KEY POINTS:
Almost 300 Kiwi teenagers earn more than $100,000 a year, according to 2006 census figures.
A total of 294 aged between 15 and 19 declared annual incomes for the year ending March 2006 in excess of $100,000, from sources such as wages, salary, and interest dividends.
But this group of high earners, most of whom are still of secondary school age, are something of an enigma to financial experts.
"It's incredible there are so many," Acumen financial planner and author Lisa Dudson told the Herald on Sunday, "but I've never had any of them come to see me.
"My pick would be they fall into the category of getting income from a trust fund, or managed funds - or the young guns, who go into sales, and make a lot of money quickly."
Statistics New Zealand information analyst Ronald Mair warned there would be an element of false declaration for some of the figures, but expected few of the children lied on their census forms.
Inland Revenue was unable to provide any information on the teenagers, as it does not categorise people's income information according to age groups.
Yet, with the average New Zealand annual income at $34,600 (as at June 2007), the group of almost 50 15-year-olds earning triple that are off to a good start in life.
Spicers Wealth Management senior financial adviser, Jeff Matthews, said looking at young advertising or IT entrepreneurs in America it was clear young people could make large sums. "In a New Zealand context, I've got no idea how they could be making that ... The question is, if they are getting that much, what are they doing with it?"
Both experts referred to the success of Trade Me entrepreneur, Sam Morgan, who founded his internet auction site at the age of 23, and sold it for $700 million in 2006.
It's hard to know how much Kiwi actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, 17, would make in a year. Given she starred in Whale Rider when she was just 12 and that movie made $41 million , and she's made several movies since, it's reasonable to assume she'd be in the teenage $100k club.
The founder of the online Young Millionaires Club, Rick Fourie, said young people who earned as much money as this group often started businesses that targeted other young people. "You will find teenagers that do that will have a great mentor, maybe a parent, who is entrepreneurial."
Interestingly, the gender divide in adult earnings is also evident in this group's incomes; 225 are male, while only 69 are female.
Fourie said the young entrepreneurs who contact him are always male, while Dudson was not surprised, saying younger men were likely to have the same risk-taking skills as their older counter-parts, which often netted them better financial gains.
