Magsat average scalar and POGO reduced-to-pole magnetic anomaly data both show prominent positive signaures over the Lord Howe Rise. Although generally assumed to be continental in nature, the Lord Howe Rise cannot simply be submerged ordinary continental crust, which would produce a negative anomaly contrast with respect to the surrounding higher susceptibility oceanic crust. Three- dimensional modeling of the plateau, using the known crustal structure and assuming an induced origin for the satellite elevation anomaly, leads to a model in which the lowest crustal layer in an otherwise ''continental'' crustal structure has an unusually high susceptibility in the range cgs 0.008--0.010 (SI 0.10--0.13). Replacement or alteration of the lowest layer by a high-susceptibility rock type may be related to the subsidence of the plateau.