Who is the owner of Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation, Simon Rudland?
Simon Rudland is a renowned Zimbabwean business tycoon with an interest in logistics, finance, and agriculture. He is the co-owner of Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation, a multi-national manufacturer and distributor of the Rudland & George RG cigarette brand. Rudland is currently one of Zimbabwe's wealthiest men.
Source: UGC
The Rudlands are an influential Zimbabwean family with business interests across Southern African countries. The family is also not new to multi-million-dollar scandals. In March 2023, Simon Rudland was implicated in an Al Jazeera exposé regarding Zimbabwe's illegal gold trade and money laundering dealings. In 2006, the South African crime-fighting unit, Scorpions, raided his logistics company, Mavambo, on allegations of illegal cigarette sales and tax evasion.
Simon Rudland's profiles summary and bio
| Full name | Simon George Wilburn Rudland |
| Date of birth | Not known |
| Age | Not known |
| Place of birth | Zimbabwe |
| Current residence | South Africa, Zimbabwe |
| Nationality | Zimbabwean |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Gender | Male |
| Marital status | Divorced |
| Former wife | Leigh-Ann Patricia Schoeman (from 1992 to 2014) |
| Children | Daughters Emma, Hannah, and Sarah |
| Parents | Mother Adriene |
| Siblings | Brother Hamish |
| Profession | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Being co-founder of Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation (GLTC) |
Simon Rudland's age
The tobacco tycoon was born in Zimbabwe. His exact date of birth is not known.
Who is the Rudland family?
Source: UGC
Simon's mother is Adrienne, a businesswoman and owner of Braemar, a United Arab Emirates company. He has a brother called Hamish Rudland, and they have established several businesses in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Simon Rudland's wife and children
The entrepreneur was previously married to Leigh-Ann Patricia Schieman. The former couple tied the knot on 3rd September 1992 in Harare, Zimbabwe, and Patricia filed for the dissolution of their marriage in November 2014. She accused Simon of being unfaithful and leaving their matrimonial home. Simon and Patricia have three children, including Sarah, Hannah, and the youngest daughter Emma.
Simon Rudland's businesses
The business mogul co-owns Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation (GLTC) alongside Yakub Mahomed. He also co-founded Pioneer Transport in 1995 with his brother Hamish Rudland. The logistics company grew to become the Pioneer Corporation Africa (PAC) after the acquisition of companies like Unifreight, Bulwark, and Clan.
The Rudland brothers invested in the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and, through the Day River Corporation, acquired significant stakes in assets like CFI agricultural company and Zimre. Simon established the Rudland & George cigarette brand in 2015. In 2019, his R&G cigarettes brand signed a five-year sponsorship deal with the Dynamos Football Club.
Source: UGC
Simon Rudland's net worth
The business magnate has an estimated net worth of $98 million. The Zimbabwean government allegedly owes him between $200 million and $250 million, according to Al Jazeera's Southern Africa illegal gold trade exposé.
Simon Rudland's assassination attempt
In August 2019, there was an assassination attempt on Simon Rudland outside Fairtrade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) offices in Oaklands, Johannesburg, South Africa. He was hospitalized with three gunshot wounds, one on his neck and two on his back, after being shot nine times. Rudland's vital organs were not affected, and he later revealed his suspicion about one of his competitors in the cigarette business being behind the incident.
Simon Rudland's latest news
In March 2023, Al Jazeera's Investigation Unit named Simon Rudland as one of the brains behind the Gold Mafia gangs who launder money and smuggle gold through Southern African companies. According to the Al Jazeera 4-part exposé, Zimbabwe cannot sell gold anywhere in the world due to the sanctions imposed by the West during President Mugabe's reign, but individuals can smuggle gold out of the country.
Gold forms one of the largest shares of Zimbabwe's exports and the country desperately needs US dollars since the Zimbabwean currency has little value. Criminals worldwide are also looking for ways to clean their money, and gold is one of the easiest ways to get legitimate money.
Members of the Gold Mafia clans have set up companies in different countries to launder billions of dollars of money through gold, forex trading, and other financial businesses. Simon Rudland is allegedly well-connected with Zimbabwe's top government officials and sells gold on behalf of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe through his Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation.
Simon and his company GLTC denied the money laundering and gold smuggling allegations and threatened to sue Al Jazeera. Others implicated in the Zimbabwe illegal gold trade scandal are Kenyan-born Kamlesh Pattni, top Zimbabwean diplomat Uebert Angel, Pastor Rikki, President Mnangagwa's niece Henrieta Rushwaya, Ewan Macmillan, and Canadian national Alistair Mathias.
Source: UGC
Who is the owner of Remington Gold cigarettes?
The Remington Gold brand is owned by Savanna Tobacco, a Zimbabwean-based company. In 2016, the firm was involved in a court case with Gold Leaf after it launched a cigarette brand with the name RG. The court ruled in favour of Savanna, and Gold Leaf had to change their cigarette brand in Zimbabwe to Rudland & George.
Simon Rudland's Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation started operations over two decades ago and is currently one of Southern Africa's largest cigarette companies. The entrepreneur has also established himself as one of the region's influential tycoons despite the various scandals surrounding his business.
READ ALSO: Top 20 richest people in South Africa and their net worth in 2023
Briefly published about the top 20 wealthiest people in South Africa. According to Forbes, Mzansi has the highest number of billionaires in Africa in 2023, with five people making it to the Forbes billionaires club.
Johann Rupert remains South Africa's wealthiest person in 2023, with a net worth of $10.3 billion (about R175 billion). He is followed by Nicky Oppenheimer with an $8.6 billion net worth.
Source: Briefly News
