Graeme Hart

Graeme Hart (born 1955) is a New Zealand businessman reported to be the second richest person in Australasia with a personal fortune of NZ$8.8 billion (US$6.1b) according to the 2009 Forbes rich list. The 2007 September 22–28 issue of the New Zealand Listener listed Hart as being the 29th most powerful New Zealander. He prefers to stay out of the general media and makes few public appearances.

Much like other leveraged buyout (LBO) private equity investors, Hart has a preference for buying underperforming and undervalued companies with steady cash flows which can be turned around through strong cash management, cost-cutting and restructuring with other businesses. Since his 2006 purchase of Carter Holt Harvey he has focused his acquisitions on the paper packaging sector. His largest acquisition to-date was for Alcoa's Packaging & Consumer group in 2008 for US$2.7bn, later renamed Reynolds Packaging Group. He does not directly manage his businesses, and is focused mostly on the financing related to re-capitalization of the companies.

Unlike other LBO investors however, Hart is not a believer of sharing the returns of the company, and does not allow any member of the team to get any share in the equity of the businesses. In this manner, he ensures that the risk and the substantial rewards of an LBO investment remain solely with him.

Forbes stated that Hart was the 110th-richest person in the world, as of 2009.