South Africa’s Only Black Billionaire Donates Half His Fortune To Charity

South Africa’s only black billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, has announced that he will give away half his fortune to charitable causes over the course of his life to show solidarity with the world’s poor.

The Soweto-born lawyer, who founded the publicly traded mining conglomerate African Rainbow Minerals, made his announcement this week at an event in Johannesburg where he was joined by US philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on a live online video link.

Mr Motsepe said his family would give away at least half of the funds generated by their assets to the Motsepe Foundation, which would decide where the funds would go.

According to Forbes.com, Mr Motsepe (51) was worth $2.65 billion (€1.9 billion) in November last year. He is the fourth richest person in South Africa and is listed number eight on the Forbes list of Africa’s 40 most wealthy people.

Mr Motsepe said the money would be used to improve the lifestyles and living conditions of the disabled, unemployed, women, youth, workers and marginalised people of South Africa and other countries around the world.

“I decided quite some time ago to give at least half of the funds generated by our family assets to uplift poor and other disadvantaged and marginalised people, but was also duty-bound that it would be done in a way that protects the interests and retains the confidence of our shareholders and investors.”

He made much of his money through Black Economic Empowerment deals in South Africa, which forced mining companies there to be at least 26 per cent black-owned.

Mr Motsepe sits on several company boards and is non-executive chairman of Harmony Gold, the world’s 12th largest gold-mining company. He said his family had also decided to join the Giving Pledge foundation, set up by billionaire Warren Buffett and by Mr Gates and his wife Melinda. It encourages the wealthiest families to give at least half of their fortunes to charity.