Read the complete write-up of Chris Bishop net worth, age, wife, children, family, parents, qualifications, national party as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Chris Bishop is a New Zealand National Party politician who was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as a list MP. Bishop won the Hutt South electorate in 2017 but lost the seat in 2020. He returned to Parliament as a National List MP and currently serves as National spokesperson for Covid-19 Response.
Early life
| Name | Chris Bishop |
| Net Worth | $5 million |
| Profession | Politician |
| Height | 1.73m |
| Age | 38 years |
Christopher Bishop was born on September 4, 1983 (age 38 years) in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. He attended Eastern Hutt School primary, Hutt Intermediate School and Hutt International Boys’ School in Upper Hutt. His father was political journalist John Bishop and his mother was an environmental lawyer Rosemary Dixon. He graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with first-class honours in Law and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics.
He won 10 intervarsity debating tournaments, including at the Cambridge Union and Sydney Union, and a range of awards for legal argument and oratory. He met his partner, Jenna Raeburn, through the Victoria University Debating Society. Bishop worked as a summer clerk at Russell McVeagh and Crown Law while at university.
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Bishop spent a year working as a researcher for the National Party. Then, after the 2008 general election, he worked as a ministerial advisor for Gerry Brownlee for several years. Then he worked as a lobbyist for the tobacco company Philip Morris and as a staffer to Steven Joyce.
Political career
Chris Bishop’s work for Philip Morris attracted headlines and comments when he stood for parliament for the National Party, given he worked against the party’s plans to increase tobacco excise and introduce plain packaging. On the day of his selection as a candidate, he announced that he supported both policies.
He contested the Hutt South electorate at the 2014 election, where he placed second behind incumbent Labour MP Trevor Mallard but entered Parliament as a list MP for the 2014–2017 term. Redistribution of electorate boundaries prior to the election saw Hutt South lose the Labour-leaning suburb of Naenae for the National-leaning western hill suburbs, helping Bishop cut Mallard’s majority from 4,825 to 709.
Bishop served on the Finance and Expenditure, Justice and Electoral, and Regulations Review select committees. Bishop was also part of a cross-party group initiated by Jan Logie to look at and advocate for LGBTI rights. A member’s bill in Bishop’s name, the Compensation for Live Organ Donors’ Act 2016, passed the House unanimously. The bill aims to remove a financial deterrent to the donation of organs by live donors.
Chris Bishop won the Hutt South electorate at the 2017 New Zealand general election. Long-serving Member of Parliament for Hutt South Trevor Mallard did not contest the election, instead choosing to only appear on the Labour list to become Speaker of the House. Ginny Andersen stood as the Labour candidate. Bishop defeated her by a margin of 1,530 votes. In doing so, Bishop became the first-ever National MP for the seat. This result was credited to a 4-year campaign in the area that donned him the title “Mr Everywhere Man”.
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The formation of the Sixth Labour Government saw Bishop serve in Opposition. Following Bill English’s resignation in February 2018, Bishop publicly endorsed Amy Adams for Leader of the National Party. Adams represented the more liberal wing of the National Party. Adams lost the leadership vote to Simon Bridges. Bridges promoted Bishop into his shadow cabinet in June 2019, allocating him the portfolios of Transport and Regional Development. In March 2020 Bishop went into voluntary isolation for the COVID-19 virus after visiting Australia.
Bishop played a significant role in the May 2020 leadership coup that saw Simon Bridges removed as a leader and replaced by Todd Muller, acting as Muller’s “numbers man” alongside Nicola Willis. He was subsequently promoted to 12th in caucus with the portfolios of Transport and Infrastructure. Muller resigned after 55 days becoming the shortest-serving leader of any political party represented in Parliament in New Zealand’s history, being replaced by Judith Collins.
Bishop was promoted to the front bench as 7th in caucus, retaining his portfolios and gaining “Shadow Leader of the House”. With Muller’s backers Bishop and Willis rising under Collins, political commentators speculated that “potential dissenters are being kept busy with big new portfolios”.
Third term: Member of Parliament
Chris Bishop again contested the Hutt South electorate in the 2020 New Zealand general election. He lost the seat to Labour MP Ginny Andersen by a final margin of 3,777 votes. Despite this loss, Bishop was re-elected to Parliament on the National Party-list.
On 28 August 2021, Bishop was stripped by party leader Collins of his Shadow Leader of the House portfolio during a reshuffle of her shadow cabinet. Collins claimed that Bishop was stepping down from the portfolio to focus on his role as the National Party’s COVID-19 spokesperson.
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According to Stuff, Bishop had disagreed with the Party’s stance on conversion therapy and pushed for a conscience vote on the proposed Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill. On 30 August, Collins denied losing her temper at Bishop and fellow National MP Erica Stanford for publicly suggesting that they disagreed with the Party’s stance on the conversion therapy legislation.
Controversies
In February 2018 it was disclosed that Bishop was using the social media platform Snapchat to communicate with his constituents including teenage girls. The parents of the affected stated that his intentions appeared misguided and not malicious.
Chris Bishop has since stated that he was running the Snapchat account to help young people become interested in politics and has changed his account so as to only allow for communication with his close friends. ACT party leader David Seymour has stated his backing for Bishop, saying that “an MP’s job is to engage with the young, which is what Bishop was doing”.
In June 2020, claims were made by health minister David Clark that Bishop lobbied for the early release from the quarantine of two sisters who later tested positive for COVID-19. Bishop later stated that he only forwarded their concern through the appropriate channels. He also stated they should have been tested before being released.
Wife
Chris Bishop is married to his longtime Jenna Raebum, they had their wedding in 2017. Chris and his wife Jenna Raebum live in a private house in Wellington. We don’t have much information about their children. However, He has a Samoyed dog called Ladyhawke, named for Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. However, in 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, and following the lowering of COVID-19 alert levels, Bishop appeared in parliament with a mullet, nicknamed the ‘Bishmullet’. He states he did it to raise money for a local charity Good Bitches Baking, raising $10,000 for the charity through online donations.
Chris Bishop net worth
How much is Chris Bishop worth? Chris Bishop net worth is estimated at around $5 million. His main source of income is his political career. Bishop successful career has earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy cars. He is one of the richest and influential politicians in New Zealand.