{"id":335880,"date":"2026-03-18T14:57:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/335880\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:57:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:57:15","slug":"rinehart-paid-for-panahis-birthday-party-aboard-a-luxury-boat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/335880\/","title":{"rendered":"Rinehart paid for Panahi\u2019s birthday party aboard a luxury boat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Calum<\/p>\n

March 18, 2026 \u2014 3:55pm<\/p>\n

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A guest at Sky News Australia presenter Rita Panahi\u2019s 50th birthday party on board a boat available to hire for $25,000 a day has thanked Australia\u2019s richest person, Gina Rinehart, for hosting the event.<\/p>\n

Rinehart\u2019s representatives declined to answer questions last week when this masthead revealed details of Panahi\u2019s lavish birthday celebrations<\/a> on board the boat floating off the Miami coast and her visit to US President Donald Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.<\/p>\n

But new images show Rinehart on board the same boat alongside Panahi, with one of the party\u2019s guests thanking the mining and agriculture billionaire for organising and hosting the party in Florida.<\/p>\n

Former Hollywood reporter-turned-Florida-socialite Toni Holt Kramer, who runs a Trump fan club called the Trumpettes, posted a series of pictures and videos from the party to her YouTube and Instagram pages. They included photos of Panahi and the Australian billionaire celebrating together.<\/p>\n

During an interview that appears to be filmed on board the boat, Holt Kramer refers to Panahi as a \u201cwalking female President Trump\u201d. A shoeless Panahi responds that the comment was \u201cthe highest compliment\u201d.<\/p>\n

Holt Kramer then goes on to confirm the event celebrating the Sky host\u2019s 50th birthday was organised by Rinehart.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd by the way, it\u2019s Rita\u2019s birthday tonight, and Gina Rinehart, Australia\u2019s wonderful human being, who is so conscientiously caring and loving about her country, has hosted the party on board a beautiful yacht here in Palm Beach, Florida, where we are right now, just minutes away from the White House of Florida,\u201d Holt Kramer said.<\/p>\n

The White House of Florida is a reference to Mar-a-Lago. Rinehart was also captured on video taking part in what was described as a \u201cvocal salute to America\u201d, recorded singing the Lee Greenwood song God Bless the USA.<\/p>\n

\"RitaRita Panahi is flanked by Gina Rinehart (left) and Toni Holt Kramer at Panahi\u2019s birthday bash.<\/p>\n

This masthead matched images from the celebrations to boat rental information showing a vessel with identical decor is available for $US17,945 ($25,000) a day with a captain included.<\/p>\n

The videos also show decorations for Panahi\u2019s birthday in the background \u2013 including a mock birthday front page previously reported by this masthead<\/a> \u2013 alongside what appear to be gift-wrapped items.<\/p>\n

News Corp\u2019s standards of business conduct state that no employee should accept gifts or hospitality unless they have a business purpose and are \u201cclearly appropriate in the context of a reasonable business relationship\u201d.<\/p>\n

Staff should also \u201crefuse or return any gift, even a minor one, which appears to be given for the purpose of or with an expectation of reward or influence\u201d.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Rita<\/a><\/p>\n

Rinehart\u2019s spokesman declined to comment. Sky and Panahi did not respond to a request for comment. Holt Kramer was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

Rinehart is a long-time major sponsor of News Corp and Sky News, where Panahi works as an on-air personality and columnist, as well as a personal friend of the broadcaster. The billionaire executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting is a regular at Mar-a-Lago and has a stake in Fox News\u2019 parent company, Fox Corp.<\/p>\n

In an article last year, Panahi criticised the \u201cmedia and activist class\u201d for their criticism of Rinehart, arguing she would be a hero among feminists if she were a \u201cgarden variety Leftie\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut because she speaks common sense, because she advocates for policies that would benefit ordinary Australians rather than the Point Piper\/Toorak set, she is attacked and maligned,\u201d Panahi wrote in the Herald Sun.<\/p>\n

Panahi introduced Rinehart\u2019s speech at last year\u2019s Mount Gambier Bush Summit, which is run by News Corp and sponsored by Rinehart\u2019s companies, calling the billionaire \u201ca nation builder\u201d while donning a jacket from her Driza-Bone brand.<\/p>\n

Panahi has previously called Rinehart \u201cundoubtedly the greatest ever business leader we\u2019ve had in this country\u201d and backed the billionaire in her dispute with some of her own children over their inheritance. Panahi called Rinehart\u2019s son, John Hancock a \u201cspoilt brat\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"CalumCalum Jaspan<\/a> is a media writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him securely on Signal @calumjaspan.10Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 18, 2026 \u2014 3:55pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-335880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}