There is little to separate the methods of Zhenhua Data from those of the Peter Thiel founded Palantir, which has an office in Wellington alongside our spy agencies. It comes down to whether data-collection activities are seen as good or bad depending on who does it and under what circumstances, writes Paul Buchanan. News that … Read more
Celebrity agent Ryan Serhant is promoting the sale, a snip at $24 million. It looks so good, why let pesky details like closed borders and foreign buyer bans stop you? Along with panoramic views, adventure sports and fine wines, the New Zealand pitch for super-wealthy Americans now includes the lure of zero Covid in the … Read more
Kiran Dass interviews Mark O’Connell, whose new book sprang from terror about what climate change meant for his kids. Dublin writer Mark O’Connell reckons we’re alive in a time of worst-case scenarios, and that we can only really survive in a meaningful sense as part of a community. Following his first book, 2017’s To Be … Read more
Eight years after publication, Walter Isaacson’s “iBio” Steve Jobs remains massively influential. Danyl Mclauchlan examines how the deeply flawed genius the book revealed continues to manifest. It’s the end of the decade, and my social media aggregators are filled with lists of the best, most influential books of the last 10 years. For most writers … Read more
From Middle Earth to outer space, New Zealand business has covered a lot of ground in the last 10 years. Business editor Maria Slade looks back. As the world emerged blinking from the chaos of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, New Zealand began the 2010s in relatively good shape. We’d recovered from our short and … Read more
What does a celebrity have to do to get a slice of our paradise? Like the kid in primary school with the yummiest lunch, everyone wants a piece of New Zealand. More specifically, when Americans (and Brits and Australians) don’t like an election candidate, they threaten to move to New Zealand. The day after George … Read more
The case to make the singer a citizen of Aotearoa is now irrefutable. Please jump on board and get this passport party started. The American singer-songwriter with a passion for good tunes, good values and upside down exclamation marks has just completed a triumphant tour of New Zealand, playing to sell-out crowds in Dunedin and across … Read more
Today, the National Business Review, New Zealand’s most prestigious and weirdly-run business publication, published its annual Rich List. If you’re interested but not interested enough to subscribe, here are our biggest takeaways. 1. Graham Hart is way richer than Peter Thiel Like, wayyyy richer. Two-and-a-half times richer. Putting aside how weird it feels to see … Read more
Next week, a new trans-Pacific fibre-optic cable connecting New Zealand to Australia, the Pacific and onto the United States will light up, changing the way data travels around the Pacific. In November 2000, New Zealand’s first trans-Pacific fibre-optic cable, the Southern Cross system, lit up for New Zealanders. We finally had our first direct connection … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. Rate of inflation higher for those with less, Winston Peters is going to China, and the government backtracks on much–needed Official Information Act reforms. The rate of inflation, typically assumed to be low recently in New Zealand, has been found to be higher for those who can least … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Green members elect Marama Davidson, Defence Force links with controversial billionaire Peter Thiel revealed, and teacher aide hours are being cut. Green party members have elected Marama Davidson to be their co-leader. Davidson beat associate transport minister Julie Anne Genter by a margin of 110-34. She spoke … Read more
The Silicon Valley billionaire and Trump backer Thiel is not the first white man to want to abandon his home in the northern hemisphere for a South Pacific paradise, writes Scott Hamilton Peter Thiel seems to like New Zealand. In 2011 the billionaire IT investor asked for and very quickly received New Zealand citizenship; later … Read more
Super-wealthy internet tycoon, Trump-booster and ordinary Kiwi geezer Peter Thiel was spotted this week at an exhibition in Auckland based largely on his ideas. Who better to review the show than Peter Thiel*? Hello fellow New Zealanders. I mean, Kiwis. That’s what we call each other, right? I mean, I know we do, because I … Read more
Some say the American billionaire isn’t welcome because of his backing for Trump – but that happened four years after he was granted citizenship. And should political support really be a litmus? Eric Crampton writes in defence of Citizen Thiel. Step into my time machine. It’s 2011. Peter Thiel is one of the world’s most … Read more
Controversial Trump endorser and Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel is reportedly now a New Zealander. But how did that happen, and who the hell is he? Toby Manhire counts the ways. He’s already got quite the CV: founder of PayPal, early investor in The Facebook, funder and advocate for both Hulk Hogan and Donald Trump. … Read more