PATRICE MOTSEPE

Since his inclusion in the Forbe’s World Billionaire List in 2008 as the 503^rd richest man in the world, South African mining magnate Partice Motsepe, has attracted both admiration and envy, despite a drop to 559^th richest man in 2009 with more than $1bn drop in net worth.

While branding him as one of the new rich black elite to benefit from Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and cronyism, critics ignore the fact that he turned from being a successful mining lawyer to a successful mining businessman, winning several business awards before the introduction of BEE.

They also ignore a family entrepreneurial background, and much hard work… and the fact that Motsepe’s uncle is the leader of a Tswana tribe known as the Motsepe tribe.

Motsepe was born in his mother’s hometown, Soweto, on Jan 28^th 1962. He soon moved to rural Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, where the apartheid government had banished his father, Augustine Motsepe, close to his hometown.

There his father established a successful grocery store and went on to open a beer hall and a restaurant, giving Patrice an early induction into the business and life skills that have seen him achieve many firsts.

Named Patrice after Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the DRC, Motsepe was sent to boarding school to get a good education. He attended the Saint Joseph Mission School in Aliwal North for ten years and went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Swaziland.

Fluent in Afrikaans, English and several African languages, Motsepe applied for, and received, permission to study at the then whites only University of the Witwatersrand and became one of the university’s few black law graduates.

He began his practice as an attorney at Bowman Gilfillan Inc in 1988, and in 1991 went as a visiting attorney to the US under the American Bar Association programme. After his return he became the first black law partner at Bowman and Gilfillan.

Specialising in commerce, Motsepe focused on mining and business law before his entrepreneurial spirit and expertise saw him start his own mining company.

In 1994 he founded Future Mining, which grew from operating out of a brief case, because Motsepe could not get start-up funding, into a successful contract mining company.

In 1997 he formed African Rainbow Minerals Gold Limited, which listed on the JSE in 2002. In 2002 Motsepe won the Ernst & Young best entrepreneur of the year award and was voted as South Africa’s business leader of the year by the CEOs of the top 100 companies in the country.

At that time Patrice said the most important elements in business were employee buy-in and applying innovative leadership to maintain a contented workforce. He said he regarded developing a relationship of trust as the 
corner stone of a happy working environment, and was noted for a low basic pay, but high bonus incentive structure.

The successful entrepreneur learnt his first business lessons while helping his father in the store – that of ploughing any profit back into the business.

Motsepe business model was to acquire low producing gold mine shafts on favourable financial terms and turned them into a profit with tight and careful management.

In 2003 African Rainbow Minerals Gold merged with Harmony, the world’s fifth largest gold producer. Motsepe was appointed to the African Rainbow Minerals board in 2003 and became executive chairman in 2004. He is also a non-executive director of Harmony, as well as deputy chairman of insurer Sanlam and a non-executive of banking group Absa.

An energetic businessman, Motsepe is married to a medical doctor Precious Moloi and has three sons. The eldest shares Motsepe’s middle name, Tlhopie (a derivative of Tlhopane which means the chosen one), and is followed by Kgosi and Kabelo.

Motsepe’s sister, Bridgette Radebe, is South Africa’s first black female entrepreneur and married to Jeff Radebe, minister of justice and constitutional development.

Motsepe, an avowed capitalist who only sees the positive aspects of our rainbow nations, is clearly following the lessons of frugality learnt early in life. The only sign of extravagance that the billionaire shows is that of owning a football club. An avid soccer supporter, he owns and is president of the Mamelodi Sundowns.

Forbes magazine and various other reports are rather scathing in attributing Motsepe’s wealth to BEE policies rather than his entrepreneurial ability. Motsepe, in turn, readily admits he has benefitted from the preferential policies for black entrepreneurs, but justifiably reminds people that his business success preceded the introduction of BEE. Motsepe points out that he did not receive a hand out; rather it was his hard work that saw him already in a position to benefit from the policies that were introduced.