World's Richest Woman Earns £1m Every Hour

Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart has become the world's richest woman, and earns more than £1m an hour.

According to Australian business magazine BRW, Ms Rinehart's personal wealth swelled last year to $29bn aus (£18bn).

The magazine's 2012 Rich 200 list calculates that she has now overtaken Walmart heiress Christy Walton as the world's wealthiest female.

Gina Rinehart, 58, an intensely private businesswoman, has made her money through Australia's mining boom providing iron ore and coal to emerging markets such as China.

"If the demand for natural resources remains strong, additional multi-billion mines are almost inevitable," said BRW Rich List editor Andrew Heathcote.

"There is a real possibility that Rinehart will become not just the richest woman in the world but the richest person in the world."

That title is held by Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu, with $69bn (£43bn).

"A $100bn (£65bn) fortune is not out of the question for Rinehart if the resources boom continues unabated," said Mr Heathcote.

However, her huge wealth has not made life completely stress free.

Three of Ms Rinehart's four children - John Hancock, Bianca Rinehart and Hope Welker - launched a lawsuit against their mother last September in a bid to oust her as trustee of the multi-billion-dollar family trust established by her late father Lang Hancock.

She attempted to keep the feud secret, applying through the courts to keep the details from the media.

Unlike many wealthy heirs, Ms Rinehart has not just maintained her fortune but multiplied it many times over.

When she made her debut on the rich list after her father's death in 1992, her net wealth was estimated at $75m aus.

Now she is worth 386 times that amount.