Georgina Hope "Gina" Rinehart is an Australian mining heiress, counted amongst the richest women in the world. She is the Chairperson of the Hancock Prospecting group, a mineral exploration and extraction company that was founded by her father in the 1950s. As the only child of Lang Hancock, a high-profile iron ore magnate who was one of the wealthiest men in Australia, Gina was groomed to succeed her father from an early age. After completing her schooling, she studied economics at the University of Sydney. Blessed with inherent business acumen, she decided to drop out in order to work alongside her father in his business. She gained an extensive knowledge of the iron ore industry at a young age and was actively involved in helping her father expand the business. As expected, she inherited Hancock Prospecting Pty Limited (HPPL) and the HPPL Group of companies upon the death of her father. She proved to be an astute businesswoman and vastly expanded the business over the ensuing years. At one point of time she was so financially prosperous that she was named the richest woman in the world. She prefers to maintain a low profile in spite of being one of the most successful businesspeople in Australia