Sir Eion Edgar’s path to a life of investing started when he was 12 years old.
He bought a stake in CRA, an earlier incarnation of Rio Tinto, for £10 and 10 shillings. He sold it 13 years later for $7000.
Now the 74-year-old is looking back on a lifetime of trading – one that saw him pursue a career in stock broking, working for Forsyth Barr in the holidays until he graduated from Otago University and then joining a forerunner of what is now Craigs Investment Partners before returning to Forsyth Barr.
These days, Sir Eion uses his time to pursue charitable causes, such as chairing the NZ Dementia Prevention Trust, being a patron of Diabetes New Zealand, and a number of sporting organisations.
“I have that Scottish heritage where, if you do well, you give back to the community,” he told The NZ Listener. “There is nothing clever about it – you just do it.”
Hamish, his middle son, now runs the day-to-day affairs of the family business, Sinclair Investment Group, while Jonty, the eldest, and Adam, the youngest, both work for Forsyth Barr.
Sir Eion still chairs Sinclair’s major investment, the Hawaiki Submarine Cable, which links Australia, New Zealand and the US, and is New Zealand’s third major internet pipe to the outside world. HSC has just announced its third PoP (point of presence) with a direct route to Los Angeles.
The Otago University graduate says his career advice to fellow alumni is simple.
“You’re in it for a long time, so you’ve got to have fun doing it.”
2018: $150 million