Wealth And New Zealand

Today, someone in the wealthiest 1 per cent of adults – a club of some 40,000 people – has a net worth 68 times that of the average New Zealander. Too Much Money is the story of how wealth inequality is changing Aotearoa New Zealand. Possessing wealth opens up opportunities to live in certain areas, get certain kinds of education, make certain kinds of social connections, exert certain kinds of power. And when access to these opportunities becomes alarmingly uneven, the implications are profound. This ground-breaking book provides a far-reaching and compelling account of the way that wealth – and its absence – is transforming our lives. Drawing on the latest research, personal interviews and previously unexplored data, Too Much Money reveals the way wealth is distributed across the peoples of Aotearoa. Max Rashbrooke's analysis arrives at a time of heightened concern for the division of wealth and what this means for our country's future.

We are heading towards Thomas Piketty’s predicted steady state of wealth being worth six times national income. We are not immune to his prognosis of a return to Victorian-style levels of inequality. The most recent NBR Rich List has revealed the biggest proportional increase in wealth since the list first appeared in 1986. But what do these figures mean and what else do we know about New Zealand’s fortunes? Following his groundbreaking work on income inequality, Max Rashbrooke examines how wealth shapes our experience. Drawing on previously unpublished data, he explores what constitutes wealth in New Zealand – where, how and why it is held. In doing so, he addresses how wealth has come to be so unevenly distributed, and why this imbalance is something we can no longer ignore.

The divide between New Zealand’s poorest and wealthiest inhabitants has widened alarmingly over recent decades. Differences in income have grown faster than in most other developed countries. New Zealand society is being reshaped, stretching to accommodate new distance between those who ‘have’ and those who ‘have not’. Income inequality is a crisis that affects us all. A diverse gathering of New Zealand scholars, journalists, researchers, business leaders, workers, students and parents share these pages. Their voices speak to the complex shape of income inequality, and its effects on the communities of these Pacific islands.

Few books have had the global impact of Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century. An overnight bestseller, Piketty’s assessment that inherited wealth will always grow faster, on average, than earned wealth has energised debate. Hailed as ‘bigger than Marx’ (The Economist) or dismissed as ‘medieval’ (Wall Street Journal), the book is widely acknowledged as having significant economic and political implications. Collected in this BWB Text are responses to this phenomenon from a diverse range of New Zealand economists and commentators. These voices speak independently to the relevance of Piketty’s conclusions. Is New Zealand faced with a one-way future of rising inequality? Does redistribution need to focus more on wealth, rather than just income? Was the post-war Great Convergence merely an aberration and is our society doomed to regress into a new Gilded Age?

The divide between New Zealand’s poorest and wealthiest inhabitants has widened alarmingly over faster than in most other developed countries. Max Rashbrooke’s succinct introduction to these changes in our society, drawn from the larger work Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis and updated with the latest evidence, is essential reading. The Inequality Debate was updated in July 2014 with the latest data.

What drives economic growth in New Zealand? How has New Zealand been impacted by globalization and the financial crisis? What will shape future productivity and competitiveness? In this book, leading economists assemble key data to provide an analytical introduction to the contemporary New Zealand economy. Interpreting key economic indicators over time—gross domestic product and interest rates, population, employment and productivity levels, trade and investment, and government accounts—this examination focuses particularly on two issues: globalization and the rise of the Asian economies during the past 30 years, and the origins and continuing effects of the 2007&–08 global financial crisis. Rich with local data and case studies, this is a clear and concise assessment of the current structure and performance of New Zealand's economy from a historical and global perspective.

“The biggest goals can be achieved when you’ve got a road map in hand. Quitting your job and living a good life, on your own terms, for decades to come? You can do it!” In this book, top New Zealand finance podcaster and journalist Frances Cook shows you how to change your money so that you can live your ideal life. Learn how, on an ordinary income, you can plan for and achieve true financial freedom, with expert advice and step-by-step information on: The basics of FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early): A Kiwi guide Your magic number: Learn how much money you need to design the life you want Finance 101: Change how you handle your money to gain control of debt and simplify your life Get paid: Techniques that work to boost your earning power in any industry You earn it, you keep it: How to save more and invest that extra income Hustle smarter, not harder: Side-hustles that work (and what to watch out for) Property investing: Making the right decision for you Give yourself options: Take time off, work part-time, or work a more meaningful job Retire early, retire often: Your tailor-made plan to take time out, retire early, or work as much as you like ...and loads more.

This book is about corporate governance and how businesses create wealth and thereby contribute to economic prosperity when they focus on shareholder value. Attempts to promote a deeper understanding of how financial, strategic and organisational decisions are likely to impact upon shareholder wealth. Author is based in Sydney.