Leonie Baldock

In April 2012, Baldock’s father, Michael Wright, died, and she and her sister Alexandra Burt inherited part of his estate. The family fortune derives mainly from iron ore interest arrangements and related royalties struck by her grandfather Peter Wright in partnership with Lang Hancock.⁠[1][2]

Also in 2012, VOC Group Limited was established. Baldock serves as a director of the company, which she co-owns with Burt.⁠[3][2][4]

In July 2023, the lawsuit between Wright Prospecting and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting over Hope Downs iron ore royalties went to trial. The Wright Prospecting side was led by Angela Bennett and her nieces Baldock and Burt; the sisters had been involved in the litigation since inheriting their father’s estate in 2012.⁠[5][1]

In February 2024, Baldock and Burt were named jointly to the Forbes Australia list of Australia’s 50 richest people for the first time, ranking 46th.⁠[1]

On February 19, 2025, Mitsui & Co. announced that it had signed a definitive sale and purchase agreement with VOC Group Limited to acquire its entire 25% interest in the Rhodes Ridge iron ore joint venture for $3.339 billion (approximately ¥500 billion, including stamp duty). The interests held by VOC and AMB came from the restructuring and separation of Wright Prospecting’s former 50% interest. VOC said it had no ambition to directly participate in the development of a project of this scale, but hoped the project would ultimately go into production.⁠[3][3][4]

Mitsui & Co. announced on December 16, 2025, that it had completed, on December 11, the acquisition of a total 40% interest in Rhodes Ridge, including the 25% sold by VOC. After the transaction, the project’s ownership was Rio Tinto 50%, Mitsui 40%, and AMB 10%, and the project then entered the feasibility study stage.⁠[6]

On the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list, Baldock ranked 1,982nd as an individual.⁠[7]

On April 15, 2026, Justice Jennifer Smith of the Supreme Court of Western Australia ruled that Hancock Prospecting and Rio Tinto were jointly liable to pay Hope Downs iron ore royalties to Wright Prospecting, while Wright Prospecting’s claim to ownership of the mine was dismissed.⁠[8]

In May 2026, Hancock Prospecting appealed some of the orders in the April judgment, involving findings related to decades-old partnership contracts between it and Wright Prospecting and DFD Rhodes. The parties subsequently returned to the Supreme Court of Western Australia to make submissions to Justice Jennifer Smith on the allocation of legal costs; the Wright Prospecting side argued that the Hancock parties should pay 75% of its costs.⁠[9][9][9][9]

Baldock and Burt support the University of Notre Dame Australia in the family’s name, to honor their father’s belief in education. In recognition of the Wright family’s gift, the university’s library on its Fremantle campus was named the Michael J. M. Wright Library.⁠[10][10]