Self-made South
Africa multi-millionaire, Mac van der Merwe, is the antithesis of one’s expectations
of a man who has made it big in the hospitality, tourism and wine industry.
He’s affable and easy to speak to, humble and looks no different from you and
I.
The middle son of
a poor white South Africa family, Van der Merwe grew up near Vereenging just
outside Johannesburg, ironically not far from the Riviera on Vaal, one of the
five-star properties he now owns.
The 61-year-old
says that his first meal outside his family home was at age 19 or 20 at the restaurant
at the Riviera on Vaal. Little did he realise then, that he would buy the hotel
in December 2003 and turn it into a top class tourist destination.
As with most
successful businessmen, Van der Merwe showed an entrepreneurial bent from a
young age. His first ‘businesses’ at age eight was charging friends one pence a
time to view pictures on his View Master. Van der Merwe soon graduated to
selling bicycles and says: “I was always busy with some sort of scheme, buying
and selling, creating opportunities…”
Van der Merwe graduated
with a mechanical engineering degree, despite his claims of not being a good
scholar, and debuted in business with a car dealership in 1982 which he
expanded to seven branches. He says he was driven by the fact that he did not
want to battle like his parents.
He then opened an
engineering firm providing support engineering for the steel industry and grew
this into a company with three branches which he listed on the JSE as City
Investment Holding in 1996.
Van der Merwe
also invested in the IT industry, but his Midas touch came to the fore when he and
two other partners purchased the President Steyn gold mine in Welkom from
AngloGold.
The mine was sold
five years later – and was the deal in which the quietly spoken Van der Merwe
literally made his millions.
Not wanting to
retire Van der Merwe then started a family-owned business, the Zorgvliet Group,
in which his wife, two daughters and son are involved. This started with the
opportune purchase a Stellenbosch wine farm Zorgvliet in 2002, followed by the
Riviera on Vaal (bought for sentimental reasons) and then two adjacent private
game reserves in the malaria-free Limpopo Waterberg - Ka’Ingo Private Reserve
and Spa and Dinkweng Safari
Camp.
Still happily married to
his childhood sweetheart, Marietjie,
Van der Merwe attributes a lot of his success to luck – making the right
decision to buy the right asset at the right time – but was quick to admit that
he has a considerable appetite for risk add that success is not achieved by
default or even hard work, but by working your plan.
Van der Merwe’s
current plan is build a hospitality network in South Africa, with the best that
South Africa has to offer – and is clearly making his plan work. In addition he
is pioneering the rollout of fractional ownership in South Africa with the
Zorgvliet Private Residence Club.
It is through
fractional ownership that Van der Merwe hopes to encourage people to invest in
full title ownership of unique properties, while ensuring sustainable access
and sound conservation management – part of the custodianship vision instilled
into Van der Merwe by his hardworking father.
But Van der
Merwe’s focus is on more than making money. He believes that success is
relative and is comprised of more than the proverbial accounting bottom line.
He ranks a happy close-knit family right up at the top of his achievements and
“time-out” for Van der Merwe is spending quality time with Marietjie or his
daughters, playing golf with his son and son-in-law, or driving his five
grandchildren around on a quad bike.
Van der Merwe,
who also completed his MBA part-time through UNISA, believes it is his
responsibility to add value and as a result has also involved himself in
several conservation projects including the release of cheetahs and relocation
of leopard, as well as provided financial assistance to the Waterberg Academy.
Despite the fact
that his staff have nothing but nice things to say about him, Van der Merwe, a
self-confessed opportunist, says that he is not a good manager. “I give people
a lot of rope, and if the don’t pull their weight I send them packing,” he
says.
His secret ingredient of
success is a willingness to share information and learn daily from others. “Not
being territorial opens opportunities for exciting and productive partnerships
and finding synergies,” says Van der Merwe.
