Top 10 Richest Black People in South Africa

The Top Empowerment Top Ten

By Charndré Emma Kippie and Sinazo Mkoko

Patrice Motsepe

• Born: January 28, 1962.

• Net worth: R49.2-billion

• Alma mater: University of Swaziland, University of the Witwatersrand

• Citizenship: South African

Known as Africa’s first black billionaire, Patrice Motsepe is the Founder and Executive Chairman of African Rainbow Minerals. He was the first black African on the Forbes list. Patrice is a business titan with a vast network of companies in the mining, finance, and sports industries, making him one of the country’s most powerful businessmen.

Patrice was exposed to the world of business from a young age. His father, Augustine Motsepe, an ex-school teacher turned businessman, saw a chance to open a spaza shop that quickly became popular among black mining workers. This is where Patrice learnt the basics of business while working in this shop. It was then that he decided he wanted to do more than sell bits and ends to miners.

According to the Daily Investor, Patrice owns a string of companies, including African Rainbow Minerals, African Rainbow Capital, Ubuntu-Botho Investments, African Rainbow Energy and Power and his sports franchises.

In 1999, he and Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe started the Motsepe Foundation, a foundation which aims to recognise the interconnectedness of humanity. The foundation runs various programmes such as bursaries and education, gender equality, wellness and leadership programmes, community development, sports and arts culture in efforts to give back to the less fortunate.

President Cyril Ramaphosa

• Born: November 17, 1952

• Net worth: R6.4 billion

• Nationality: South African

• Alma mater: University of the North, University of Massachusetts (USA), University of Cape Town, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Port Elizabeth, University of Lesotho, University of the North, University of South Africa

• Occupation: President of South Africa

South Africa’s richest politician, President Cyril 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 with 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 encouraged 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 an understatement.

His stint in business ended in 2014 when he was selected as the country’s Deputy President. He declared in the same year that he would withdraw from Shanduka to avoid any conflict of interest. He also resigned from his board positions and sold McDonald’s South Africa to MSA Holdings, a UAE-based company.

Tokyo Sexwale

• Born: March 5, 1953

• Net worth: R2.9-billion

• Citizenship: South African

• Alma mater: University of Botswana,Lesotho, and Swaziland; University of Nottingham (UK)

• Occupation: Non-Executive Chair of Mvelaphanda Holdings

Tokyo Sexwale is considered the second richest politician in South Africa after President Cyril Ramaphosa. Tokyo was the Premier of Gauteng Province following South Africa’s democratic election in 1994 and served as Minister of Human Settlements from 2009 to 2013. He joined the world of politics just after completing high school, forming part of the armed wing of the African National Congress, Umkhonto we Sizwe, and went into exile to undergo military officer training in the Soviet Union, specialising in military engineering.

From 2001 to 2008, he served as a non-executive director of Barclays Africa Group Ltd. In 2002, he also established Mvelaphanda Holdings Limited, which primarily operates in the energy, mining, and allied sectors. Tokyo is currently employed as an executive chairman.

His main passions have been oil and diamond mining, and he is a key player in South Africa’s diamond mining business. His company is said to be the third-largest diamond mining enterprise in the country. His commercial acumen was lauded by Harry Oppenheimer, a mega-mining billionaire himself, who remarked that Sexwale’s knowledge of the South African and international diamond mining industries was practically unparalleled.

Phutuma Nhleko

• Born: 7 April, 1960

• Net worth: R1.74-billion

• Nationality: South African

• Alma mater: Ohio State University and Atlanta University.

• Occupation: Chairman / Co-founder of Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund

Another South African billionaire, Phuthuma Nhleko is the Chairman and one of the founding members of Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund and Worldwide African Invest. He also serves as a director at Old Mutual Life, Nedcor Investment Bank, Nixia Trading, Network Communications, Worldwide Capital, Commerce One, Worldwide African Logistics & Trading, Johnic Communications, Afric Oil, and Sego Investments.

Phuthuma was MTN’s Chief Executive Officer; prior to that, he worked as a Senior Manager for the Standard Corporate & Merchant Bank corporate team, a Civil Engineer and Project Manager for the Urban Foundation, and a Senior Road Engineer for the Swaziland Ministry of Works.

He has returned to MTN as a Non-Executive Chairman and is a member of the Audit Committee at Anglo American. His first job was with the Ohio Department of Transport as a civil engineer but decided he needed to further his knowledge and returned to studying, completing an MBA in finance at Atlanta University.

Sipho Nkosi

• Born: 29 April 1954

• Net worth: R1.9-billion

• Citizenship: South African

• Alma mater: University of Massachusetts (USA), University of Zululand, University of South Africa

• Occupation: President of the Chamber of Mines South Africa

A highly respected business leader, Sipho Nkosi holds several degrees, along with the MBA he holds an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of South Africa and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Zululand.

It was while he was working with Anglo Coal that he recognised a growing opportunity in the coal industry and put a team together that narrowly won the bid to purchase New Coal, previously owned by two of South Africa’s mining giants, in 1998. Over the following three years, he and his partners built Eyesizwe Coal, a mining company that became a shining light in the world of transformation and B-BEEE.

Sipho owns a stake in Sanlam, and is currently the CEO of Exxaro Resources, which purchased Eyesizwe. He is also the President of the Chamber of Mines South Africa.

Irene Charnley

• Born: May 6, 1960

• Net worth: R1.5-billion

• Nationality: South African

• Alma mater: London College of Printing

• Occupation: President of the International Women’s Forum South Africa

Former trade unionist and businesswoman, Irene Charnley, started her career in the South African business sector working as a negotiator for the South African National Union of Mineworkers, spending 13 years as a coordinator for a variety of divisions within the union operations department.

Later on in her career, Irene was appointed as an executive director for the MTN Group, one of Africa’s largest telecommunications companies. Under her leadership, several African and Middle Eastern countries (including Nigeria and Iran) were connected to the MTN network.

She was also behind the launch of the National Empowerment Consortium, which is made up of 50% black business owners and 50% black African labourers. Eventually, the National Empowerment Consortium obtained 35% ownership of Johnnic Holdings, which now operates under the name Johnnic Communications. Irene is also the Founder and Deputy Chairman of Smile Telecoms, the Pan-African telecommunications group that was established in 2007. She has received a Forbes Woman Africa Pioneer Award for her dedication to transforming the continent’s telecommunications landscape.

Vincent Zwelibanzi Mntambo

• Born: September 17, 1957

• Net worth: R1.1-billion

• Citizenship: South African

• Alma mater: Yale University (UK), University of the North West

• Occupation: Chairman of ASG Consulting Solutions

Currently, the Vice Chancellor of Vaal University of Technology (VUT), Vincent Zwelibanzi Mntambo, is one of the most prominent businessmen in South Africa. He gained experience in administrative duties through various roles within the personnel department at the University of the North West before the Education Opportunity Council gave him the opportunity to study law at Yale.

Upon returning from Yale, Vincent spent some time teaching law at UNISA before joining the International Mediation Service of South Africa as Regional Director. His experience studying law in two countries, as well as his role in the Soweto uprisings, meant that Mntambo was an excellent conflict mediator, which fast-tracked his rise to become President of the South African Association of Conflict Intervention.

Throughout his career, he has held the positions of Non-Executive Director of Aveng, Non-Executive Chair of the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration, Executive Director of the Independent Mediation Services of South Africa, Senior Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Director General of Gauteng. He also serves as a Non-Executive Director for Eyesizwe Coal, Everest Applied Technologies, and Exxaro Resources and is the Chairman of ASG Consulting Solutions.

Bridgette Radebe

• Born: February 26, 1960

• Net worth: R1.3-billion

• Nationality: South African

• Alma mater: University of Botswana

Bridgette Radebe is recognised as the first black female mining entrepreneur. She is the Founder and Executive Chairperson of Mmakau Mining Limited, a company she started in the 1980s. Mmakau Mining Limited is a mining firm that conducts explorations and assists in producing platinum, gold, and chrome.

She is the former president of the South African Mining Development Association and a mogul in the mining industry and sister to one of the richest men in SA, Patrice Motsepe. With a net worth of over R1-billion, the iconic businesswoman has paved the way for many African women who aspire to be in the male-dominated industry and be among the top richest women in South Africa.

In 2008, she received the International Businessperson of the Year Award presented by the Global Foundation for Democracy. This accolade recognises business people who have made a significant impact in the world, transforming both political and environmental models.

Nkululeko Leonard Sowazi

• Born: April 1963

• Net worth: R726-million

• Nationality: South African

• Alma mater: University of California, US International University

• Occupation: Chairperson of Kagiso Tiso Holdings

Nkululeko Leonard Sowazi is worth millions. He launched his career after returning to South Africa with a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California and a Bachelor of Arts from USA International University. Nkululeko holds holdings in the Emira Property Fund and Litha Healthcare Groups, in addition to all of the enterprises in which he has been involved, both as an executive and as a non-executive. He is also the Founder of Tiso Group Ltd., Tiso Foundation, and Tiso Blackstar Group Ltd. and has, over the years, led and managed various businesses.

Mike Teke

• Born: 5 August 1964

• Net Worth: R682-million

• Citizenship: South African

• Alma mater: University of Johannesburg, University of South Africa

• Occupation: Chief Executive Officer at Seriti Resources

Mike Teke’s humble roots have ensured that success has not spoiled him. Mike was raised by his grandmother, and the knowledge she shared with him has stayed with him his entire life, and he frequently attributes his success to her counsel. Despite his fortune, the principles he learnt from his grandmother and his steady rise up the corporate ladder have never left him. His previous employers include BHP Billiton, Samancor Manganese, Elida Ponds, Bayer, and Impala Platinum.

He is currently the Chamber of Mines’ Vice President. Mike bought a 55% stake in the Vlakfontein prospecting rights in the Ermelo area after recognising the potential worth of coal. This is currently the Vlakfontein greenfield development project owned by Optimum Coal, the firm he bought in 2008 with four other investors. In two years, Optimal Coal had grown in value to be worth R2.7-billion. Mike attributes this success to the purchase of Optimal Coal at a favourable time, just before the resource reached R150 per ton.

His career in human resources has ensured that he knows how to keep his staff happyFurther evidence of Teke’s humanitarian ways can be seen by the three year investment Optimum Coal has undertaken to fund a comprehensive HIV/Aids testing and educational programme at all of its mining operations, encourageing employees and local communities to know their status and live responsibly.

Sources: Forbes | Statista | Daily Investor