9 Apr 2018

Why the rich fancy New Zealand

From Afternoons, 3:10 pm on 9 April 2018

It's no secret that many millionaires with money to burn love the idea of owning a little piece of New Zealand. Some buy for the investment, others for the scenery and others still like the idea of a refuge in the South Pacific in the event of a global meltdown.

Perhaps the most famous billionaire preparing for the worst is Pay Pal co founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel who famously became a New Zealand citizen in 2011 and bought a former sheep station on the shores of Lake Wanaka and a house in Queenstown.

Irish writer Mark O'Connell travelled to New Zealand recently in an effort to understand why New Zealand is the destination of choice for the Silicon Valley elite who believe Godzone is the place to wait out the apocalypse

Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel Photo: AFP