The other day, before watching at least 50 YouTube videos of babies laughing at dogs, my BF watched this video on BBC News about Gina Rinehart, the richest woman in the world.
Curious, I joined him and then read the article that accompanied it, and I’ve got to say, why does no one know about this woman? She has a reported personal wealth of $29 billion, and over $100 billion in assets to her name. Oh yeah, and she sounds like a the most greedy, power-hungry, and downright terrible person I’ve ever heard of.
The main point of the article was how she has become very outspoken in her opinion of axing a proposed tax on mining, from which she gained her wealth. She claims that this tax will essentially ruin Australia. Ok, that’s not what she said, but after watching this ten-minute video of her talk about why the tax is a terrible idea, it’s pretty much what she implies.
My Favorite part of her incredibly awkward speech was when she said “Africans want to work. And its workers are willing to for less than $2 per day. Such statistics make me worry for this country’s future.” She says this when talking about how Australia’s wages are too high and costs for things are too expensive. Yikes!
Now, this is my big problem with the incredibly wealthy. They have so much that they forget what it means to have nothing. Africans making $2 a day is a problem! No one should make that little to survive! Moreover, I feel like the richer these people get, the more their greed and ambition grows. Rinehart was once quoted as saying “Whatever I do, the house of Hancock [her mining company] comes first…Nothing will stand in the way of that.
” Which definitely explains why she is in several legal disputes with her three children over their trust fund. Although they’ve reached the age to access the money, she wants to put a stop to that so they can’t access it until 2068. Besides her kids, she’s also made enemies out of “her father, his business partner, her first husband, [and] her Filipino mother-in-law”. And for what? Money and power are what.
I know not all rich people are like this woman, but the fact that there are people out there like her who have a lot of political power, own several media outlets (she owns a TV channel and newspaper), and control an obscene amount of money and people’s jobs really worries me about our world’s future. Let’s just hope there are more good people out there helping those in need, than people like Rinehart who’s only goal is to make more and more money, no matter at what cost.
What are your thoughts on the richest woman in the world?
