The legal battle between Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, and her two estranged adult children, John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart, has moved from family feud to a higher level. It is now a billionaire versus billionaire galactic war.

No, the two children had not yet gotten their hands on the family billions, but another Australian mining mogul had entered the picture - Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest who is backing John to replace his mum as trustee of the Hope Margaret Hancock Foundation established by the family patriarch, Lang Hancock, for his grandchildren.

The siding of Mr Forrest, an iron ore billionaire based in Western Australia and chairman of Fortescue Metals Group, came on the eve of the resumption of the hearing on lawsuit that John and Bianca filed to remove their mum as trustee because of her alleged deceitful ways in running the trust.

Ms Rinehart had signified her intent to step down as trustee, citing legal battle fatigue, and has provided her two estranged children the name of her replacement whom she said must be within the family and familiar with the mining industry.

Ms Rinehart rejected Mr Forrest's intervention in the family feud, which now opens to speculation his motive, including getting even with Ms Rinehart because the title of Australia's richest person used to be his.

Given the description of Ms Rinehart's anointed, there is the possibility she named youngest daughter, Ginia, as the next trustee. However, John has indicated that he would object to such an appointment, hinting that the next round of court battles would no longer be mum vs children, but sibling vs sibling.

If such a scenario happens, it would likely highlight that John and Ginia are half-siblings from different fathers, igniting a soap opera type of feud where anger, jealousy and hatred stem from their biological beginnings.

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