million at the end of last year.

Rinehart is worth US$26.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The 71-year-old has became an outspoken supporter of Trump and Australia’s centre-right party, which suffered a loss when the nation went to the polls two weeks ago.

One holding that remained unchanged – her 150,000 shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates social media platform Truth Social. BLOOMBERG