The $129 billion question: unpacking the extraordinary new Rich List

New Zealand's richest now hold wealth equivalent to almost a third of the country's annual economic output. What does that tell us about how our economy works?

The release of the latest edition of The National Business Review's annual Rich List this week has provided a new snap-shot of New Zealand’s super-rich.

While New Zealand’s economy might have grown by less than one percent over the past year, the wealth of New Zealand's richest 134 people has grown by over a quarter during that time – from $102 billion to $129 billion.

That sum is equivalent to almost a third of New Zealand's entire annual economic output – or enough for around $24,000 for every New Zealander.

Meanwhile, the average annual household income increased just 4.9%, or by 2.2% when adjusted for inflation, according to Stats NZ data.

So why are New Zealand's richest getting richer so much faster than everyone else? What does the Rich List tell us about the structure of our economy? And what are the consequences when extraordinary concentrations of wealth are matched by equally extraordinary concentrations of political power?

This week on Public Interest, Ollie Neas sits down with journalist and researcher Max Rashbrooke to unpack the latest Rich List, the changing nature of wealth, and what it tells us about tax, inequality, and the state of our democracy.

Watch the conversation below and subscribe to Public Interest for more discussions making sense of politics and power in Aotearoa.