Man about town Ricardo Simich brings you Society Insider. The exclusive parties, the exotic holidays, the hook-ups, the break-ups, and the high stakes business deals – this Thursday column pulls back the curtain to reveal how New Zealand’s other half live.
Updated
Society Insider: Who bought Kurt Gibbons and Ben Cook’s high-profile Auckland properties? Plus, The Caker Jordan Rondel’s California wedding
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The buyer of rich-listers Kurt Gibbons' and Ben Cook's high-profile Auckland properties has been revealed as Simon Butler (inset), a Kiwi expat who has returned to New Zealand. Jordan Rondel, founder of The Caker, gets married today in California. Photo / Herald composite
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Ben Cook of Cook Properties, whose wealth is said to be more than $700m, sold the historic Ponsonby Post Office building on St Mary’s Bay Rd around the same time, OneRoof also reported, for an estimated $7m.
Society Insider has found that both properties were bought by Simon Butler, 57, who has recently begun to base himself in New Zealand after living in Australia and the United States for more than two decades.
Butler likes to keep a low profile and is extremely private, which is believed to be because of his work as chairman of various international intellectual property companies, including eOne Solutions, Contivio, Giflo Steels and Red Rock Minerals.
It is understood he co-founded software company eOne Solutions in Australia in 2000, before expanding into the US market. Contivio, a global leader in cloud-based contact centre solutions, followed later that decade in California.
Cook and Gibbons once had a reported property partnership of $250m, including joint ownership of a number of supermarkets around the country, which have been sold down over the last several years, with Cook turning his focus to his Australian interests.
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Their Herne Bay Woolworths supermarket, with an estimated value of $50m, was sold to a mystery buyer in March. Speculation swirled that it was also tied up as a triple sale with the Post Office and Marine Parade properties, but the buyer has since been confirmed as Count Worthy Ltd, whose major shareholders are Singaporean businessmen Jeffrey Hing Yih Peir and Wong Bei Keen.
While Society Insider has previously featured both Gibbons and Cook and their high-rolling lifestyles, Butler is said to be the exact opposite, with a more low-key approach to life.
Butler attended Sacred Heart College in Glen Innes, a school known for educating students from a diverse range of backgrounds. There, he was head of house, head prefect and captain of the First XI football team.
A school friend of Butler says he has regularly travelled back to Auckland to support the school and remain active in the old boys’ network.
“Simon likes to keep his success in check, particularly the material aspects that come with it,” says the school friend.
Meanwhile, Gibbons, 39, made his mark in luxury property development in Wellington and Auckland. Now living in Queenstown with his wife Makere and their children, he has multiple developments in progress locally.
Cook, 49, who is now based in Sydney, has also sold several of his New Zealand commercial properties. Earlier this month, OneRoof speculated he had sold his Sentinel Rd home in Herne Bay, with records showing ownership had been transferred to Trustee Services Ltd in late September for $35m. Cook’s $7m beach house on Waiheke is understood to still be for sale.
Bayleys commercial property specialist Alan Haydock negotiated the deal involving Cook’s Ponsonby Post Office and Edward Pack of Bayleys Ponsonby sold Gibbons’ Marine Parade home.
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Both Haydock and Pack are understood to have signed strict non-disclosure agreements with all parties. They have had little to say in response to Society Insider’s requests for comment on the buyers.
With Gibbons’ house being well-publicised while on the market for more than a year, Butler is said to have carefully considered whether buying one of the city’s finest homes and the iconic Ponsonby Post Office would still allow him to keep a low profile in Auckland.
But the school friend says Butler’s level of investment is effectively a sign of his commitment to New Zealand.
“At a time when too many people are down on the country at the moment, Simon thought these purchases could send a message to a few friends and colleagues within his circle that we need to remain bold and positive,” says the friend.
Butler raised his family overseas. It’s believed he sees Marine Parade as their forever home and is very impressed with the work the Gibbons did on the property. Even though it has received huge publicity, he likes the unassuming nature of the house when viewed from the street.
Gibbons and his wife Makere purchased the Victorian-era home for $23.5m in 2020 and are said to have spent well north of $8m on renovations.
The waterfront section is 2688sq m and the house is now 900sq m in size.
They commissioned architects Fearon Hay to overhaul the house from top to bottom and to bring an ultra-modern, luxurious vibe to the interiors.
Among the renovation costs was $1.5m spent on 100 slabs of special grey-blue travertine, which they used in all the bathrooms, the main kitchen and around the staircase.
Millions were spent on earthworks on the cliff and a tennis court.
The house features two Victorian wings, joined upstairs by a stunning master bedroom that spans their full width.
Downstairs, the kitchen, dining room and lounge are one big open area opening to the pool and tennis court.
It’s understood to have taken some months for the ink to dry on the settlement. Society Insider heard last month that Gibbons had a party at the house when the sale was finally set in stone.
Butler is said to have arrived home from the United States last week and is starting to make the residence his own.
But ownership of the Post Office has been official for a few months.
Butler is said to have always loved its architecture and is pleased to take on the custodianship of such a special building for future generations.
The building is home to the Ponsonby Skin Clinic and The Hotel Ponsonby, a bar and restaurant owned by celebrated hospo man Hugo Baird, which Butler is said to have visited on the down-low.
The Caker Jordan Rondel gets married in California ... without a cake
Celebrated Los Angeles-based Kiwi baker and entrepreneur Jordan Rondel gets married today in Santa Barbara, California.
After a year of reinvention – including selling her business The Caker – the former Great Kiwi Bake Off judge is marrying her boyfriend of more than three years, Detroit-raised Ryan Fiorentino, who is head of advanced strategy for Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Los Angeles.
“Our ceremony will just be with family to officially tie the knot,” Rondel told Society Insider before her big day.
“And then next summer we will do a much bigger thing, most likely in Los Angeles, but potentially in Paris.”
Rondel and sister Anouk started The Caker in Auckland more than 15 years ago, beginning as a cafe and cake-making business. In 2019, they relocated to Los Angeles to expand the business. They began specialising in two forms – selling the finished product as well as cake mix kits.
Celebrities including Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus were fans of their couture cakes, while a business highlight was having US department-store chain Neiman Marcus stock their cake kits.
Rondel met Fiorentino at Soho Warehouse in LA, three-and-a-half years ago. Rondel was there for her friend, DJ Brooke Candy’s set, and Fiorentino was there celebrating his friend’s birthday.
“We just found ourselves chatting and exchanged numbers. We met up again the following week, and the rest is history.”
February marked Fiorentino’s first visit to New Zealand with Rondel. The 43-year-old was introduced to her father, acclaimed furniture designer Stephane Rondel and their extended family at her stepbrother’s wedding on Waiheke Island.
Stephane is sadly unable to attend today’s official wedding ceremony because of a busy travel schedule but Rondel says he will be there for her big celebration next year.
Sister Anouk will be there, and their mother Dee is flying in from Cyprus.
“Ryan refers to Anouk as ‘our sister’ because he genuinely thinks of her as his own blood,” Rondel says. “The three of us are a little gang that does everything together.”
Fiorentino’s parents, whom Rondel has visited more than a dozen times in Detroit, are flying to LA with his sister.
The only other guest will be the couple’s good friend Emma, who is a photographer.
The ceremony is being held at the Santa Barbara courthouse, which Rondel says is a historic landmark, built in the 1920s.
“I’ve never been, but I’ve had other friends get married there, and it’s been described as very lovely,” she says.
Rondel will wear a couture wedding dress by Italian designer Marina Eerrie, known for her romantic and hyper-feminine couture gowns, and Fiorentino will wear a Balenciaga suit.
“There won’t be a cake this time round – we’ll save that for the bigger celebration next year.”
Dinner after the wedding will be at the San Ysidro Ranch, which was named the World’s Best Romantic Hotel at last year’s Boutique Hotel Awards. The couple will then spend their wedding night at the Palihouse Hotel, which has been applauded by Condé Nast Traveller for its bespoke details and charm, including floral armchairs, marble-topped tables and pale-pink, vintage-style umbrellas. Rondel says it’s the perfect venue for the couple, who share a love of fashion.
“Ryan has style and taste for the finer things in life, which complements mine,” says Rondel.
Fiorentino proposed in July while taking Rondel for a surprise break in Ojai, California.
“He was acting quite weird and nervous, but I wasn’t sure why, until the next morning I walked out of the bathroom and there he was on one knee, with the most incredible ring in his hand.”
The ring took Fiorentino six months to design in collaboration with the couple’s friend, international award-winning jeweller Ian Delucca.
“It really is a work of art,” says Rondel.
“It’s inspired by the night lily flower, with a black titanium setting, which is very me and has leaves curling up to hold the diamond in place. I’m obsessed with it.”
The couple live in a part of downtown LA called the Arts District, in a building that was once a biscuit factory.
“We have an open-plan loft with wooden floors, high ceilings and big windows.”
Rondel says they enjoy the plentiful array of good restaurants within walking distance – and they have a great spot on the ground floor of their building called Camelia, in which they often enjoy happy hour for champagne and oysters.
Anouk lives around the corner and hosted a bachelorette party for her sister two weeks ago.
Among the party guests was LA-based Kiwi artist Emma McIntyre.
Rondel wore a white cotton stretch Balenciaga dress and says, after silly games and a fabulous cake, they ended up at a strip club on Hollywood Boulevard called Jumbos. “Because why the hell not?” she says.
Rondel tells Society Insider her ultimate dream is to have her extended wedding celebrations next year in Paris, where she spent many holidays with her French grandparents. But she’s concerned it will be too far for their US and Kiwi friends to travel.
“So most likely, we’ll do it in LA – I’m picturing a cocktail party at Chateau Marmont.”
While happy to share her love story, Rondel would only hint at her next business step, saying the brand will be “in the fragrance space”. With planning firmly under way, the new brand will launch in the first quarter of 2026.
Party people of the week…
Estelle’s Lounge Bar Opening
More than 100 guests walked the red carpet at the Grand Millennium on Auckland’s Mayoral Drive last Friday for the glamorous opening of Estelle’s, the hotel’s new Mediterranean-inspired lounge bar, designed by acclaimed interior designer Paul Izzard of Izzard Design.
The event hosted VIPs from across Auckland’s travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, including representatives from Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), Tourism New Zealand, and the Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA), as well as media and corporate clients.
Food stations were set up to showcase some of the menu offerings, including sliced premium Iberian jamón and a Mahurangi oyster bar, helmed by executive chef James Kenny and head chef Aaron Hyett.
Drinks included sangria, freshly poured into a tower of glasses, and signature cocktails, while enjoying the sounds of Auckland jazz band The Turtlenecks.
Guests included Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited chief executive Nick Hill, JLL’s executive vice-president Nick Thompson, Coast radio host Lorna Riley, broadcaster Wilhelmina Shrimpton and fashion stylist Lulu Wilcox.
Saatchi & Saatchi moving milestone
Saatchi & Saatchi NZ recently marked the end of a chapter, with a vibrant celebration at its landmark office on The Strand in Parnell, before its move to Publicis Groupe’s new connected campus on Sales St.
The event brought together staff, clients and the wider Saatchi alumni to honour three decades of business in the building.
Mark Cochrane, chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi NZ, said, “The Strand has been a big part of our culture and industry – but we’re excited to launch our next chapter of creativity, innovation and possibilities. After a great send-off, we’re excited to enter our new collaborative home – where nothing is impossible.”
Guests included Publicis Groupe ANZ chief executive Mike Rebelo, and former Saatchi and Publicis executives Andrew Stone, Derek Lockwood, Cindy Mitchener and Alistair Jamison.
A cocktail bar served chilli margaritas and espresso martinis, along with nibbles and grazing platters. Guests enjoyed revisiting the spaces that housed New Zealand advertising history – from the neon-signed lift to Macaskill’s Bar – and toured Saatchi & Saatchi NZ’s iconic art collection before it is relocated to its new home.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.