澳洲礦業大亨成全球女首富 資產284億美元

Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart has eclipsed Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton to become the world's wealthiest woman, according to an annual index by Business Review Weekly.

A preview of the respected BRW Rich 200 list, published Wednesday, put the mining tycoon's personal fortune at Aus$29.17 billion (US$28.48 billion), a figure that sees her outstrip Walton for the first time.

In March, Forbes placed Walton and her family's net worth at US$25.3 billion, while Rinehart's fortune stood at US$18 billion.

BRW rich list editor Andrew Heathcote said mining magnate Rinehart had almost tripled her wealth in 12 months as commodity prices rose and she pulled off two deals in iron ore and coal.

"The Aus$18.87 billion increase in her wealth is unparalleled. It is a product of foreign investment in new projects, increased production and a recovery in the iron ore price over the past six months," said Heathcote.

Rinehart, 58, heiress to an iron ore prospecting empire built in Australia's resources-rich west, is a controversial figure who stridently campaigned against new mining taxes and recently bought up big in the media sector.

She is also locked in a series of lawsuits, including an acrimonious row with her own children over a family trust where she has been accused of threatening to financially ruin them.

Heathcote said Rinehart was on track to overtake Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim -- worth US$69 billion -- as the world's richest person as demand ramps up for Australia's natural resources.

"A $100 billion fortune is not out of the question for Rinehart if the resources boom continues unabated," said Heathcote.

"There is a real possibility that Rinehart will become not just the richest woman in the world but the richest person in the world."

The full BRW list of Australia's richest people, the upper rungs of which are usually dominated by mining tycoons, will be unveiled on Thursday.根據《商業評論週刊》年度索引，澳大利亞首富吉娜•萊茵哈特蓋過沃爾瑪女繼承人克里斯提•沃爾頓，成爲全世界最富有的女人。

《商業評論週刊》週三發佈了公信力頗高的200強富豪榜的預告。預告顯示，這位礦業大亨的個人財富首次超過了沃爾頓，以291.7億澳元（合284.8億美元）的個人資產居於首位。

三月份的《福布斯》雜誌顯示，沃爾頓一家的淨資產爲253億美元，而萊茵哈特的資產爲180億美元。

《商業評論週刊》富豪榜的編輯安德魯•希斯考特說，礦業巨頭萊茵哈特的財富在12個月裏增加了近兩倍，一方面是因爲商品價格的上漲，另一方面是由於她最近做成了兩筆鐵礦和煤炭生意。

希斯考特說：“她的財富增加速度是無人能比的，一年就增加了188.7億澳元。這是新項目外國投資、產量增加和過去六個月內鐵礦價格復甦的結果。”

58歲的萊茵哈特繼承了在資源豐富的澳大利亞西部創立起來的一家鐵礦勘探大企業。她高調反對新礦業稅，近來還大量收購媒體，是個備受爭議的人物。

她還被一連串官司纏身，包括和自己的孩子因家庭基金髮生的激烈爭吵，她被控威脅讓孩子破產。

希斯考特說，隨着對澳大利亞自然資源需求量的增加，萊茵哈特有望趕超墨西哥電信大亨卡洛斯•斯利姆（其個人資產爲690億美元），成爲全世界最富有的人。

希斯考特說：“如果自然資源需求持續強勁，1000億美元的財富對萊茵哈特來說並非不可能。”

“很有可能萊茵哈特不僅會是全世界最富有的女人，而且會成爲全世界最富有的人。”

《商業評論週刊》富豪榜完整榜單中，位居前列的澳大利亞富豪通常都是礦業大亨。該榜單將於週四公佈。