GINA RINEHART'S ''plan B'' to ensure details of the acrimonious dispute that is dividing her family remain private has backfired after a court released intimate emails from the iron ore magnate's daughters, which reveal their concerns about not having enough money to support their young children.

Lawyers for Mrs Rinehart say media reporting of her immense wealth and legal battles will expose her, her children and grandchildren to the risk of kidnapping, death threats and extortion, comparing her plight to the English footballer David Beckham, the US talk show host David Letterman and the late heart surgeon Victor Chang.

The NSW Supreme Court was told a risk assessment on the Rinehart family prepared by an international security firm, Control Risks, found media reporting of the legal dispute over control of the multibillion dollar family trust would increase the likelihood of abduction and kidnap for ransom, robbery, protest and harassment from ''criminals, deranged individuals and issue-motivated groups''.

But Justice Michael Ball said he saw no evidence as to why specific reporting of the family feud would increase the risk to the family's personal safety, when the long-time media coverage of Mrs Rinehart's extensive business activities had not.