According to “Money Talks” panel guest Nevil Gibson, editor-in-chief of The National Business Review and its annual rich list, NZ billionaires and an increasing number of multi-millionaires spell stable times ahead for our economy, climbing out of two years of uncertainty.
It seems international wealth trends show we have more wealthy Kiwis than ever before, having stumped up at least $50 million each – largely men (100), a few women (3), about 3 dozen families and 8 couples.
Our own Prime Minister John Key is number 52 on the rich list, worth $55 million, thanks to business acumen in a Colorado ski resort, shares in Bank of America and a mining company.
Sir Peter Jackson of silver screen super stardom rose to 11th on the list, with a $500 million fortune.
“His rise in the ranks pointed to a new breed of multi-millionaires who made their money from ideas, imagination and innovation rather than in tangible things,” says the NBR. “Film-makers, IT businessmen, publishers and entrepreneurs were increasingly rubbing shoulders with the ‘gold and diamonds’ crowd.”
Despite the global havoc, NZ’s uber wealthy clung to their dollars, dropping just $1 billion from 2009, to a net worth of $38 billion. Not bad!
Off the list? Multi millionaires who no longer cut it? South Island's richest – and now most investigated - man, Allan Hubbard. Apparently, it’s just too hard trying to figure out his real net worth as he remains under the glare of Serious Fraud Office inspectors, with two of his companies and 7 of his trusts undergoing scrutiny by the SFO.
It would be nice to see some of our agribusiness magnates joining the ranks of the super wealthy in future. With all those markets opening up in Asia, particularly China, surely the stakes get a whole lot easier?
- Genevieve Westcott, Host, “Money Talks”
