Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has bought a $US1 billion ($1.4 billion) stake in SpaceX, the biggest investment outside iron ore in the private miner’s history and a bet on Elon Musk days after his rocket and satellite company staged the largest float on record.
SpaceX raised $US75 billion in its Nasdaq listing on June 12, the biggest initial public offering ever, and closed its first session up 19.2 per cent and worth about $US2.1 trillion. The debut made Musk the world’s first trillionaire.
Rinehart, Australia’s richest person, said the investment reflected Hancock’s confidence in Musk and “the need for the West to keep investing in technology and innovation”.
“We see SpaceX as a rare business: led by a truly exceptional person, technically exceptional and operating in sectors that are crucial,” she said in emailed remarks.
“SpaceX is yet another clear example of why the world needs more enterprise, more builders and much less bureaucracy. It has delivered lower costs and greater capability by moving with the urgency and discipline that bureaucracy too often delays or prevents.
“As Elon Musk says: ‘The larger government gets, the less individual freedom you have. Your freedoms have just been eroded year after year with more and more government, laws and regulations and regulatory authorities.’ ”
The stake adds to a Hancock share portfolio that already holds Tesla, Nvidia, Trump Media & Technology Group and a growing line of US defence stocks, alongside critical minerals positions in MP Materials, Liontown Resources and Azure Minerals.
Hancock chief executive Garry Korte flagged possible “mutually beneficial arrangements” between SpaceX and the miner as demand grows for materials used in advanced technology. A spokesman said Hancock had no further plans to invest in space.
The investment also deepens Rinehart’s alignment with Musk, whom she has met several times and was photographed with at Mar-a-Lago after the 2024 US election. Hancock’s announcement praised his role in the Trump administration’s controversial efficiency drive, known as DOGE.
Analysts have cautioned that the valuation set at $US1.77 trillion in the float leaves little room for error, and that the bet rests heavily on Musk’s multiplanetary, AI-driven vision.
More to come.
David Swan is the technology editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously technology editor for The Australian newspaper.Connect via X or email.
