Cyril Ramaphosa
Widely respected as a negotiator and strategist, Cyril Ramaphosa played a significant role, along with Roelf Meyer of the ruling National Party, in the negotiations to bring about the peaceful end to apartheid.
Early life
Growing up in Soweto in the 1960s and 1970s, Ramaphosa became intimately involved in student politics and joined the South African Students Organisation and the Black People’s Convention. This resulted in him being detained twice, the first time for 11 months in solitary confinement and the second for six months, both times under the auspices of the Terrorism Act.
While in detention, Ramaphosa completed his law degree via correspondence through the University of South Africa. After being released he completed his articles with a Johannesburg firm of attorneys, and joined the Council of Unions of South Africa (Cusa) as an advisor in the legal department.
Ramaphosa was encourage by Cusa to form a union for mineworkers and in 1982 the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was born with Ramaphosa as its first secretary. He was the organiser of the preparations for the conference that led to the formation of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), delivered the keynote address at Cosatu’s launch rally, and was part of the Cosatu delegation that met with the ANC in Lusaka, Zambia.
To say he has had an impact on South Africa as we know it today is a severe understatement.
How he made his money
Following his election to Deputy President of South Africa in 2014, Ramaphosa has stepped away from a majority of his business interests. Prior to that he was Executive Chairman of Shanduka Group, which he also founded. The company has investments in the resources, energy, real estate, banking, insurance, and telecoms sectors.
He has held Non-Executive Directorships with Macsteel Holdings, Alexander Forbes, and Standard Bank, as well as being the Chairman of The Bidvest Group and MTN. He has previously held a position on the board of SAB Miller.
Widely respected as a negotiator and strategist, Cyril Ramaphosa played a significant role, along with Roelf Meyer of the ruling National Party, in the negotiations to bring about the peaceful end to apartheid.
Early life
Motsepe was introduced into the world of sales and business early in his life. His father Augustine Motsepe, an ex-school teacher turned businessman, recognised an opportunity to create a spaza shop that became very popular with black mine workers. It was while working in this shop that Patrice learned the basics of business.
The spaza shop was also where a young Motsepe learned that he wanted more himself than selling odds and ends to miners. Despite the fact that his father admitted that they would sell far more when his son was behind the counter, a young Patrice became determined to become a lawyer at the tender age of eight years old.
After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Swaziland, Motsepe completed his LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand and went on to become the first black partner at Bowman Gilfillan, one of the top law firms in Africa.
How he made his money
A genuine rags to riches story already, instead of stopping there as a vastly successful lawyer, Motsepe became a mining magnate. He is the Founder and Executive Chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, which deals in gold, ferrous and base metals, and platinum. As the undisputed richest black person in South Africa, Motsepe sits on the boards of several companies, such as Harmony Gold, and owns a piece of Sanlam.
When Motsepe was starting out in the mining game, he benefitted from an extended downturn in the price of gold. South African gold groups, such as AngloGold were looking to restructure by offloading marginal mines. He purchased these low-yield assets and turned them profitable.
As a result, in 2002, he was honoured with South Africa’s Best Entrepreneur Award and in 2004 was voted 39th in SABC 3’s Greatest South African’s list. In 2012, the Sunday Times listed Motsepe as the richest man in South Africa with an estimated fortune of R20 billion. Since 2012, his fortune has grown but he has relinquished the title of richest man in South Africa.
Former Minister of Human Settlements, Tokyo Sexwale is a well know public figure in South Africa with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. He is a businessman, politician, anti-apartheid activist, and former political prisoner. If he were to say that he had seen it all, it would be difficult to argue.
Early life
The son of a clerk at Johannesburg General Hospital, Sexwale grew up in Orlando West in Soweto at the height of the turmoil in the township. He joined Steve Biko’s Black Consciousness Movement at a young age and was quickly recognised as a natural leader by the South African Students’ Movement.
Just after completing high school in the early 1970s, he joined the African National Congress’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe and went into exile to receive military officers training in the Soviet Union with a specialisation in military engineering.
Soon after returning to South Africa, Sexwale was captured by local authorities, tried for terrorism and conspiracy to overthrow the government, and was sentenced to an 18 year jail term at Robben Island maximum security prison. He was released in 1990 after serving 13 years of his sentence and began his successful career as a politician and businessman.
How he made his money
After stepping down from public service, Sexwale founded Mvelaphanda Holdings. The company’s primary focus is on the mining, energy, and related sectors. His main interests are in the oil and diamond mining industries.
Sexwale is a major player in the diamond mining industry in South Africa. His company is reportedly the third largest in the country after De Beers and JFPI Corporation. His business acumen was praised by Harry Oppenheimer, a mega-mining mogul himself, who stated that Sexwale understanding of the South African and international diamond mining industry was almost unequalled.
He is a well-known philanthropist and is a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Global Philanthropists Circle of the Synergos Institute, the Business Trust, and the Robben Islan Ex-Prisoners Trust. If that weren’t enough, he is also a patron of societies such as the Johannesburg Child and Family Welfare Society, Streetwise South Africa, Save the Family Fund, and The Sky is No Limit.