The family feud between mother and son has gone on for more than a decade. John Hancock has been at odds with mother Gina Rinehart as to the control of the multibillion dollar family trust.
Hancock is seeking to become the trustee of the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust according to his lawyer Christopher Withers during a hearing at the New South Wales Supreme Court. Hancock and his sister Bianca Rinerhart sought to have their mother removed as trustee due to claimed misconduct committed.
The trust covers nearly 25% of the wealth of Gina Rinehart and is estimated to be about US$17.3 billion. This makes Rinehart the 42nd richest person in the world in Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. Her wealth also includes shareholdings in Hancock Prospecting Pty, the iron ore company that receives royalties from operations of the Rio Tinto Group.
The case was filed back in September 2011, when Gina Reinhart sought to extend her trusteeship to 2068. She said that the children would become bankrupt should they not agree, This moved the only son and the two sisters to remove the mother as trustee.
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