27 Facts About Ron Brierley

Ronald Alfred Brierley was born on 2 August 1937 and is a New Zealand investor and corporate raider, chairman and director of a number of companies in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

Ron Brierley was born in Wellington in 1937 to middle-class parents.

Ron Brierley went to primary school at Island Bay School, and Wellington College.

Ron Brierley was still one of the largest buyers and sellers of stamps in the world in 2014, recognised by the name "Lionheart".

Ron Brierley was a trustee of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust from 1988 to 1996, and President of New Zealand Cricket in 1995.

Ron Brierley was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1988 New Year Honours, for services to business management and the community.

Ron Brierley pleaded guilty to possessing abuse images in 2021, and the process of his being stripped of his knighthood was begun by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

On 4 May 2021, Ron Brierley informed the prime minister that he had resigned his knighthood.

In 2025 Ron Brierley faced three more charges of possessing child abuse material in Sydney.

Ron Brierley began his career as the publisher of a horse racing tip sheet.

Ron Brierley followed this with an investment analysis newsletter "Stocks and Shares" which he founded in 1956 at age 19.

Ron Brierley launched an unsuccessful US$1 billion hostile takeover of American building materials manufacturer CalMat Company in 1988.

On 29 March 1990, Ron Brierley was appointed chairman of investment holding company Guinness Peat Group.

Ron Brierley was involved in local politics in Wellington in the 1950s and 1960s.

Ron Brierley was a member of the Independent United Action Group which, under the leadership of Saul Goldsmith, campaigned to preserve the city's tramway system and halt drinking water fluoridation.

At the 1959,1962 and 1965 local elections, Ron Brierley stood as a candidate for the Wellington City Council on the United Action ticket.

Ron Brierley was unsuccessful in all three attempts.

In December 2019, Ron Brierley was stopped and detained at Sydney International Airport following an anonymous tip-off, and he was arrested after a search of his carry-on luggage had police officers discover a large quantity of child abuse material- more than 11,000 images and a number of videos featuring girls as young as four years old.

On 1 April 2021, Ron Brierley pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing child abuse material.

Ron Brierley chose to forfeit his knighthood, and it was announced on 14 May 2021 that Queen Elizabeth II had accepted his resignation and directed that the knighthood be annulled.

On 14 October 2021, Ron Brierley was sentenced to 14 months jail with a 7-month non-parole period.

The court was told that Ron Brierley's health was deteriorating, and he was re-sentenced to 10 months jail with a 4-month non-parole period.

Ron Brierley was released from jail on 13 February 2022.

Ron Brierley has Australian citizenship, so is unlikely to be deported to New Zealand after serving his sentence.

Ron Brierley was given a sentence of fourteen months with a minimum of seven months of incarceration.

Ron Brierley had an operation to remove cancerous skin lesions shortly before commitment to the penitentiary.

Ron Brierley was arrested and appeared in the Waverley Local Court in Sydney on the same day, where he was bailed to his home address.