Gina Rinehart’s recent US share trading activity has sparked interest, particularly her purchase of US$18.8 million in Netflix stock during the December quarter. This new investment aligns with her previous acquisitions of Lachlan Murdoch’s Fox Corp and Elon Musk’s Tesla. Hancock Prospecting, Rinehart’s company, is required to report its buying and selling every quarter due to US disclosure rules, offering a glimpse into her investment strategies.
The timing of Rinehart’s Netflix purchase coincided with Netflix’s US$82.7 billion bid for Warner Bros Discovery, igniting a bidding war with Paramount, now owned by Oracle’s Larry Ellison and his son David, both known Trump supporters. As the M&A fight continues, with both Netflix and Paramount expected to bid higher, antitrust sign-off from the Trump administration will be crucial. Rinehart’s move raises questions about whether she anticipates a Trump-friendly outcome in the ongoing media battle.
Beyond Netflix, Rinehart’s US portfolio, valued at US$3.2 billion, remains largely unchanged. She increased her holdings in Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, while maintaining her positions in Nvidia, Broadcom, and Alphabet. Furthermore, she invested an additional US$150 million in Teck Resources, a Canadian mining giant undergoing a US$53 billion merger with Anglo.
Those familiar with Rinehart’s investment decisions suggest her non-mining US share trading reflects her confidence in Trump’s influence on the stock market. However, her Netflix investment could also be viewed as an attempt to rectify past media ventures, such as her unsuccessful investment in Network Ten, which ended in bankruptcy.
