German millionaire wants ten people to live on his ‘paradise’ NewZealand farm for FREE
A GERMAN multi-millionaire is looking for ten people to live with on his piece of New Zealand paradise – free of charge.
Millionaire mogul Karl Reipen bought the idyllic Awakino Estate, near New Plymouth in New Zealand, after falling in love with the scenic property in 2000.
The NZ$8.5M estate boasts a winery, an indoor equestrian centre, several homes and sprawling sea views.
But after years spent living alone in his isolated home with sweeping views of the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island, Mr Reipen has found the 220-hectare estate is missing one thing: friends.
Penning a post to his local newspapers, Mr Reipen has advertised for anyone between the ages of 18 to 70 to join him at Awakino in a communal living situation – even encouraging applicants to bring their own horse.
The advertisement, which has been published twice, reads: “They could live in houses by two persons and share a beautiful winery for social meetings and dining.
“If you are interested to live a life with a group of interesting people it can be a new life for you.”
“You can enjoy walking, fishing, shopping, kayaking, bird watching, swimming or looking at the nice animals.”
Mr Reipen, who made his fortune selling iced coffee in Germany, has spent the last decade working on Awakino Estate and transforming the farm into the five-star ‘paradise’ it is today.
His advertisement detailed: “It took me 10 years to bring it to the standard of today. Now where everything is finished I would like to share the ‘paradise’ with nice people.”
Mr Reipen first tried to sell Awakino Estate in 2016 for NZ$8.5 million, after a neighbouring property sold for $6 million. But with buyers unable to secure a deal, it has remained in his sole possession.
He went on to purchase another property in 2008 – the Stratford Mountain House in Taranki – for NZ$1 million.
After giving the property a luxury makeover, Mr Reipen made headlines by selling to the Ngāti Ruanui Holdings Trust Ltd, with all the money given away to charity and the Karl Heinz Reipen Trust.
