President Cyril Ramaphosa: A Look at His R6.4 Billion Nett Worth and How He Generated It
President Cyril Ramaphosa made headlines this week with his cabinet shuffle and appearance before the Zondo Commission. While some applauded the changes he made, others felt the head of state missed a golden opportunity to rectify some of the problems within the ANC that stems from its leadership.
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly News on your News Feed!
Even though there are many who want to see Ramaphosa step down, there are still those who believe in him. Briefly News decided to take a closer look at Ramphosa’s life, his business success and the road that led to the presidency.
From Soweto to parly: How a young Ramaphosa became involved in politics
Ramaphosa was born in Soweto on 17 November, 1952, to Venda parents. The SA head of state is a middle child and his father worked as a police officer.
He matriculated in 1971, from Mphaphuli High School in Sibasa, Venda. Ramaphosa’s leadership skills showed from a very early age; he was elected the head of the Student Christian Movement in high school.
A year after finishing Grade 12, Ramaphosa enrolled at the University of the North to study law. It was during his time at Turfloop that Ramaphosa got a taste of politics. He joined the South African Students Organisation (SASO) and Black People’s Convention (BPC).
At 22, Ramaphosa’s political activities saw him detained under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act, 1967.
Enjoy reading our stories? Download the BRIEFLY NEWS app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news!
Two years later, in 1976, Ramaphosa was apprehended again following the unrest in Soweto. He was jailed for six months at John Vorster Square.
Throughout it all Ramaphosa managed to continue his studies via distance learning with UNISA. The head of state bagged his B. Proc. Degree in 1981.
The founding of National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
In 1982, the Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA), where Ramaphosa worked as a legal advisor, asked him to start a union for mineworkers. It led to the establishment of NUM. The union has been in existence ever since but many have lost faith in it due to several reasons, including the Marikana massacre and questionable increases for the current secretary, Wikipedia reported.
Career at the ANC
Ramaphosa was elected the African National Congress’ secretary-general in 1991. After the first democratic election, Ramaphosa was appointed as member of parliament. He left the ruling party in 1999 to focus in his private sector career but he returned several years later. In 2014, Ramaphosa was appointed deputy president of the country.
Source: Getty Images
In December, 2017, Ramaphosa was elected head of the ANC in his second bid for the presidency. A couple of months later, in February, 2018, Ramaphosa became the SA head of state after Jacob Zuma was forced to step down.
Behind every successful man is a strong woman
When Ramaphosa became the new president, Mzansi also got a new first lady.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Dr Tshepo Motsepe have been married for 25 years. It appears that President Ramaphosa and his wife prefer to keep the details about their relationship private.
Even though it is known they were married in 1996, there is no information on how they met.
However, Dr Tshepo isn’t Ramaphosa’s first wife. In 1978, President Ramaphosa married a woman named Hope. The couple was married for just over a decade before getting a divorce in 1989 and they share a son, Andile, together. Two years after his first failed married, the businessman tied the knot to his second wife, Nomazizi Mtshotshisa. However, the couple was not even married for three years before calling it quits in 1993. Ramaphosa was blessed with another child, Tulisa, during his second marriage to Nomazizi. In 1996, the head of state said "I do" to Dr Tshepo and they have been together ever since. They have four children together, according to Buzz South Africa.
Close knit family man
Ramaphosa has one child from a previous marriage and four children with Dr Tshepo: boys Andile and Tumelo, and girls, Mashudu and Keneilwe (Kiki).
The head of state managed to keep his family out of the spotlight for the most part but Andile recently trended over his alleged Bosasa connections. Shortly after Ramaphosa’s election as president, one of his other sons also trended.
The handsome Tumelo caught many's eye with his charismatic smile, which resembles that of his father.
Tumelo is also a business man, he is the acting CEO of StudEx Wild Life, a company he founded.
Cyril Ramaphosa is a successful businessman worth billions
In 1999, Ramaphosa lost the ANC presidency election to Thabo Mbeki and he quit the ruling party to venture into the business sector.
Cyril Ramaphosa has achieved success not only in politics but in his businesses as well. The SA head is worth an estimated R6.4 billion ($450 million) as of 2018. He made his impressive nett worth through properties and previous ownership in companies, including McDonald’s and businesses he founded.
In 2001, Ramaphosa launched the Shanduka Group, a leading black-owned investment company that had shareholding in the likes of MTN, Coca-Cola, Standard Bank, Alexander Forbes, to name only a few.
Ramaphosa took a step back from the private sector after he was elected deputy president by Jacob Zuma.
President Ramaphosa is the foremost investor in Ankole cattle
Briefly News previously reported a video of what appears to be President Cyril Ramaphosa purchasing cattle has left many social media users a little confused.
In May, Ramaphosa’s Ntaba Nyoni Estates ranch in Mpumalanga also sold a number of Ankole cattle at an auction. A five-year-old bull called Mufasa fetched R700 000, while a pregnant cow, Lindi, fetched R560 000. Another cow, with a calf, was sold for R400 000. In total, Ntaba Nyoni’s nine cattle brought in R2,7 million.
President Ramaphosa is the foremost investor in Ankole cattle in South Africa. Back in 2004, his interest was piqued on a visit to Uganda where the former Ugandan president had introduced him to the indigenous African longhorn breed. Ramaphosa then commissioned Dr Morne de la Rye of a veterinary biotech company, Embryo Plus to import frozen embryos from East Africa, which were then artificially inseminated into local cows who served as surrogate mothers.
President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks about Zuma and corruption at Zondo Commission
Briefly News previously reported President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry that he would have lost his job had he been head-on confrontational about state capture allegations with former President Jacob Zuma.
Ramaphosa noted that while he may have publicly spoken out against some of Zuma's decisions in the past such as firing Minister Pravin Gordhan, he was limited in how confrontational he could be because he believes that Zuma would have fired him.
Source: Getty Images
Source: Briefly News
