After suffering losses early this year, South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s net worth has risen by $200 million in the last 19 days, from $2.3 billion to $2.5 billion, according to Forbes’ data tracked by Billionaires Africa.
This is due to an increase in the market value of his private investments, including his stakes in TymeBank, a digital-only bank, the outlet reported. Between May 12 and June 2, Motsepe saw his net worth decline by $100 million, which brought his total wealth loss to $900 million. Thanks to his gain of $200 million, his total wealth loss is now $700 million, meaning he has experienced a decline of over half a billion dollars in wealth this year.
Motsepe, who is South Africa‘s first Black industrialist and billionaire, is the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, which mines iron ore, manganese ore and alloys, platinum group metals, copper, nickel and coal. He became a billionaire in 2008 and the first black African on the Forbes list. In 1994, the South African became the first Black partner at law firm Bowman Gilfillan in Johannesburg before starting a mining services contracting business. In 2016, he launched a private equity firm, African Rainbow Capital, to focus on investing in Africa. Motsepe, who is the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club, was elected president of the Confederation of African Football in 2021.
The South African billionaire is the first African to sign Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge, promising to give at least half his fortune to charity. Apart from being an international businessman, Motsepe is an expert in governance, law and compliance but his first passion was entrepreneurship.
“Growing up in a business environment in a family, standing behind conflicts at a young age, and I wanted to pursue my first passion which was entrepreneurship,” he said in an interview with CNN. The African billionaire has a BA law degree (University of Swaziland), LLB (Wits University), Doctor of Commerce (honoris causa) (Wits University), Doctor of Commerce (honoris causa) (Stellenbosch University), Doctor of Management and Commerce (honoris causa) (Fort Hare) and Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) (University of Eswatini, formerly University of Swaziland).
