Waikato's Chandler brothers, Richard and Christopher, may be richer than entrepreneur Graeme Hart after all. Details emerging from the split of their global business empire indicate their joint wealth may be nearly $9 billion.
The two were dropped from the top ranking in the National Business Review RichList in July when their perceived joint assets of $4 billion were eclipsed by the individual fortune of $2.75 billion attributed to Hart.
But publicity over the split has focused attention on their wealth and the latest tally gives them joint global assets totalling $8.72 billion.
Since last Friday, Richard Chandler has been leading Orient Global while Christopher Chandler holds his share of their assets in a company called Legatum Capital, and the two brothers have divided their holdings equally across the globe.
The divvy-up has triggered a string of deals in the Indian stock market, the Economic Times of India reported.
The newspaper said that through their joint investment vehicle, Sovereign Global, the two brothers had investments of around US$2 billion ($2.9 billion) in the Indian market.
The brothers have their origins in Matangi, south of Hamilton, but maintain homes in Dubai and Monaco. They do not give media interviews - their names do not appear even on the Sovereign Global website.
Their father, Bob, kept bees at Matangi, but while the boys boarded at Auckland Grammar, he also developed real estate interests. Their mother, Maria, opened a Hamilton department store, Chandler House, which was noted for carrying luxury goods.
The brothers inherited a $10 million empire that spanned retail, importing, manufacturing, and property.
In 1986 they started in Monaco what was to become Dubai-based Sovereign Global, known as Sovereign Asset Management until September last year.
They have been investing in India since 2005 and were one of the largest portfolio investors in 2005 with investments of around US$1.2 billion, the Economic Times reported.
The brothers invested through Crown Capital, and an affiliate of the Sovereign Global Investment Group. Over the past 20 years, Sovereign has invested in markets such as Hong Kong, Brazil, Russia, Japan and South Korea, in assets including real estate, banks and South Korea's biggest refinery.
