by Ekrem Duman | Aug 26, 2026 | South Africa Company Stories, South Africa Founders & Dynasties
⚡ TL;DRFor most of the twentieth century the Oppenheimer family controlled the world’s diamond trade and, through interlocking shareholdings, a very large share of the South African economy. In 2012 the family sold its remaining diamond stake for several...
by Ekrem Duman | Aug 26, 2026 | South Africa Company Stories, South Africa Founders & Dynasties
⚡ TL;DRRichemont was created in 1988 when a South African group separated its international assets into a Swiss-domiciled vehicle. Under Johann Rupert it assembled a portfolio of jewellery and watch maisons — heritage names with manufacturing depth —...
by Ekrem Duman | Aug 26, 2026 | South Africa Company Stories, South Africa Founders & Dynasties
⚡ TL;DRChristo Wiese built two of Africa’s largest retail groups by understanding a customer the rest of the market ignored: the low-income shopper buying basics at the lowest possible price. He then sold his clothing empire for shares in a European-listed...
by Ekrem Duman | Aug 26, 2026 | South Africa Company Stories, South Africa Transformation & Ownership
⚡ TL;DREmployee share ownership schemes have become the most common broad-based empowerment structure in South Africa, covering hundreds of thousands of workers across mining, retail, financial services and manufacturing. Whether they deliver depends almost...
by Ekrem Duman | Aug 26, 2026 | South Africa Company Stories, South Africa Transformation & Ownership
⚡ TL;DRSouth Africa nationalized mineral rights in the early 2000s and made mining licences conditional on transformation commitments set out in a charter. Successive revisions raised ownership thresholds, disputed whether past deals counted permanently, and...
by Ekrem Duman | Aug 26, 2026 | South Africa Company Stories, South Africa Transformation & Ownership
⚡ TL;DRThe Ubuntu-Botho transaction gave a broad-based black consortium a substantial stake in one of South Africa’s largest insurers under a structure with a long lock-in, dividend-based funding and no margin call risk. Held through a full market cycle,...
