Graeme Hart Australasia's richest man

BY GARETH VAUGHAN

Kiwi billionaire Graeme Hart is the richest person in Australasia for the second straight year, according to Forbes magazine.

Forbes' prestigious annual billionaires list places Hart, a former tow truck driver, at number 144 with a fortune of US$5.3 billion (NZ$7.5b).

Although he has slipped from 110th place a year ago, Forbes estimates Hart's fortune is almost $1b higher now than the US$4.5b the magazine estimated he was worth a year ago.

In 144th place Hart is equal with Italian fashion guru Giorgio Armani, Greece's richest man Spiro Latsis and US investor Ira Rennert.

Auckland-resident Hart, an astute buyer and seller of businesses, currently runs the world's second biggest packaging business which he has built since buying Carter Holt Harvey for about $3.3b four years ago.

He is, however, thought to be considering a sale of his packaging empire, which could be worth about NZ$10b. It has operations in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, South America and the Middle East.

Hart, who has a palatial hilltop mansion in Auckland, is understood to have bought a nine-hectare Fijian island called Eori last year for an undisclosed sum. He also owns a $100m 58-metre motor yacht and land on Waiheke Island.

The other New Zealanders featuring on the list are the Chandler brothers Richard and Christopher appearing at 307th equal and 937th equal, respectively. Richard's fortune is estimated at US$3.1b and Christopher's at US$1b.

The two started out by investing the proceeds from selling their parents' retailing business in Hong Kong real estate.

They founded Monaco-based investment group Sovereign Global, which focused on the developing economies of Russia, Latin America, Asia and eastern Europe.

They went separate ways in 2006 with Richard founding Orient Global in Singapore and Christopher now running Dubai-based investment firm Legatum. 

Australia's wealthiest resident is Fortescue Metals founder Andrew Forrest who places 208th with a US$4.1b fortune. Expatriate Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch, now a US citizen, ranks 117th with a US$6.3b fortune.

At the top of the list Mexican telecoms billionaire Carlos Slim Helu has knocked Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates off top spot with his US$53.5b fortune topping Gates' US$53b. Third is legendary US investor Warren Buffett with US$47b.

This year Forbes says the world's billionaires have an average net worth of US$3.5b, $500m higher than 12 months ago. The world has 1011 billionaries, up from 793 a year ago but below the record 1125 in 2008.

US billionaires still dominate overall accounting for 40 percent of the world's billionaires. That is, however, down from 45 percent a year ago.

The US holds 38 percent of the total US$3.6 trillion net worth of the world's richest people, down from 44 percent 12 months ago.

Top 20 billionaires:

1)  Carlos Slim (Mexico) - US$53.5 billion,  telecommunications
2)  Bill Gates (USA) -  US$53 billion, Microsoft
3)  Warren Buffett (USA) -  US$47 billion, Berkshire Hathaway
4)  Mukesh Ambani (India) -  US$29 billion, petrochemicals, oil and gas
5)  Lakshmi Mittal (India) -  US$28.7 billion, steel
6)  Larry Ellison (USA) -  US$28 billion, Oracle
7)  Bernard Arnault (France) - US$27.5 billion, LVMH
8)  Eike Batista (Brazil) -  US$27 billion, mining, oil
9)  Amancio Ortega (Spain) -  US$25 billion, retail
10) Karl Albrecht (Germany) -  US$23.5 billion, supermarkets
11) Ingvar Kamprad & family (Sweden) - US$23 billion, Ikea
12) Christy Walton & family (USA) - US$22.5 billion, Walmart
13) Stefan Persson (Sweden) - US$22.4 billion, Hennes & Mauritz
14) Li Ka-shing (Hong Kong) - US$21 billion, diversified
15) Jim Walton (USA) - US$20.7 billion, Walmart
16) Alice Walton (USA) - S$20.6 billion, Walmart
17) Liliane Bettencourt (France) - US$20 billion, L'Oreal
18) S. Robson Walton (USA) - US$19.8 billion, Walmart
19) Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud (Saudi Arabia) - US$19.4 billion, investments
20) David Thomson & family (Canada) - USUS$19 billion, news and information company Thomson Reuters

Billionaire fast facts:              

-  There are 1011 billionaires around the world in 2010, up from 793 last year. Of those 89 are women, up from 72 in 2009.

- There were 611 billionaires who increased their wealth in the past year. The fortunes of 62 fell, while 77 stayed even.

- There are 403 billionaires in the United States with a net worth of US$1.3 ($NZ2) trillion; this is up from 359 in 2009 and a value of US$1.1 trillion.

-  There are 248 billionaires in Europe with a net worth of $1 trillion, up from 196 billionaires last year with a fortune of US$665 billion.

- In the Asia-Pacific region there are 234 billionaires worth US$729 billion, compared with 130 billionaires in 2009 valued at US$357 billion.

- The Middle East and Africa have 65 billionaires with a fortune of $181 billion, up from 58 last year worth US$156 billion.

- The Americas (excluding the United States) accounts for 61 billionaires with a net worth of $304 billion, compared with 50 billionaires last year valued at US$175 billion.

- There are 97 billionaires making their debut in 2010.

- Thirty people have dropped off the list from last year, another 13 died, and 164 returned to the billionaire ranking.

 The full Forbes ranking of the world's billionaires can be seen at http://www.forbes.com/billionaires.

- with REUTERS

- © Fairfax NZ News