Millionaire: Come live with me
Karl Reipen
A multi-millionaire iced-coffee mogul is inviting New Zealanders to apply to live with him on his remote North Island coastal ‘‘paradise’’.
German national Karl Reipen is looking for 10 people, aged up to 70, who are interested in joining a communal living situation at his Awakino Estate on the west coast in southern Waikato.
The advertisement, published twice in the
NZ Herald’s Holiday accommodation section this past week, outlines the benefits successful candidates will enjoy.
‘‘They could live in houses by two persons and share a beautiful winery for social meetings and dining. If you are interested to live a life with a group of interesting people it can be a new life for you,’’ the advertisement says.
‘‘You can enjoy walking, fishing, shopping, kayaking, bird watching, swimming or looking at the nice animals.’’
It also states people can bring their own horse and use the indoor arena.
The advertisement, which is written in the first person but never identifies the narrator, tells how a person with a background in ‘‘international business’’ came to live in the area, after finding ‘‘a beautiful farm’’ while visiting New Zealand in 2000.
‘‘But I bought a lot of work and it took me 10 years to bring it to the standard of today. Now where everything is finished I would like to share the ‘paradise’ with nice people.’’
Those interested in moving to the rural spot, with sweeping views of the Tasman Sea, will have to be comfortable with isolation. The city of New Plymouth is a 90-minute drive south, while Hamilton is 90 minutes north.
The communal living concept is the latest chapter in Reipen’s colourful history in Taranaki, where he’s had property and commercial interests since 2000.
Reipen, who made his fortune selling canned iced-coffee, told the Taranaki Daily News in 2003 it had been his boyhood dream to own a farm and turn it into a fivestar operation.
By all accounts, he has been very successful at it. The Awakino Estate is fitted out with an indoor equestrian centre, stables, a winery and several homes.
In October 2000, Reipen was granted consent under the Overseas Investment Act to buy Pioi Station on Fraser Smith Rd.
In April the following year, further permission was given to Awakino Fortune Limited, a company 100 per cent owned by the German, to acquire Awakino Heads, an adjoining property on the same road. The combined properties were then called the Awakino Estate.
In its two decisions, the Overseas Investment Commission (OIO) said it was satisfied Reipen had significant business experience and acumen and was financially committed to the investment.
Reipen, who is currently staying in Awakino, was contacted on Wednesday for comment about his advertisement. However his personal assistant advised he was unable to talk as he was preparing to go away on business.
Questions sent to Reipen were not answered by the time of publication.
During his time flying in and out of Taranaki, he has been involved in a series of commercial deals but had also played the philanthropist too, dishing out donations.
His registered charity, the Karl Heinz Reipen Trust, had general funds of about $500,000 as of the end of March this year.
Reipen sold the 1100ha Pioi Station for more than $6 million in 2010 and in 2016 attempted to sell the land he is now looking for people to live on.
The property, which was called Awakino Heads but is now Awakino Estate, was listed for $8.5m but the sale never eventuated.
In December 2017 the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) received an application from an overseas entity to acquire the Awakino Heads property but this was withdrawn in July 2018 after the OIO told the potential buyers their application was likely to be declined, OIO group manager Vanessa Horne said in an emailed statement.
The farm sold in 2010, has been back on the market recently in a sale being managed by Bayleys real estate agent Mark Monckton.
When contacted on Wednesday, Monckton said the property had not sold yet but he was working with interested parties. He said he could not disclose any personal details of the current owner.