Jones imposed himself on the New Zealand consciousness like few other businesspeople of his time.
He amassed a multi-billion portfolio of commercial buildings in Auckland, Wellington, and Glasgow, Scotland, as well as forming a political party to challenge Robert Muldoon's National Party.
Born in Lower Hutt into a poor but talented family, he won a boxing blue at Victoria University but dropped out to work in advertising and publishing.
In 1964, he founded the property firm Robert Jones Investments which he floated on the stock exchange in 1982.
It grew to be one of New Zealand's biggest companies but, while it survived the crash of 1987, its share price never recovered.
In 1983, he formed the New Zealand Party with the aim of bringing down the Muldoon National government.
The party, with a mix of free market economics and anti-defence policies, split the National vote and helped the David Lange-led Labour Party to win the 1984 election.
It won 12 percent of the vote in 1984, contributing to the size of the Labour landslide.
All the while, he was often in the media with his views on issues from boxing to the arts and the meaning of life in a state house.
He appeared constantly in the broadcast media and public debates, ran radio talkback shows, and wrote books, and a column published in more than 20 newspapers.
Convicted in 1985 of assaulting four journalists, he suggested he had done a public service.
His court cases were legion, ranging from defamation suits to disputes over property contracts.
But Bob Jones also had a social conscience, and helped fund many groups, from women's refuges to the New Zealand Ballet.
He was also a lifelong boxing fan and appeared as a commentator and expert. He had earned a university blue in boxing at Victoria University.
