Gina: a real life Succession story, episode 5

Off Duty | The Guardian Investigates

The Guardian

Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2025

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s the portrait of Gina Rinehart that launched 1,000 memes, went viral globally and became Australia’s Mona Lisa. But it’s also a symbol of how wealth intersects with other areas of life, including art and sport. How does Rinehart use her money to control her image – and what would she rather you don’t see? This episode is about power and control, and the colonial history of Australia. It contains references to outdated offensive language and events that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may find distressing. It also contains the names of Indigenous Australians who have died

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The Guardian.
0:09.6	Just a warning before we begin.
0:11.9	This episode contains references to outdated offensive language
0:15.7	and reference to events the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples may find distressing.
0:21.6	It also contains the names of Indigenous Australians who've died.
0:25.5	Listen with care.
0:27.8	When people hear that I work with First Nations artists here in Australia, they say, oh,
0:34.5	so the thing about Gina Reinhart in that portrait.
0:40.6	Did people often complain about their portraits?
0:46.3	No.
0:49.1	People internationally have heard that story, have seen the memes that has been created. You know,
0:55.4	it's become a pop cultural phenomena. Probably one of the most circulated images of an artwork in recent
1:05.4	time. It's Australia's Mona Lisa now, right? Yeah, it is. That's right.
1:12.2	But you can't get piles of grievous.
1:16.9	It would be polite to say the painting does not show Gina Reinhart's good side.
1:21.9	She's given an enlarged forehead and several chins.
1:25.0	It's certainly not a nice take on Gina Reinhart
1:28.5	and having met her in person myself,
1:30.2	it looks absolutely nothing like her.
1:34.0	There's something slightly uncomfortable about the image,
1:38.5	which I think has captured the imagination.
1:46.7	From Guardian Australia, I'm Sarah Martin, and this is Gina, a podcast series about Australia's
	...

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