A big-talking showman and his charismatic wife: Who are Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke?

 

Maria Slade talks to a Du Val investor and friend who gave Kenyon his start in real estate and describes him as exceptional.

 

We hear how Kenyon rose phoenix-like from his first business collapse, and as the New Zealand housing market boomed yet again, vowed to create a billion-dollar empire.

 

The Clarkes were prolific self-promoters, even making a reality tv series about themselves.

 

But was it a veneer?

 

Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation’s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.

 

Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade 
Producer: Hamish Williams 
Lead Sound Design: Mick Andrews
Additional Sound Design: Lara Healy
Executive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman

 

https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val

A big-talking showman and his charismatic wife: Who are Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke?
&nbsp;
Maria Slade talks to a Du Val investor and friend who gave Kenyon his start in real estate and describes him as exceptional.
&nbsp;
We hear how Kenyon rose phoenix-like from his first business collapse, and as the New Zealand housing market boomed yet again, vowed to create a billion-dollar empire.
&nbsp;
The Clarkes were prolific self-promoters, even making a reality tv series about themselves.
&nbsp;
But was it a veneer?
&nbsp;
Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation&rsquo;s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.
&nbsp;
Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade&nbsp; Producer: Hamish Williams Lead Sound Design: Mick Andrews Additional Sound Design: Lara Healy Executive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman
&nbsp;
<a href="https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val">https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val</a>

It was meant to be the Kiwi dream: build wealth through property and follow in the footsteps of Du Val group founders Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke. 

But when the Du Val empire collapsed, owing $268 million and leaving investors reeling, that dream came crashing down.

As the Du Val saga continues to unfold, investigative business journalist Maria Slade speaks to investors owed tens of thousands and former staff about the group’s big ambitions, selling tactics, and flashy public persona. 

She also talks with industry experts to examine a system that allowed this to happen, and question why we're so drawn to fringe property schemes.

Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation’s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.

It was meant to be the Kiwi dream: build wealth through property and follow in the footsteps of Du Val group founders Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke.&nbsp;
But when the Du Val empire collapsed, owing $268 million and leaving investors reeling, that dream came crashing down.
As the Du Val saga continues to unfold, investigative business journalist Maria Slade speaks to investors owed tens of thousands and former staff about the group&rsquo;s big ambitions, selling tactics, and flashy public persona.&nbsp;
She also talks with industry experts to examine a system that allowed this to happen, and question why we're so drawn to fringe property schemes.
Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation&rsquo;s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.

The Fall of the House of Du Val

It was meant to be the Kiwi dream: build wealth through property and follow in the footsteps of Du Val group founders Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke.

 

But when the Du Val empire collapsed, owing $268 million and leaving investors reeling, that dream came crashing down.

 

As the Du Val saga continues to unfold, investigative business journalist Maria Slade speaks to investors owed tens of thousands and former staff about the group’s big ambitions, selling tactics, and flashy public persona.

 

She also talks with industry experts to examine a system that allowed this to happen, and question why we're so drawn to fringe property schemes.

 

Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation’s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.

 

Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade 
Producer: Hamish Williams 
Lead Sound Design: Mick Andrews
Additional Sound Design: Lara Healy
Executive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman

 

https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val

It was meant to be the Kiwi dream: build wealth through property and follow in the footsteps of Du Val group founders Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke.
&nbsp;
But when the Du Val empire collapsed, owing $268 million and leaving investors reeling, that dream came crashing down.
&nbsp;
As the Du Val saga continues to unfold, investigative business journalist Maria Slade speaks to investors owed tens of thousands and former staff about the group&rsquo;s big ambitions, selling tactics, and flashy public persona.
&nbsp;
She also talks with industry experts to examine a system that allowed this to happen, and question why we're so drawn to fringe property schemes.
&nbsp;
Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation&rsquo;s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.
&nbsp;
Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade Producer: Hamish Williams Lead Sound Design: Mick Andrews Additional Sound Design: Lara Healy Executive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman
&nbsp;
https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val

1. Selling the Dream

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/4b4c8f19-19c3-4d9c-b3ed-b3a3004698e5/transcript

For decades, New Zealand’s love affair with property has pulled everyday investors into schemes that promise certainty and deliver risk. Over and over again, the same story.

 

In the final episode of The Fall of the House of Du Val, Maria Slade asks whether this cycle is finally starting to break.

 

She presents the features of a fringe investment to first-year university students to test a simple idea. Are they more financially literate than their parents, or are we raising the next generation of willing believers?

 

The Retirement Commissioner lays out her Five Golden Rules for Mum and Dad investors, cutting through decades of property mythology with uncomfortable clarity.

 

For Du Val investors still owed $64 million, the outlook remains bleak. And yet, group founder Kenyon Clarke vows "I'll be back".

 

Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation’s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.

 

Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade 
Producer: Hamish Williams 
Lead Sound Design: Mick Andrews
Additional Sound Design: Lara Healy
Executive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman

 

https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val

For decades, New Zealand&rsquo;s love affair with property has pulled everyday investors into schemes that promise certainty and deliver risk. Over and over again, the same story.
&nbsp;
In the final episode of The Fall of the House of Du Val, Maria Slade asks whether this cycle is finally starting to break.
&nbsp;
She presents the features of a fringe investment to first-year university students to test a simple idea. Are they more financially literate than their parents, or are we raising the next generation of willing believers?
&nbsp;
The Retirement Commissioner lays out her Five Golden Rules for Mum and Dad investors, cutting through decades of property mythology with uncomfortable clarity.
&nbsp;
For Du Val investors still owed $64 million, the outlook remains bleak. And yet, group founder Kenyon Clarke vows "I'll be back".
&nbsp;
Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation&rsquo;s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.
&nbsp;
Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade&nbsp; Producer: Hamish Williams Lead Sound Design: Mick Andrews Additional Sound Design: Lara Healy Executive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman
&nbsp;
https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val

5. The Love Affair

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/c2c58fb5-e07a-463d-ba84-b3b70154445f/transcript

For decades, property has been sold to New Zealanders as a sure path to financial security. But history tells a more complicated story.

 

Maria Slade revisits the collapse of Blue Chip and speaks with investors still living with the fallout years on. Why do cycles of booming property schemes, persuasive marketing and heavy losses keep repeating. And why ordinary New Zealanders continually find themselves exposed to risks they don't fully anticipate?

 

Economists, financial commentators and a psychotherapist help explore the psychology of chasing returns, the deep Kiwi faith in housing, and whether a changing market might finally force a rethink.



Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation’s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.

 

Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade 
Producer: Hamish Williams 
Lead Sound Design: Mick Andrews
Additional Sound Design: Lara Healy
Executive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman

 

https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val

For decades, property has been sold to New Zealanders as a sure path to financial security. But history tells a more complicated story.
&nbsp;
Maria Slade revisits the collapse of Blue Chip and speaks with investors still living with the fallout years on. Why do cycles of booming property schemes, persuasive marketing and heavy losses keep repeating. And why ordinary New Zealanders continually find themselves exposed to risks they don't fully anticipate?
&nbsp;
Economists, financial commentators and a psychotherapist help explore the psychology of chasing returns, the deep Kiwi faith in housing, and whether a changing market might finally force a rethink.
 Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation&rsquo;s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.
&nbsp;
Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade&nbsp; Producer: Hamish Williams Lead Sound Design: Mick Andrews Additional Sound Design: Lara Healy Executive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman
&nbsp;
https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val

4. Safe as Houses

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/9845d882-bd89-4a65-8554-b3b0017cff3c/transcript

As rumours swirled of work stalling on Du Val sites due to non-payment, subcontractors were left demanding answers. What they got instead were tense meetings and vague promises.

 

Maria Slade takes us inside a period of mounting pressure, where she hears how frustration on the ground collided with Du Val’s increasingly feverish attempts to control the story.

 

She also explores the system that enabled Du Val’s rapid rise, including the eligible investor loophole that saw would-be investors targeted by marketing for wholesale products that arguably weren't suited to them.

 

Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation’s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.

 

Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade 
Producer: Hamish Williams 
Lead Sound Design: Mick Andrews
Additional Sound Design: Lara Healy
Executive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman

 

https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val

As rumours swirled of work stalling on Du Val sites due to non-payment, subcontractors were left demanding answers. What they got instead were tense meetings and vague promises.
&nbsp;
Maria Slade takes us inside a period of mounting pressure, where she hears how frustration on the ground collided with Du Val&rsquo;s increasingly feverish attempts to control the story.
&nbsp;
She also explores the system that enabled Du Val&rsquo;s rapid rise, including the eligible investor loophole that saw would-be investors targeted by marketing for wholesale products that arguably weren't suited to them.
&nbsp;
Brought to you by BusinessDesk with thanks to The Milford Foundation&rsquo;s Brian Gaynor Business Journalism Initiative and MoneyHub.
&nbsp;
Host, researcher, writer: Maria Slade&nbsp; Producer: Hamish Williams Lead Sound Design: Mick Andrews Additional Sound Design: Lara Healy Executive Producers: Jane Yee and Duncan Bridgeman
&nbsp;
https://businessdesk.co.nz/du-val

3. With us or Against us

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/754d46d9-c6a0-4b80-83d6-b3aa00180cf9/transcript

1. Selling the Dream

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The Fall of the House of Du Val

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