Revealed: Australia's rich listers and their big-money links to NZ

News
World

Author: Anne Gibson, NZ Herald,
Publish Date: Fri, 25 May 2018, 3:01PM

Australia's wealthiest people identified today by the 2018 Financial Review Rich Listoperate major businesses in New Zealand where they are spending $790m in Newmarket and $100m in Hamilton lately.

From packaging to shopping centres, our trans-Tasman neighbours have huge influence here and are spending more on already well-established assets in this country.

A Visy recycling plant: the New Zealand arm of the business is headquartered in Wiri.

Australia's wealthiest man is Anthony Pratt with an estimated A$12.9b. His Visy dominates box manufacturing and recycling on both sides of the Tasman.

Visy Board NZ has a factory in Auckland but a new corrugated packaging plant at Hamilton Airport where it was last year reported to be making a $100m investment on an 8.5-hectare site. Visy Board is headquartered at 235 Roscommon Rd, Wiri.

Visy's web site lists a beverage can operation on Langley Rd, Manukau, material recovery facility at Victoria St, Onehunga, plastics business on the Albany Highway and boxes business at Wiri.

Many Kiwis have stayed in some of the 75,000 residential dwellings created by Australian apartment development tycoon Harry Triguboff, ranked second with A$12.77b. His business is The Meriton Group. Meriton Suites are in popular resort areas in Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

Visy has a big presence in New Zealand.

Meriton says: "Established in 1963, Meriton has made a significant impact on the Australian landscape. We have designed, developed and built an estimated one in 10 apartments in Sydney, along with some of the tallest residential towers in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The private company has designed, developed and built more than 75,000 apartments across the east coast of Australia.

Gina Rinehart, Australia's third richest person.

The next two wealthiest Australians appear to have fewer ties with New Zealand: Gina Rinehart of Hancock Prospecting is third with A$12.68b followed by Hui Wing Mau with A$9.09b.

Czech-born Frank Lowy, a Holocaust survivor, seriously rich. Photo/Lyndon Mechielson

But the fifth-ranked has had a big influence here and a long association and his family have visited over the years as they expanded.

Frank Lowy, one of the founders of shopping centre business Westfield, has an estimated A$8.42b. The Scentre business in New Zealand is headquartered in Newmarket and co-owns five of this country's largest malls along with a Singaporean government investment fund.

Those are Westfields at Albany, Manukau, Newmarket, St Lukes in Sandringham and Riccarton in Christchurch.

Scentre Group's redevelopment of Westfield Newmarket this month. Photo/Michael Craig

In Auckland, Scentre has its biggest play since that business was formed in 2014, spending $790m redeveloping Westfield Newmarket, a job which started last year and is due to finish later next year and bring the David Jones department store to Auckland for the first time.

The Australian publication said it isted 76 billionaires, the most in its 34-year history.

"The combined wealth of the top five male Rich Listers more than doubles the combined wealth of the top five female Rich Listers, totalling A$46 billion compared to A$18.37 billion," it said today.

"Property remains the dominant sector on this year's list. Of the 200 people on the list, 51 make most of their money in the property sector. Many on the list that have made money in other industries have poured their proceeds into property development or management businesses," it reported.