He is the richest person in New Zealand. Surely, he’s got plentiful of wealth and not just a Wikipedia page to his name. He’s handsome, yet simple, he likes to spend his money well but not flamboyantly and with an interest of appearing a spendthrift. Fortunes aren’t made by spoiled brats. They are raised by determined, focused and big risk-takers. They don’t gamble; they love the concept of taking a challenge. They stick by it. They put their lives on the line to live out a dream. The richest person in New Zealand isn’t just some average guy who suddenly became rich.
Graeme Heart is not a fiery, flamboyant persona. He’s someone who actually evades the limelight. Imagine, the richest person of New Zealand doesn’t even like to come much on the camera. Wow! Are people actually like that today who wish to stay aloof from the public glare when much of what people want today is to be in the spotlight. The concept of fifteen minutes of fame, after all, is not an outdated concept.
But perhaps not everyone is or can be like the richest person in New Zealand. It’s not hard to believe but rather interesting that the richest person of New Zealand was once a truck driver. What’s more? The man, who back in 2017, became nearly $2 billion richer than the year before, even worked as an auto-body repairman.
Moreover, he was once a high-school dropout. But years of relentless determination and passion led to the creation of Reynolds Consumer Products. Today, the aluminum foil and the Hefty Trash Bags- made from 50% recycled plastic material are renowned not just in Christchurch or Napier, Wellington or Auckland but in different parts of the world.
Yahoo Finance reported recently about the man whose success mantra would inspire anyone and everyone to be just like Graeme Hart: the richest man of New Zealand.
Hart, 64, controls a majority stake in Reynolds through Rank Group, his Auckland-based private equity firm, and the consumer-goods business is his biggest asset. A spokeswoman for Rank declined to comment.
A student of the University of Otago, it was here that Hart studied the leveraged-buyout strategy for scores of deals he would execute later in his life.
Recently, he shared, in a candid speech made to New Zealand students where he highlighted some key success mantras of life as he shared, “be bold!”
While Hart is among the world’s most private billionaires, he’s not shy about spending lavishly and is a serial buyer of super-yachts, including the 116-meter (381-feet) Ulysses. Valued at about $200 million, the vessel is spacious enough for a helipad and another smaller yacht on its front deck. One of his previous yachts, also named Ulysses, featured a Batman pinball machine, and a decommissioned U.S. Navy submarine lashed to the fore deck that provided an underwater getaway for as many as six people.
But all of that told, what’s rather inspiring- if it must be said- is that for someone who had dropped out of school at the tender age of 16, and then learned about ‘life’ through several countless odd jobs, Graeme Hart’s life is impressive, interesting, larger than life and yet, tells us that success emanates from the will to follow one’s dreams; the ability to pursue one’s passion regardless of anything.
Recently, Newstalkzb reported the following on the famous individual as it shared: Hart, 62, is known to be worth even more than Bloomberg’s estimate, putting him at number 133 on its billionaires list with net worth of $13.5b.