Chloe Wright

Chloe Wright
ONZM
Wright in 2021
Born1947 or 1948
Died (aged 75)
Alma materUniversity of Texas
SpouseWayne Wright

Chloe Angela Carol Wright[1] ONZM (1947 or 1948 – 24 September 2023) was a New Zealand businesswoman and philanthropist. Along with her husband Wayne, she co-founded BestStart in 1996, the largest early-childhood education franchise in New Zealand.[2]

Early life and family

Wright grew up in a state house in Lower Hutt. Her father worked for the post office, and her mother was a stay-at-home mum.[3]

Wright married Wayne Wright at a self-declared "very young" age, and the couple had five children.[4]

Career

In 1975, Wright and her husband started a kiwifruit orchard in Te Puna, and later formed kiwifruit orchard syndicates until a tax deductability change was made by the government in 1982. Also in 1982, they built their home in Ōmokoroa. They started a crib-wall manufacturing business in Escondido, California, in 1978. After they had issues with their kiwifruit production, they sold their New Zealand assets and moved to Austin, Texas; Wright went on to graduate from the University of Texas. They soon were able to expand their crib-wall business to Mexico. In 1990, they started a telecommunications company in Mobile, Alabama.[4]

Wright and her husband founded BestStart in 1996, then known as KidiCorp. It is New Zealand's largest early-childhood education franchise.[2] It has 260 centres and receives $200 million of government funding annually.[3]

In 2022, the Wright family acquired 75% of Sean Plunket's radio station The Platform.[2] They had a portfolio of more than 75 properties in 2022.[3] In 2022, the Wrights appeared on the NBR Rich List, a list of the richest families and people in New Zealand, with a reported net worth at $360 million.[5]

Wright started a lobby group named Mother's Matter.[3] She was chief executive and trustee of the Wright Family Foundation and funded various organisations.[3] She also started four birthing centres where low-risk women can stay for free. Wright believed that this should be taxpayer-funded.[3] The Tauranga centre, known as the Bethlehem Birthing Centre, was opened by former prime minister John Key. There were 431 births and 803 postnatal stays at this centre in 2021.[3]

In the 2021 New Year Honours, Wright was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to philanthropy, education and health.[6]

Death

Wright died on 23 September 2023, at the age of 75.[2][7]

References

  1. ^ "New Year Honours 2021 – citations for Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Waiwiri-Smith, Lyric (24 September 2023). "Prominent NZ NBR-lister and BestStart co-founder Chloe Wright dies". Stuff. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Duff, Michelle (11 June 2022). "'I kind of feel like the mother hen': Who is millionaire philanthropist Chloe Wright?". Stuff. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Face value: money not the motivator". Stuff. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  5. ^ Greive, Duncan (20 August 2022). "Two hours with the secretive rich lister bankrolling Sean Plunket's The Platform". The Spinoff. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  6. ^ "New Year honours list 2021". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Taipiopito urupā – cemeteries detail". Tauranga City Council. Retrieved 10 January 2024.