At the age of 46, South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe became the first Black African to appear on the Forbes list of world billionaires. He is also South Africa’s first industrialist and billionaire.
Because he hails from a family of entrepreneurs, Motsepe’s initial love as a child was entrepreneurship. His grandfather and father were both business owners. His father, the leader of the Tswana people’s Mmakau branch, was a schoolteacher who later became a businessman as the owner of a Spaza shop popular by mine employees.
Motsepe had exposure to the mining industry and had the opportunity to learn crucial business skills from his father, which would determine his success, from this shop. Key Motsepe, his mother, was a businesswoman who oversaw the family’s business at the time.
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He has now evolved to become one of Africa’s most powerful leaders, with a presence in both sports and business. Motsepe owns the following five businesses.
African Rainbow Minerals Ltd (ARM)
Motsepe is a mining tycoon. It took him many years to figure out which option to follow, and he learned that his country had no tradition of small-scale mining. This motivated him to purchase low-producing gold mine shafts in 1997 and turn them into viable businesses within a year. African Rainbow Minerals Ltd (ARM) is owned by Motsepe. Iron ore, manganese ore and alloys, platinum group metals, copper, nickel, and coal are all mined by the corporation. ARM also has a gold investment.
Mamelodi Sundowns
Motsepe, who is now 60, is also an enthusiastic sports investor, having significant holdings in football and rugby. The billionaire is the owner and founder of Mamelodi Sundowns, a South African football team. Sundowns play in South Africa’s top flight and have won the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League once.
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Pretoria-based Blue Bulls
Motsepe is also a joint major shareholder with a 37 percent ownership in the Pretoria-based Bulls, South Africa’s most successful rugby team. The Bulls investment is mostly to supplement his Sundowns investment.
African Rainbow Capital
According to its website, Motsepe controls African Rainbow Capital (ARC), an investment firm focusing on possibilities in the South African and African financial services and diversified investments (non-financial) industries. The company was founded in 2015 and is a subsidiary of Ubuntu-Botho Investments. The primary purpose of ARC is to acquire stakes in companies that provide extraordinary returns on equity.
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TymeBank
TymeBank is an all-digital bank with over 6.2 million customers. African Rainbow Capital (ARC) Financial Services Holding owns a portion of the company and has a presence in South Africa and the Philippines.