Bay's quiet achievers reluctantly make rich list

Two Tauranga millionaires, property developer Paul Adams and restaurant and bar owner Shane Armstrong, have been named on New Zealand's latest top 200 rich list.
But they reckon there's several other people just as wealthy as them operating around town.
One of them, Tauranga MP and commercial builder and investor Bob Clarkson, was surprised he wasn't on the list compiled by weekly business newspaper,National Business Review.
Mr Clarkson, who owns large tracts of land on the fringe of Tauranga and a pile of commercial buildings including Mitre 10 Mega and Bunnings Warehouse, was on the list two years ago.
So I asked him: "Have you been giving too much away?"
Mr Clarkson replied: "What's the limit - $50 million. I should have qualified easily. I'm buggered if I know why I'm not there; mind you, it [the list] is not a big moment in my life.
"A person with $1000 in the bank can have more fun than a person with lots of money - so long as he's earning a living wage."
Mr Clarkson said he could think of "a dozen or so" in the Bay who could scrape together $50m or more. "There's a lot more wealthy people around than you think - the list is a bit hit and miss."
If Mr Clarkson had made the rich list, he would have been in good political company. His National Party leader John Key made it on the list for the first time at $50m and a former National cabinet minister Philip Burdon was listed at $70m.
Somehow, I suspect that Mr Clarkson's assets - nearer to $100m - topped both of those benchmarks.
Mr Adams, who likes to keep his head down, is a reluctant rich lister at $60m. His company Carrus Corporation, which sponsors the Tauranga Golf Open, has developed plenty of subdivisions in the Western Bay, including Bethlehem Heights, Mayfield and Shrewsbury Park. Carrus is presently developing the 254ha Aotea town centre in Porirua.
Mr Adams said: "They put me on the list some time ago and I've tried to get out of it ever since. I'm not impressed to be included, it's embarrassing; there are plenty of wealthy people around."
Mr Armstrong, 41, just made the mark at $50m but he was "first discovered" on the list in 2003. He said the estimate of his wealth is fair. "The bits of paper I give the banker shows that position. I'd rather keep a low profile. We've worked quietly on the business, and we've bought smart pieces of real estate that has given us the asset backing."
Mr Armstrong established the Grumpy Mole Saloon chain. He now owns five of the Grumpy Mole bars, plus the Loaded Hog in Hamilton, Coyote Bar and Harbourside Waterfront Dining on The Strand, Papamoa Tavern and two Lone Star restaurants.
He has five commercial buildings and is developing subdivisions at Pyes Pa.
The combined wealth of the 200 rich listers is $44.42 billion compared with $38.62b last year.