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Huljich family

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The Huljich family are a very high net worth family located in Auckland, New Zealand, worth at least NZD$444 million in 2021 following the sale of their stake in Pushpay for that amount.[1][2] Their business interests are varied, and include property, new business startups, finance, movie-making and philanthropy. They are of Croatian descent.

Family

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The patriarch of the family was Peter S Huljich (now deceased). He was a restaurateur and property owner.[3] His business interests were succeeded by his three sons:

  • Christopher Huljich, born 1950, married with four adult children. His children include Jason Huljich (an Australian resident businessman), Peter Huljich (also a businessman) and Rachel Huljich (a former Miss New Zealand winner).[4][3][5]
  • Paul Huljich, born 1952, divorced, with three adult children,[6] resident in Auckland. His children include Mark (a movie producer) and Simon Spire (a musician).[7]
  • Michael Huljich, born 1957, married, resident in Australia.[citation needed]

Business interests

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The Huljich brothers (Chris, Paul and Michael), founded a food manufacturing business, at first under the name Top Hat Bacon, in the 1980s[8] specialising in various pork products or small goods (e.g. processed meats bought from a delicatessen, such as bacon, sausages, pâté and salami). This enterprise grew into the Best Corporation (a major brand continued to be "Top Hat Bacon") which operated an important segment of the market in New Zealand and owned considerable assets in Australia.[9] In the late 1990s the three brothers sold Best Corporation to French food company Groupe Danone and also sold valuable Australian assets.[10] After the sale of Best Corporation, the three brothers separately invested their proceeds into different interests:

Christopher Huljich and his son Peter founded Huljich Wealth Management (NZ) in 2007.[11] This business was sold for $20.9m NZX to Fisher Funds Limited in 2011 after a period of fast growth in the business led to lapses in investment management.[12] The company was subsequently prosecuted by the Securities Commission and fined $239,000 plus $95,265 in legal costs.[13]

Paul Huljich has authored a number of fiction and non-fiction books, which chronicle his battle with depression and stress. These books include a novel loosely based on his experiences with mental illness and his subsequent drug-free recovery, called "Betrayal of Love and Freedom".[14] He now lectures worldwide on curing and mitigating the effects of depression.[15]

Mark Huljich (son of Paul) has produced a number of children's movies loosely based on the Robert Louis Stevenson book "Treasure Island". These films starred US actor Randy Quaid.[16][17]

Christopher and Peter Huljich have invested (via their private equity business Christopher and Banks Limited (John Banks (managing partner) and Chris Hulich (partner)[18]), in a number of business startups and established technology businesses[19] including "Pushpay" which facilitates donations to charitable organisations and of which Peter and Chris Huljich are directors.[20] On 14 July, interests associated with Peter and Chris Huljich sold a $120m bloc of shares, representing around 5% of the company share register.[1] They continued to hold around 15% of the company post selldown .

Philanthropy

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The family created the Huljich Foundation, a charitable trust that supports seriously ill children. The trust provides a memorable experience for children with a poor prognosis. The experience is to be chosen by the child to share the experience with their family.[21]

Family discord

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In 2014 it was reported that Elizabeth, the mother of brothers Christopher, Paul and Michael, had filed an application in the High Court at Auckland to force her son Christopher to repay a mortgage registered over her St Heliers property.[22] He defended the action, stating that the claim was misconceived.[23]

In late 2018, the legal dispute was comprehensively settled when the Judge threw out a number of courses of action and awarded $650,000 in costs to Christopher, describing the case brought by Elizabeth as "vexatious and frivolous“.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Chris Keall, "$124m block-trade: Huljich family sells down stake in Covid star Pushpay", NZ Herald, 14 July 2020 (Retrieved 23 March 2020)
  2. ^ Tina Morrison, "Huljich family sell Pushpay stake for $320m to US investment firm", Stuff.co.nz, 23 March 2021 (Retrieved 23 March 2020)
  3. ^ a b Parker, Tamsyn (27 February 2010). "Social-page favourite has fans and critics in business world". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Jason Huljich | Switzer". switzer.com.au. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  5. ^ "miss new zealand archives". miss new zealand archives. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  6. ^ "About Paul". paulhuljich.com. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  7. ^ Hill, Rebecca Barry (31 March 2011). "Simon Spire's Manhattan project". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  8. ^ The National Business Review, Rich List, Auckland, 2010, p. 45 (published as an annex to The National Business Review, 30 July 2010.)
  9. ^ Stevan Eldred-Grigg, The Rich: A New Zealand History, Penguin Books, Auckland, 1996, pp. 216 and 217
  10. ^ Fiona Rotherham, "Huljichs' Sydney bail-out signals return to bacon makin'", The Independent, 16 December 1998, Page 1.
  11. ^ Parker, Tamsyn (27 February 2010). "Social-page favourite has fans and critics in business world". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Huljich KiwiSaver price revealed – $20.9m". The New Zealand Herald. 27 January 2012. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  13. ^ Mace, William (20 December 2011). "Huljich hit with fine over Kiwisaver". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  14. ^ Huljich, Paul (1 May 2010). Betrayal of Love and Freedom (1 ed.). United States: Mwella Publishing. ISBN 9780615368177.
  15. ^ "Stress Pandemic by Paul Huljich – Two USA Best Book Golds | Scoop News". scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Family adventure trilogy filming around Auckland | Scoop News". scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Mark Huljich". IMDb. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  18. ^ Bloomberg (retrieved 26 March 2018)
  19. ^ John Anthony, "Squabbling within one of New Zealand's richest families plays out in High Court", Stuff News, 29 May 2018 (Retrieved 29 May 2018)
  20. ^ Pushpay Board of Directors (retrieved 26 March 2018)
  21. ^ "Child Cancer Foundation – Thank you to the Huljich Foundation". childcancer.org.nz. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  22. ^ "Rich-list money feud: Mother v son". The New Zealand Herald. 8 November 2014. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  23. ^ "Huljich family feud gets April High Court date". The New Zealand Herald. 2 December 2014. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  24. ^ "Richlister Elizabeth Huljich must pay $650k court costs after failing to sue sons and grandson". Stuff. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
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