Famous South African Business People

David Bale was an English entrepreneur and animal rights activist. He worked closely with The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, which aims at protecting endangered mountain gorillas, and served as one of its board members. Apart from his work as an activist for animal rights and environmental causes, David Bale is also known as the father of actor Christian Bale.

The first black African to be featured on the Forbes billionaires’ list, African Rainbow Minerals founder Patrice Motsepe also owns a football club. In 2021, he took over as the president of the Confederation of African Football. The mining tycoon has also signed The Giving Pledge.

Johann Rupert is a South African-born businessman best known as the son of famous business magnate Anton Rupert. Johann is currently serving as the chairman of a luxury goods company called Richemont. In 2019, he was named the second-wealthiest person in South Africa when he was featured in Forbes magazine's The World's Billionaires list.

Mark Shuttleworth is a South African-British entrepreneur. He is credited with founding Canonical, the company that developed the popular Linux-based Ubuntu operating system. Mark Shuttleworth became the first African from an independent country and the first South African to travel to space; he traveled as a space tourist in 2002.

Known widely as the father of Osama bin Laden, Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was a Saudi business tycoon. He established the Jeddah-headquartered construction conglomerate Saudi Binladin Group and earned contracts from the Saudi royal family. He was also one of the richest non-royal Saudi and had 22 wives.

South African diamond magnate Nicky Oppenheimer is the heir to the De Beers fortune and Africa’s third-richest man. He also helms a chartered flight company and owns over 700 sq. km. conservation land in Africa. He also launched the Brenthurst Foundation with his son, to encourage sustainable development in African nations.

South African business tycoon Sol Kerzner established two of his country’s top hotel groups, Southern Sun Hotels and Sun International. His portfolio included lavish resorts in the Bahamas and Dubai. Born to vegetable sellers, he had initially wished to be a mechanic. He was also an avid boxer, with a volatile temper.

Apart from being a successful Canadian businesswoman, Arlene Dickinson has also gained fame for her appearance on the business reality show Dragons' Den. The Venture Communications CEO was born in South Africa but later moved to Canada with her family. The Calgary-based entrepreneur was also named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women.

Tokyo Sexwale is a South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, businessman, and former political prisoner. He was imprisoned alongside personalities like Nelson Mandela for his anti-apartheid activities. Over the years, he has received several awards and honours, including honorary doctorates from various universities. In 2004, he was named in the Top 100 Great South Africans list.

While Ivan Glasenberg initially excelled in sports and even went on to become a national race-walking champion for South Africa and Israel, he later earned a business degree and began trading coal in Australia, becoming Australia’s fifth-richest man in 2015. He then took over as the CEO of Glencore and moved to Switzerland.

Born to a cigar merchant in Germany, Ernest Oppenheimer went to South Africa as a representative of a diamond brokerage company and ended up becoming the mayor of Kimberley. He later established himself as a leading financier, who chaired De Beers and co-founded the Anglo American Corporation.

While Anton Rupert had initially joined medical school, he later switched to chemistry, due to lack of funds. The founder of the tobacco conglomerate Rembrandt Group, he also had a pivotal role in the non-profit Small Business Development Corporation. A conservationist, too, he was a co-founder of the World Wildlife Fund.

Born in Uganda, Ivan Semwanga turned into a wealthy socialite after moving to South Africa, where he helped the affluent as a ritualist. He established several branches of the Brooklyn College in South Africa and was also a prominent philanthropist. He was also known as the God-father of the rich gang.

The CEO of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley has previously been a professional tennis player and high-level university coach. He broke a 100-year-old record for the most back-to-back wins while coaching at the University of Illinois. He has also been a captain of the South African Davis Cup team.

A well-known South African socialite and businesswoman, Hazel Crane once smuggled diamonds and worked at a strip club. She had also been a nurse. She was gunned down while traveling in her car to testify against Israeli mafia boss Lior Saat. Her interesting life later became public through her post-humous memoir.

One of South Africa’s best-known businessmen, mining magnate Mzi Khumalo grew up selling oil cans and fuel after his father’s death. He later established the Zimbabwean gold-manufacturing company Metallon Corporation, which grew to become the country’s largest gold-producing company. He is also a WWF trustee member.

Jewelry designer Candice Pool is also American YouTuber Casey Neistat’s wife. While they had initially eloped and married, their first marriage ended in an annulment after a month. They got married again 7 years later. Candice is known for her historically symbolic jewelry brand Finn Jewelry and the lifestyle brand Love Billy.