Gina Rinehart is widely considered Australia's largest private landowner, controlling vast areas through her company Hancock Prospecting, primarily for mining (Pilbara) and cattle stations, holding millions of hectares across various interests, while Indigenous Australians hold significant portions (around 17-26%) of the country's landmass through native title and freehold. Foreign entities, especially from the UK and China, also own substantial agricultural land, but Rinehart leads individual private ownership, though figures can fluctuate with sales.
The mining magnate Gina Rinehart is Australia's biggest landholder, controlling more than 9.2m hectares, or 1.2% of the entire landmass of the country, according to data compiled by Guardian Australia.
Largest foreign owners
For the fifth consecutive year, China remained the largest foreign owner of Australian agricultural land, by area – however Chinese owners have divested close to one million hectares over the last two years.
Native Title — which can include both exclusive and shared rights — covers about 40 per cent of Australia. However, it is not the same as full private ownership and can coexist with other rights, such as pastoral leases. In some cases, different Aboriginal groups can exercise Native Title rights over the same area.
The Emmersons became America's largest landowners in 2021 when they acquired 175,000 acres in Oregon from Seneca Timber Company. With that acquisition, the Emmersons surpassed Liberty Media chairman John Malone's 2,200,000 acres.
China remained the largest source of foreign-held interests, although the amount of farmland with some level of Chinese interests fell again for the fourth consecutive year, to 7.506 million hectares, accounting for 2.1 percent of total agricultural land.
The British Royal Family is often described as the world's largest landholder, with King Charles III overseeing vast assets managed through the Crown Estate. Reports estimate that land linked to the monarchy covers around 16% of the Earth's surface, about 6.6 billion acres across multiple continents.
No, standard Centrelink payments (like JobSeeker, Age Pension, etc.) are the same for Aboriginal and non-Indigenous Australians with identical circumstances, but Indigenous Australians have access to specific, targeted programs and extra support, like enhanced child care subsidies and dedicated services, that can provide additional financial or service benefits.
The Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme provided ex-gratia payments to Stolen Generations survivors. The reparations aimed to acknowledge historical injustices faced by Stolen Generations survivors. The amount provided to each recipient was $75,000.
Indigenous individuals and corporations are, in general, subject to the same tax rules as all other individuals or entities in Australia. The most important tax is income tax.
Industry contacts suggest that in addition to wealth diversification, many Chinese purchases are dwellings for possible future migration, housing for children studying in Australia or rental accommodation targeted at foreign students.
Topping the list is Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, whose agricultural assets – through S Kidman and Co and Hancock Agriculture – are now valued around $2 billion. According to The Australian's recent rich list, Rinehart has a wealth of about $46.34 billion.
The 2% property rule is a real estate investing guideline where you check if a rental property's monthly rent is at least 2% of its purchase price, indicating strong potential for positive cash flow and profitability; you calculate this by dividing the monthly rent by the property's total price and multiplying by 100, aiming for 2% or more to deem it a good deal, though it's a simplified metric, notes Rentana and Abacus Finance.
Qin is the richest farmer in the world and owns 883 million shares of Muyuan stock, 40.06% of the company. Qin's wife Qian Ying is also a billionaire, and together they own a majority stake in Muyuan. His son Qin Muyuan (秦牧原) is a vice-president at Muyuan Group.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have occupied the lands and waters of Australia for millennia. Since the beginning of colonisation, Australia's First peoples have defended their lands and waters and asserted their rights to their homelands.
“With over 70% of the world's food production reliant on family farmers, this type of farming represents the vast majority of agriculture worldwide, both in developed and developing countries.
Yes, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia are eligible for significant free or subsidised healthcare, primarily through the Medicare system, including free annual health checks (715 checks), support for chronic conditions, mental health services, and cheaper medicines under the Closing the Gap (CTG) program, helping address health disparities. These programs provide access to tailored care, early detection, preventative services, and essential medications.
While England historically provided the largest immigrant group, India is now the top country of birth for recent migrants and is rapidly becoming the largest single overseas-born group in Australia, followed by China, New Zealand, and the Philippines, reflecting a significant shift in migration origins toward Asia and recent booms in migration numbers overall.
The $20 million paid for the Aboriginal flag's copyright went to Luritja artist Harold Thomas, the flag's designer, and the license holders, with the Australian Federal Government acquiring the rights in 2022 to make the flag freely available for public use, ending long-standing disputes and licensing issues. The deal also included funding for an Indigenous student scholarship and directing royalties to NAIDOC.
Aboriginal people buying their own home can access government incentives for home buyers that reduce the time it takes to save enough to enter the housing market or that remove some of the costs that can be a barrier to becoming home owners.
The standard three-part test for Aboriginality in Australia requires a person to meet three criteria: descent (biological ancestry), self-identification (identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander), and community acceptance (being recognized as such by their Indigenous community). This definition, adopted by the Commonwealth government, is used for many government programs and services, although the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) uses a simpler two-part test (descent and self-identification) for general data collection.
This visualisation shows the median weekly equivalised household income for First Nations households in 2021 Australian dollars by state/territory for 2016 and 2021. For First Nations households, Australia: $830 in 2021 and $701 in 2016.
The House of Saud, which is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia, is reportedly the wealthiest family of the globe. Surpassing the combined fortunes of high-profile billionaires like Elon Musk, Mukesh Ambani, Adani, Narayana Murthy combined.
The Pope, as head of the Catholic Church, is linked to around 177million acres globally, including churches, schools and missions. King Mohammed VI of Morocco also ranks highly, with holdings of 175million acres. Among non-royals, Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest woman, is the largest private individual landowner.
King Charles III inherited the Lancastrian Estates and Buckingham Palace from Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.