Maori had a huge interest in New Zealand through being, collectively, the biggest producer of meat and wool in New Zealand and the biggest shareholder in dairy giant Fonterra.
"Yet, looking around, I don't see too many in this room. I wonder why?"
Speaking at the Business NZ Election 2008 Conference in Wellington, Mr Fox challenged participants to think back to the top 10 companies of the 1980s.
All of them had gone, he said.
But the 10 major Maori companies from that time were still operating because their business was based on "real things".
Many of them were based in agribusiness and did not look for an exceptional profit.
Their operations were based on four bottom-lines - social, cultural and environmental obligations and an economic return.
Many at the conference would have spoken out against Treaty of Waitangi settlements but Maori had a wider vision for business, he said.
A grouping was considering how to buy back infrastructure so that New Zealand assets were owned in New Zealand.
"Maori has an important place in business. We pay more in tax than we have received in social services.
"We collectively contribute through business $2 billion to the New Zealand economy."
The Maori Party would be a "player" in the next government, something Business New Zealand should start thinking about, Mr Fox said.
The party was business-friendly and interested in promoting business.
"We want business in New Zealand to grow. We don't want Maori to be dependent on the government for money."
While many Maori businesses were run collectively, many Maori also operated stand-alone businesses.
They knew how hard it was to "make a buck" and stay in business, he said.
Mr Fox is standing in Ikaroa Rawhiti against Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia.
Current polling indicates the Maori Party will win six electorates at the election.
United Future leader Peter Dunne told the conference the best thing any government could do to promote business and investment in New Zealand was to ensure the political environment was stable.
"Business needs certainty and the assurance that the Government is not going to be knocked off its course by errant support partners."
The present situation with the financial scandals surrounding New Zealand First, and Act New Zealand's insistence that Sir Roger Douglas return as minister of finance as the price of supporting a National-led government, gave a "Mickey Mouse" air to current politics, he said.
"It gives no confidence that while this is what passes for political leadership, we can lift our game to the extent required."
