10 richest Kiwis $2b poorer than last year

It's not just the unemployed, self-employed or low-income earners doing it tough in the recession: nine of the top 10 National Business Review Rich Listers have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the past year.

More than $2 billion was wiped from the bank accounts of our nation's 10 wealthiest, with Graeme Hart - New Zealand's richest person - losing $500 million.

Hart is now worth an estimated $5.5 billion.

Not to be outdone, expatriate financier Stephen Jennings - number eight on the list - managed to lose $600 million, while operating losses and debts saw liquor and property magnate Lynette Erceg lose $200 million.

Jennings and Erceg had estimated worths of $800 million and $1.2 billion respectively.

Only number two on the list, the Todd family - who made their fortune in energy and investments - managed to break even for the year, thanks to oil revenues. The second-placegetters saw their $2.6 billion remain just that.

The total combined Rich List wealth dropped $5.7 billion to $38.7 billion, a fall of 13 per cent on 2008, the National Business Review reported.

The list has a minimum requirement of $50 million, making Prime Minister John Key an entry-level multimillionaire. His fortune remained unchanged from last year at the $50 million threshold.

The NBR blamed the credit crunch-triggered collapse of global markets, tough times in the property markets, and the disappearance of corporate profits in the economic meltdown of the past 12 months.

Now in its 23rd year, the Rich List features 25 millionaires who made their first appearance in 1986.

Among them, Pat Goodman - of the property and investment-focused Goodman family - has seen his wealth rise tenfold, from $160 million in the mid-80s to $1.64 billion today.

The $155 million Sir Robert Jones had in 1986 has grown to $250 million in the intervening two decades.

NBR RICH LIST

The Top Five:

* Graeme Hart, investment: $5.5 billion (down $500 million).
* Todd family, energy, investments: $2.6 billion (no change).
* Eamon Cleary, property: $2 billion (down $100 million).
* Christopher Chandler, investment, philanthropy: $1.8 billion.