Magic Manifested

Hedge fund billionaire Julian Robertson Jr. first visited New Zealand in 1978 on a year-long sabbatical from his asset manager’s job at Kidder, Peabody. The year in New Zealand turned out to be fruitful. While there, Robertson came up with the idea for Tiger Management, the hedge fund that would eventually turn him into a financial legend. “New Zealand just became a magical place for us,” Robertson says. Nearly two decades later, that magic became manifest in the form of three world-acclaimed, luxury New Zealand lodges. The lodges, he hopes, will be his most lasting contribution to the country he has come to love. “My greatest success with these places would be to have them serve as a model for development, the kind that enhances – or at least doesn’t detract from – nature and the natural beauty of the place,” Robertson says. “I hope that lives on forever.”