Thursday, July 25, 2013

Facts of the Day

The wealthy in New Zealand  became wealthier last year, according to the National Business Review's 2013 rich list.  The total net worth of those listed increased by $3.5 billion on the previous year.

Packaging magnate Graeme Hart - whose wealth is estimated to have increased from $6 billion to $6.4 billion - returns to the top of the list.

 Victoria Ransom, whose company Wildfire Interactive was sold to Google for an estimated $US250 million in August last year. Mrs Ransom is the highest-placed woman on the list at 30, with an estimated wealth of $300 million.

NZ's rich (mainly) getting richer

1 Graeme Hart $6.4b (+$400m)
2 Richard Chandler $3.7b (-$1.3b)
3 Todd family $2.9b (+$200m)
4 Erceg family $1.6b (+$100m)
5 Christopher Chandler $1.3b (-$200m)
6 Goodman family $1b (+$50m)
7 Michael Friedlander $950m (+$50m)
8= Sir Owen Glenn $900m (no change)
8= Stephen Jennings $900m (n/c)
10 Sir Douglas Myers $880m (+$30m)

Meantime in Australia 

The average wealth of the returning families on its rich list of 50 is up 1.5 per cent, with the cooling of the resources boom, and difficulties in the beef industry hurting with three old-monied families retaining their long-held reign as the nation's wealthiest dynasties.

The Melbourne-based Smorgon family, which originally amassed its fortune from meat processing and more recently steel, has been the most cashed-up clan on the BRW Rich Families List for 15 years. They are worth a whopping $2.64 billion, but even rich-listers are feeling the resources pinch with the Smorgon's wealth edging up only slightly from $2.63 billion last year.

Fellow Melbourne families, retailing billionaires the Besens and the investment diversified Liberman are in second and third place respectively.

The low turnover on the list is testament to how astute wealthy families are at protecting their money. They tend to ride out bumps - like the global financial crisis - much more smoothly than most investor. 




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