Insiders at Australia’s biggest private company – Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting – have lifted the veil on what they describe as a “bizarre” culture within the organisation that includes annual requests to thank Australia’s richest person.
While not compulsory, the thank you messages are encouraged by senior executives and are requested across the company, including from workers at its mine sites.
The messages are solicited before Christmas, when Rinehart gives out lucrative staff bonuses as part of what is known as “the chairman’s profit scheme”.
Guardian Australia has seen several internal messages sent to staff, one of which reads: “Please take the time to think about what these bonuses and benefits mean to you and your family – I know that Mrs Rinehart loves to read all of your messages.”
Another prompt says: “Join us in saying thank you to Mrs Rinehart this year. This is a reminder to please submit your message now. It only takes a minute or two!”
The messages, which can include photographs, are bound into an album and presented to Rinehart, according to another internal memo seen by the Guardian. The “thank you Mrs Rinehart book” is then distributed around the business.
The bonus scheme shares some of the company’s profits with workers depending on production costs compared with profit, and is a lump sum that can be as high as 30% of base wages. Staff can receive both a loyalty bonus and a bonus tied to performance.
One former employee describes the thank you messages as a “wild concept”, particularly given that Rinehart has become the country’s richest person in part off the back of her staff’s work.
“We are encouraged to email her thanks for literally making her the richest person around,” he says. “Because the transaction where I work my guts out and she becomes even more rich is not enough – we should thank her yearly, apparently.”
Another former employee points to a broader culture within Hancock Prospecting, in which adulation of Rinehart – who is referred to as the chairman or Mrs Rinehart – is encouraged.
“At Christmas one year there was an announcement that went around to everyone in the building saying you are requested to be in the foyer at such and such a time because the chairman has an announcement to make,” the former staff member says.
“Then people were told they had to applaud the chairman. It was like ‘dear leader’-type stuff. It’s bizarre but no one really talks about it, people just look at each other with a look and say, just take the pay cheque, it’s a good pay cheque.”
Another email seen by Guardian Australia encourages staff to “follow Mrs Rinehart’s lead in standing up for our industries” while promoting her national mining and agriculture days.
Rinehart also runs annual staff prize draws just before Christmas, on the day of her late mother’s birthday, and on her birthday in February in which staff can receive a $100,000 tax-free payment. The draw is called the “chairman’s very happy birthday raffle”.
At Rinehart’s 2025 birthday event, the company’s chief executive, Gerhard Veldsman, lavished praise on his boss, saying she had been personally responsible for improving the rosters and food at the Roy Hill mine, and calling the raffles “life-changing”.
“All of that is from Mrs Rinehart,” he said.
The staff dinner, attended by about 450 people, was shown a video with almost two dozen thank you messages from employees, most of which were directed at Rinehart. These included praise for her vision, patriotism, tenacity and leadership.
One staff member said Rinehart was “at the centre or even the heart of everything that we do and we achieve”.
Another said one of the things she loved most about working at Roy Hill was “our tenacious chairman who is a source of inspiration to be a strong woman and to stand up for both myself and the things that I believe in”.
In one recorded message, a staff member said it was “unbelievable” that the mining and agriculture sectors were sometimes criticised, saying: “Fortunately, Australia has people like Mrs Rinehart who are proud of what Australia has achieved through these industries and fights to preserve them.”
Another praised her commitment to “international and local issues” and her support for veterans.
The former Northern Territory chief minister and now Hancock Agriculture chief executive, Adam Giles, wrapped up the presentation, before a huge “Thank you Mrs Rinehart” message was displayed on a screen.
“Mrs Rinehart, you are one of the most tenacious, hard-working, visionary people that I have ever known,” Giles said. “It is great to have you as my boss – it’s fantastic to have you as a friend.”
A half-hour speech by Rinehart was also read, citing Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the need to “drain the billabong” in Australia. It included a 15-minute section of a speech given by Argentina’s president, Javier Milei.
Insiders have told Guardian Australia that staff are frequently exposed to political material, with an email seen by the Guardian encouraging workers to listen to Trump’s inaugural address.
The email, sent as an Australia Day message by Veldsman, talks about Rinehart’s visit to the US and Trump’s “strong commitment to creating a field that attracts investment into the US, something our government here in Australia could learn a thing or two about! While Australia has punched above its weight on the global stage, we are faced with increasing headwinds brought about by ill-conceived tape and tax that is stifling business.”
Guardian Australia understands that Hancock Prospecting distributes the conservative magazine the Spectator in the company’s office buildings and mining sites.
Employees say they have been sent documentaries about Lang Hancock, and are asked to promote the mining sector to “your kids, your family and friends”.
One internal email, seen by Guardian Australia, linked to a video interview of Rinehart on Sky News and said: “The future of our country is set to be decided this weekend at the 2022 Australian federal election.
“As you all know, the contribution that mining and other related industries has had on the success of our country and economy has been enormous, particularly over the past few years.
“That’s why it’s never been so important for us all to stand up for what we believe in and have our say as we come together to shape the future of our country.”
One former employee, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says it felt as though staff were constantly subjected to “subliminal messaging”.
“She can influence her employees, times their partners, times the people you engage with, and you’re also making an enemy of the more progressive policies that are out there,” he says. “And the more small-minded you are making everyone, the more division you contribute to.”
A spokesperson for Hancock Prospecting said there was “no compulsion” to write a thank you to Rinehart each year, and no request from her to do so.
“However, it is wrong and not true for such allegation if made to describe a collection of letters sent [to] Mrs Rinehart as only thank you letters,” they said. “It is a wonderful way for Mrs Rinehart to be able to keep abreast of her staff and what is important in their lives.”
They added: “Roy Hill has consistently maintained an impressively low turnover rate. Currently this is half that of the approximately 22% industry average and which clearly shows staff are happy and choose to stay at Roy in large numbers.”
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