Sir Robert Edward Jones (24 November 1939 – 2 May 2025) was a property investor, author and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

in New Zealand.

Early life and education

Jones was born in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

on 24 November 1939, the son of Edward L. Jones. He was the older brother of author

Lloyd Jones Lloyd Jones or Lloyd-Jones may refer to: People Sports * Lloyd Jones (athlete) (1884–1971), American athlete in the 1908 Summer Olympics *Lloyd Jones (figure skater) (born 1988), Welsh ice dancer * Lloyd Jones (English footballer) (born 1995), E ...

. Growing up in a

state housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

suburb, Jones attended

Naenae College Naenae College, is a state-run Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school located in north-central Lower Hutt, New Zealand. It is situated on a site in the suburb of Avalon, New Zealand, Avalon. The school was founded in 1953 to serve t ...

from 1953 to 1957. He was one of the 200 foundation pupils, and one of the ten who stayed to the

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

(most pupils left as soon as they turned 15 to work) where he recalled a brilliant history teacher, Guy Bliss. He went on to attend

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

, where he earned a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, won the New Zealand Universities lightweight boxing title in 1957, and contributed to a boxing column in the university's newspaper '' Salient''. He remained a fan of boxing and sometimes commented on TV on big matches.

Business career

Jones earned his wealth through investments in commercial property via his company Robt. Jones Holdings Ltd, and was worth $550 million according to the 2013 NBR rich list, and $600 million a year later.

Political career

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, Jones supported drag queen

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

's campaign for the Wellington mayoralty. Jones formed the short-lived

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

New Zealand Party The New Zealand Party operated as a political party in New Zealand from 1983 to 1993. Established by millionaire property tycoon Bob Jones, the party promoted economic liberalisation—it was the first political party to promote free market r ...

in 1983, just before

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st prime minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Departing from National Party convention, Mu ...

's snap 1984 election. Jones explicitly stated his disgust that the supposedly pro-free-enterprise

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one ...

had implemented socialist policies like

price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a ph ...

and wage freezes, and a top tax rate of 66%. His party acted as a

spoiler Spoiler or Spoilers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Spoiler (media), something that reveals significant plot elements * The Spoiler, DC Comics superheroine Stephanie Brown Film and television * ''Spoiler'' (film), 1998 American ...

, helping to deliver the government to the

New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party, also known simply as Labour (), is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descri ...

. Then the party implemented free market reforms under Finance Minister

Roger Douglas Sir Roger Owen Douglas (born 5 December 1937) is a retired New Zealand politician, economist and accountant who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He is most recognised for his key involvement in New Zealand's radical economic rest ...

(hence

Rogernomics Rogernomics (a portmanteau of ''Roger'' and ''economics'' modelled on Reaganomics) were the neoliberal economic reforms promoted by Roger Douglas, the Minister of Finance between 1984 and 1988 in the Fourth Labour Government of New Zealan ...

). When the election was over, Jones disbanded the party, seeing that Labour had implemented many of his policies. He and Muldoon had a legal feud, where Muldoon unsuccessfully sued Jones for

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

. But Jones had great respect for Muldoon in other areas. Jones even chaired the farewell dinner on the occasion of Muldoon's retirement from Parliament. In the 1984 election, Jones stood for the Ohariu seat, held by cabinet minister

Hugh Templeton Hugh Campbell Templeton (born 24 March 1929) is a former New Zealand diplomat, politician and member of parliament for the National Party. Early life and family Templeton was born in Wyndham, Southland, in 1929. He was educated at Gore H ...

. Templeton distributed a speech to journalists, which included the statement "Mr Jones despises... bureaucrats, civil servants, politicians, women, Jews and professionals...". Jones successfully sued Templeton for defamation. Templeton conceded the comment Jones despised Jews was untrue, but claimed to have a number of defences such as qualified privilege; all were rejected by the court, which found in Jones' favour. Templeton v Jones became an important precedent in defamation law. At the election, Jones received 28.97% of the vote in the

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district ...

and Templeton lost his seat to Labour candidate, future cabinet minister and

United Future United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a Centrism, centrist List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside New Zealand Labou ...

leader

Peter Dunne Peter Francis Dunne (born 17 March 1954) is a New Zealand retired politician. Dunne was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ōhāriu electorate and its predecessors from 1984 to 2017, first as a member of the Labour Party from 1984 to 1 ...

Public profile

In 1985, Jones was located by reporters in a helicopter while out fishing in a remote valley in

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...

. Jones, incensed at the intrusion when the helicopter landed on the adjacent bank, famously punched

TVNZ Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...

reporter Rod Vaughan, with the whole incident recorded on tape.NZ On Screen: Eyewitness News − Bob Jones punches reporter Rod Vaughan
, nzonscreen.com; accessed 24 April 2016. Jones was convicted of four charges of assault and fined $1,000. Jones asked the judge if he could pay $2,000 to do it again. Jones attempted to remove the

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

an Embassy from one of his properties during the time of the 1987 Fijian coup and succeeded two years later. In 2015, Jones was removed from an

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

flight by security staff for failing to follow crew instructions. Jones' company subsequently bought a jet for Jones and other company executives to use for NZ travel. In 2018, Jones sued filmmaker Renae Maihi for defamation after she presented a petition to NZ Parliament calling for his knighthood to be revoked. The petition had garnered more than 90,000 signatures but was not accepted for consideration. The petition objected to comments Jones had written for the National Business Review. In one of Jones' newspaper columns, Jones suggested that the country's national holiday

Waitangi Day Waitangi Day (, the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing—on 6 February 1840—of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was an agreement towards British sovereignty by representatives of the The Cr ...

, should be replaced by a Māori Gratitude Day, a suggestion he claimed was satirical. The defamation trial began in February 2020 and was due to last 2 weeks. Ultimately, Jones withdrew the case after five days.

Personal life

Jones was known for keeping his family life private. He was married several times and had nine children, including daughters Frances and Amelia, and son Chris. He said he had "never understood monogamy" and described himself as "not a conventional" father. He died in early May 2025 after a brief illness.

Honours and awards

Jones was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to business management and the community. The following year, he received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

Bibliography

Novels

* The Permit (1984) * Full Circle (2000) * Ogg (2002) * True Facts (2003) * Degrees for Everyone (2004) * Four Comic Novellas (2020)

Essay collections

* Wimp Walloping (1989) * Prancing Pavonine Charlatans (1990) * Punch Lines (1991) * A Year of It (1992) * Wowser Whacking (1993) * No Punches Pulled The Best of Bob Jones (2014)

Non fiction

* New Zealand's Boxing Yearbook (1972 and 1973) * Jones on Property (1977) * New Zealand the Way I Want It (1978) * Travelling (1980) * Letters (1982) * '80s Letters (1990) * Prosperity Denied (1996) * Memories of Muldoon (1997) * My Property World (2005) * Jones on Management (2007) * Fighting Talk: Boxing and the Modern Lexicon (2013)

References

External links

Bob Jones, centre, in 1979 (photo)

Robt. Jones Holdings Ltd website

Random House author profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Bob 1939 births 2025 deaths Leaders of political parties in New Zealand New Zealand Knights Bachelor People from Lower Hutt Victoria University of Wellington alumni Unsuccessful candidates in the 1984 New Zealand general election People educated at Naenae College New Zealand Party politicians New Zealand libertarians Businesspeople awarded knighthoods 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople 21st-century New Zealand businesspeople