‘ Boom times’ for the moneyed as rich list adds 19 new faces
Nineteen people have joined the exclusive club that makes up the
National Business Review’s rich list, adding $ 7 billion to its collective worth — a total $ 80b, up from $ 73b last year.
It was the highest number of newcomers to the list of the nation’s richest since 1995. Just who they are will be revealed when the NBR releases the list on Monday.
At the top of last year’s list of those with at least $ 50 million to their name was Graeme Hart, with $ 7b worth of net assets.
NBR editor Duncan Bridgeman would not confirm if Hart had held his number one spot, but said there’d been a bit of shuffling in the top 10.
He said among the newcomers were a few fresh- faced millennials including one thought to be the youngest to join the list since Sky TV founder Craig Heatley first made it at age 30 in 1986.
“A lot of them have been under the radar for a long time, or they have just come to light for us.”
The Weekend Herald understands one of the new young rich- listers will be Jamie Beaton, 22, who was reported to have a $ 73m stake in his company Crimson Consulting.
The company helps secondary school students navigate the competitive Ivy League admissions process.
Another name expected to feature was that of controversial billionaire Peter Thiel — who Forbes estimated was worth a total US$ 2.7b ($ 3.68b).
Bridgeman did confirm former Prime Minister Sir John Key was once again on the list, after first appearing on it in 2008 with what was then a clean $ 50m of assets. In 2016 he was worth an estimated $ 60m.
Bridgeman would not disclose where Key sat this year, but said it would be interesting to see what impact his being a private citizen would have on his ranking.
“This i s the first year he’s not prime minister. He’s likely to have gone up [ as] he’s now making decisions on his own money again.”
Bridgeman said a number of people had fallen off the list this year after falling on hard times, but he expected some would reappear in future lists.
“They often fail and then bounce back and come good again.”
Typically property had been “a good avenue for wealth creation”, but among the newcomers a broad range of industries were represented, including manufacturing, agribusiness, insurance, aviation and finance.
“The numbers don’t matter so much, it’s the stories behind the wealth we really get excited about.”
Bridgeman said the li st showed New Zealand had become the land of opportunity for entrepreneurs and risk- takers.
“I think it’s continued boom times for the rich, the rich get richer and the rich are having a really successful period at the moment.”