Gina Rinehart's company has invested a reported $1bn in Elon Musk's SpaceX and said it hopes to collaborate in future on AI infrastructure.
Investment Details
Hancock Prospecting won a significant investment allocation after SpaceX began being traded on sharemarkets on Friday, Rinehart said in a statement today. She said her investment reflected her confidence in Musk, congratulating him: Elon has done what very few people in history have done – he has not just imagined the future, he has built companies capable of delivering it, and helped to keep American technology at the forefront … We see SpaceX as a rare business: led by a truly exceptional person, technically exceptional and operating in sectors that are crucial, and with long-term potential. Hancock favours investing in industries led by sensible, hard working, patriotic and exceptional people. Elon excels in every regard.
AI Prospects
Rinehart cited SpaceX's early rocket efforts and Starlink satellite communication network but expressed excitement at its AI prospects. Hancock Prospecting's chief executive, Garry Korte, said Rinehart had met Musk several times. He said Hancock used the Grok AI platform and would look forward to potentially working with SpaceX as a supplier of critical minerals for its advanced technology infrastructure.
Scale of Investment
Hancock Prospecting declined to detail how large the investment was, when asked about the Wall Street Journal's report that Rinehart bought over US$1bn (A$1.4bn) worth of the US$2.1tn (A$2.97bn) company. If accurate, that would dwarf her biggest US shareholdings, of US$0.7bn each in MP Materials and an Invesco Nasdaq index fund.
