Australia’s Richest Person Just Bet $97M on Lockheed Martin, RTX and U.S. Defense Stocks

TLDR

• Hancock Prospecting invested nearly $97M in four U.S. defense contractors: RTX, Northrop Grumman, L3Harris, and Lockheed Martin
• A new position in CrowdStrike was also opened, valued at about $16.1M
• Newmont was added as a new gold holding, valued at around $20.6M
• Hudbay Minerals stake was increased by roughly 10%, while all SQM holdings were sold
• A 6.3% stake was taken in newly listed Rare Earths Americas, valued at about $34M

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Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, made a major push into U.S. defense stocks in the first quarter of 2026. Her company, Hancock Prospecting, disclosed new positions in four defense contractors worth nearly $97 million combined.

The breakdown shows RTX received the largest allocation at about $24.69M. Northrop Grumman came in at $24.2M, L3Harris at $24.16M, and Lockheed Martin at $23.6M. All positions were valued as of March 31.

RTX Corporation, RTX

These moves were part of a broader $133 million portfolio shift toward defense and gold, according to a May 15 filing.

Rinehart’s fortune is estimated at $43.8 billion, built largely through iron ore operations in Western Australia. Her U.S. portfolio now stands at $3.3 billion.

Outside of defense, Hancock also opened a new position in cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. That stake was valued at roughly $16.1M at the end of the first quarter.

Mining and Rare Earths Get Attention Too

Alongside the defense buys, Hancock made several moves in the mining sector. The company added gold producer Newmont to its portfolio, with the new stake valued at around $20.6M.

Hudbay Minerals saw its position grow by about 10%. Hancock added 1.35 million shares, bringing the total to roughly 15.9 million shares worth about $333.2M.

In a separate move, Hancock sold its entire stake in Chilean lithium producer SQM. The company had been working with SQM on the Andover lithium project in Australia.

A new investment in Rare Earths Americas was disclosed in a May 14 filing. Hancock acquired about 1.2 million shares, taking a 6.3% stake in the newly listed U.S. miner. The position was valued at roughly $34M.

Hancock’s largest holdings remain in MP Materials and the Invesco QQQ Trust. Together, those two positions made up 47% of the portfolio’s total weighting at the end of March.

MP Materials was valued at about $717.2M, while Teck Resources was held at around $532.9M.

The portfolio moves show a clear tilt toward defense, gold, and rare earths in early 2026. The sale of SQM was the only major exit disclosed in the filings.

Hancock Prospecting has not publicly commented on the reasons behind the portfolio changes. The disclosures came through regulatory filings dated May 14 and May 15, 2026.

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