Say "thank you" once: How Australia's richest woman promotes the cult surrounding her person

Gina Rinehart is one of Australia's most flamboyant and controversial personalities: She is considered a tough businesswoman and is now the richest person in the country. With her company, Hancock Prospecting, she has built a massive mining empire – it is the largest privately owned company in Australia.

In Rinehart's mining empire, however, it's not enough to just work hard – you also have to say "thank you" properly, as research by the Guardian Australia newspaper shows. Anyone who mines for Australia's richest woman writes her a personal hymn of praise every year – voluntary, of course, but expressly encouraged. The personality cult surrounding Rinehart runs deep.

The reason for this is that Rinehart pays out large annual bonuses as part of the so-called "Chairman's Profit Scheme." Employees can receive up to 30 percent of their base salary, depending on company profits and production costs, in addition to loyalty and performance bonuses. Those lucky enough to win 100,000 Australian dollars (58,000 euros) in the company's internal "Very Happy Birthday Raffle" – tax-free.

In return, every year before Christmas, company executives encourage employees to write personal messages of thanks to Rinehart. The letters are collected, photographed, and bound into a "Thank You, Mrs. Rinehart" book, which is presented to the CEO personally—and then distributed internally. One internal appeal, obtained by the Guardian, reads: "Please take the time to think about what these bonuses and benefits mean to you and your family—I know Mrs. Rinehart loves reading all your messages." Another reads: "Join us in thanking Mrs. Rinehart. It only takes a minute or two!"

With an estimated fortune of around $29 billion, Rinehart is not only the richest Australian, but also one of the richest in the world. Hancock Prospecting generated a profit of $5.6 billion Australian last year. Rinehart took over the company from her father in the early 1990s and transformed it from an indebted family business into a profitable resources group. Today, her portfolio includes her own mines such as Roy Hill and Hope Downs, as well as investments in lithium, copper, gas, coal, and rare earth deposits. Rinehart also owns extensive land holdings, real estate, beef farms, and fashion brands—and has also been involved in the media sector for a time, including the television station Channel 10.

However, the company boss's elaborate staging isn't met with understanding by everyone. One interviewee described the annual thank-you ritual as a "crazy concept"—after all, Rinehart's wealth is directly due to the work of her employees. "So we're supposed to thank her for becoming the richest person in Australia through our work?" Another compared the veneration within the company to that of a "regime." It's bizarre—but no one says it. "You just take the paycheck and move on."

Rinehart's self-promotion runs like a thread through the company culture. The 71-year-old likes to publicly celebrate herself and her success – whether at extravagant parties with sports stars on a river cruise in Paris or at her own 70th birthday party with a horse show and fireworks. A celebratory staff dinner with around 450 guests also became a stage for hymns of praise. CEO Gerhard Veldsman praised Rinehart, among other things, for personally advocating for better shift schedules and food in the mines. He called the bonus drawings "life-changing." In a video shown, employees paid tribute to Rinehart's "patriotism," "perseverance," and "vision." One employee said the best thing about her job was "our determined chairwoman, who inspires me to be a strong woman."

The company officially denies that all this suggests a pronounced personality cult. There is "no compulsion" to write thank-you letters, a company spokesperson told the Guardian. Rinehart herself never requested them. The letters are simply a way to find out "what's important to employees." The company also points to the low turnover rate of 11 percent—about half the industry average—as a sign of high employee satisfaction.

However, the staging isn't limited to personal expressions of gratitude. According to internal emails obtained by the Guardian, employees are also politically influenced. For example, they were asked to watch Donald Trump's inauguration speech. Political speeches are played at celebrations—as was the case on Rinehart's birthday in February, when she quoted passages from Argentine President Javier Milei and—in true Trumpian fashion—ranted about bureaucracy.

Rinehart is an avowed supporter of Trump's MAGA ("Make America Great Again") movement. Earlier this year, she traveled to the US to celebrate Trump's re-election campaign and inauguration. She maintains close ties with the "Trumpettes," a support group of right-wing Trump fans, and decorated her company headquarters with corresponding symbolism—including a silver sculpture of Peanut the squirrel, which has become a mascot of right-wing protests in the US. A commemorative plaque with a quote from Elon Musk about freedom and national borders is also planned or has already been installed, according to further Guardian research.