John Butterfield once helped finance a search for a long-lost sunken gold ship but these days he is more comfortable on one of his own boats in the Marlborough Sounds.
Butterfield started his working life as a builder and built up his fortune through investing in a string of inner-city Christchurch pubs and liquor stores. He became known as a cut-price liquor pioneer, with one of his bars being shut down after police called it a “booze barn.”
Along with business partner, Ian McKenzie, he also bought into a number of hotels.
And, when the big Christchurch earthquake hit, Butterfield made headlines after hiring a crane to lift him into his Victoria Square penthouse to retrieve his personal belongings, including a pair of Mercedes Benzes.
For a short time, he became the largest property owner in Christchurch after buying the South City Shopping Centre. He sold it last year for $46 million.
He is a passionate helicopter pilot and spends much of his time at his home in Fiji.
2018: $100 million