This year's list of 155 entrants had a combined wealth of $38.7b, down from $44.4b in 2008.
Graeme Hart remained at the top of the list, although his estimated $5.5b worth was down $500 million from a year earlier.
The Todd family are in second place, as they were last year, with an estimated $2.6b, also unchanged from 2008. They have interests in oil and gas fields, media and coal mining.
Eamon Cleary, who owns Southland dairy farms and commercial property in Queenstown, ranks third with an estimated worth of $2b.
Fourth are brothers Richard and Christopher Chandler, who control Dubai-based Sovereign Asset Management and have a combined estimated fortune of $3.6b.
The highest-placed woman is Lynette Erceg at sixth.
She sold her late husband Michael's Independent Distiller Group company in 2006, reinvesting in wine and property, NBR said, putting her wealth at $1.2b.
Mr Hart has been busy turning New Zealand's Carter Holt Harvey into a global beverage packaging business, having made a fortune mostly in food businesses.
His success story is well known. He started as a tow truck driver. His Rank Group operates in 56 countries and has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and eight other countries.
Mr Hart's dominance in the wealth stakes was noted earlier this year by Forbes Asia magazine, the first time since the magazine began keeping track of global fortunes that a New Zealander had emerged on top in Australasia.
In May, Forbes Asia put Mr Hart's net worth at $US4.7b ($NZ7.3b), describing him as "the master of the leveraged buyout".
In March, Forbes Magazine placed Mr Hart at 110th in its ranking of the world's billionaires, up from 201st in 2008.
