Business
South African billionaire, Patrice Motsepe to donate half of his fortune to charity
Patrice Motsepe, founder and chairman of African Rainbow Mineral Ltd. PHOTO/Simon Dawson/Getty Images
South African mining billionaire Patrice Motsepe announced Wednesday he would give half his family’s fortune to charity, becoming the first African to match a pledge made by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
The Soweto-born tycoon, worth an estimated US$2.7 billion, announced he would join the Giving Pledge, which challenges the world’s wealthiest to give at least 50 percent of their fortune to charity.
“The need and challenges are great,” Motsepe said in a statement, pledging to give away “at least half of the funds generated by our family.”
A close aide told reporters it was difficult to put a figure on the amount that would be donated, but it would be “half of all his wealth, both current and future”.
“There’s no period. This will go on into perpetuity.”
The money, Motsepe said, would be used to help “poor and other disadvantaged and marginalized South Africans”.
“It would not significantly deal with the challenges that face our country,” he added.
