Top Business Men In South Africa

Who is a Business Man?

A businessman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company.

A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the purpose of generating cash flow, sales, and revenue by using a combination of human, financial, intellectual, and physical capital with a view to fueling economic development and growth.

Top Business Men In South Africa

1. Johann Rupert:

Overview: He is the richest person in South Africa with a net worth of 9.11 billion. The chairman of Swiss luxury goods firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont.

Business background: Rupert served as a business apprentice in New York City where he worked for Chase Manhattan for two years and for Lazard Freres for three years. In 1979 his return to South Africa prompted the Rand Merchant Bank, and he occupied the position of CEO.

History/ background: Johann Rupert grew up in Stellenbosch and attended Paul Roos Gymnasium and the University of Stellenbosch. The eldest son of a businessman, conservationist, and philanthropist Anton Rupert. Initially studying company law and economics he dropped out to pursue a career in business.

2. Nicholas F. Oppenheimer:

Overview: is a South African Billionaire businessman. He was the former chairman of De Beers diamond mining company and its subsidiary, the diamond trading company. With a net worth of 8.7 billion, he ranks as the second richest person in South Africa in 2022. He is the grandson of Ernest Oppenheimer, the founder of Anglo-Americans.

History/ background: Nicholas Frank Oppenheimer was born June 8, 1945, in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was born to Bridget and Harry Oppenheimer, and his father was of German Jewish descent. He was enrolled in Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, earning an Oxford MA.

3. Christoffel Wiese:

Overview: Christoffel Wiese is a South African businessman and billionaire whose source of wealth is consumer retail.

History/ Background: Christoffel Wiese was born in Upington, South Africa. He attended Paarl boys school in the Western Cape region of South Africa. He then proceeded to Stellenbosch University to obtain a BA and LLB degree.

Business background: After graduation, Wiese practiced law for some years, then worked as a Director at Pepkor, a retail chain his parents founded in 1965. Pepkor has branches in Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and New Zealand.

4. Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe:

Overview: Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe is the founder and executive chairman of African rainbow minerals and at $3.6 billion USD he is the fourth richest person in South Africa.

History/Background: Was born in Pretoria, South Africa to a father who was a school teacher and small business owner. His small business has the name Sapaza Shop, which was popular with black mine workers. This is where he had first-hand knowledge of mining and business. He earned a BA in Arts and Law from the University of Swaziland and the University of the Witwatersrand respectively, specializing in mining and business law.

Business background: In 1994 he became the first black African in the law firm Bowman Gilfillan, that was the same year that Nelson Mandela became president. This brought about a combined effort for the government to begin promoting black empowerment and entrepreneurship.

5. Koos Bekker:

Overview: Is a South African Billionare and businessman who is renowned for his vast background in education.

History/Background: Koos Beeker is renowned for not just being an adroit businessman but for his vast educational background. He attended Hoer Volkskool in Heidelberg, South Africa for his secondary school Education. He then earned a BA in Literature (1972) and BA in law from Stellenbosch University (1975). He went for his LLB in Witwatersrand (1978), then an MBA degree from the Columbia Administration, in 1984.

Business background: His business life started when he founded Multichoice, he is also the founding director of the mobile communication company MTN. In 1997 Bekker also became CEO of Naspers.
Origin of wealth and industry: Bekker is the chairman of the media group Naspers.
He founded Multichoice and is the director of MTN.

Who is the most powerful businessman in South Africa?

Johann Rupert is one of South Africa’s most successful and best-known businessmen in his own right, with investments in many top South African and international companies.