KEY POINTS:
It should come as little surprise to those in the business world that Graeme Hart has cracked the US$5 billion ($6.29 billion) mark and dramatically risen in the Forbes billionaire ranks.
New Zealand's richest man was this week named as 201 on the annual list - a massive jump from last year's 336, with his estimated net worth almost doubling from US$2.7 billion to US$5.1 billion.
While some of the wealth increase can be attributed to the stronger New Zealand dollar versus the greenback, 2007 was also a busy year for Hart - he pulled off his biggest acquisition to date and completed not one, but two billion-dollar deals.
Last December the 52-year-old's Rank Group signed a deal to buy US Aluminium Giant Alcoa's packaging and consumer operations for US$2.7 billion in cash.
The pre-Xmas deal eclipsed his May takeover of Swiss packaging group SIG for which Rank paid US$2.3 billion, and followed on from his smaller US$338 million acquisition of the American Blue Ridge paper products business in June.
At the same time Hart has also been off-loading his non-packaging related assets.
In October he exited the food business by selling a near 20 per cent stake in Goodman Fielder for A$562 million ($656.4 million), and sold Carter Holt Harvey's head office to Australia's Valad Property Group for $277 million.
Last year he also put Carter Holt Harvey's wood product and distribution business on the market for an estimated $2-2.5 billion - but so far it has yet to sell and regulatory issues are causing problems.
Japan's Sumitomo Forestry Company has applied to buy some of the assets in Australia but has struck opposition from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, while an application to buy CHH's Rangiora MDF plant is still awaiting approval from New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office.
There are other potential buyers in the wings. Fletcher Building has said it may be interested in parts of the business and Australian building materials firm Boral may also be eyeing the assets.
But there are other signs that Hart, who does not like to talk to the media, is doing well for himself. The Herald on Sunday recently reported more than 20 workmen had been hired to undertake a multimillion - dollar renovation on his clifftop Glendowie mansion.
The property already includes a main house, guest quarters, summer house, sleepout, pool, tennis court and spa.
NEW ZEALAND'S RICHEST MAN
Graeme Hart
Age: 52.
Net worth: US$5.1 billion.
Ranked: 201 on Forbes magazine's billionaire's list.
Owns:
$20 million estate in Auckland's Glendowie;
$14 million property on Waiheke Island;
$124 million 58m yacht called Ulysses.
