Yahoo Finance Rinehart loses $4 billion and the title of world’s richest woman
It’s been a rough week for the mining magnate. Firstly, her demands for board seats at Fairfax were rejected because she would not agree to a charter of editorial independence.
Now it looks like the mining may have lost her title as the world’s richest woman. The significant slump in the market’s valuation of iron ore and coal assets looks to have slashed some $4.4 billion from Rinehart’s total wealth reports The Australian.
Last month, BRW named Rinehart as the richest Australian and world’s richest woman with an estimated wealth of $29.17 bn. The second richest woman in the world, Walmart’s heiress Christy Walton, had an estimated fortune of $25.3 bn at the time.
related reading: Australia's Richest People - 2012
If Walton’s fortune has not declined significantly during 2012, it is safe to assume Rinehart has lost the top spot and can now only call herself the second wealthiest woman on the planet.
related reading: The World's Richest Women
Fairfax rebuff
Fairfax Media has told Rinehart that it is unable to extend an invitation for her to join its board.
In a statement, chairman Roger Corbett said it was unable to reach an agreement with Ms Rinehart over board positions at the media company.
He said he regretted an agreement could not be made but hoped it might be possible in the future.
Ms Rinehart has mounted a high-profile campaign to win seats on the Fairfax board after a large acquisition of shares earlier this month left her with 18.7 per cent of the company.
Her refusal to sign the company's charter of independence has raised concerns she would interfere with the editorial independence of Fairfax's flagship newspapers, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Mr Corbett said Fairfax had received tens of thousands of emails and other correspondence from shareholders and readers making it clear they supported the company's position on editorial independence.
Ms Rinehart is Fairfax's biggest single shareholder.
CCZ media analyst Roger Colman says Ms Rinehart should now ask for a special meeting of investors and let them decide.
"Go to the shareholders," he said.
"This dispute can be settled in a simple, numerate count of shareholders' votes." Fairfax shares rose 1 per cent at the close of trade yesterday to nearly 60 cents.
Ms Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
related reading: Fairfax fails to strike board deal with Rinehart
