Meet Patrice Motsepe first black African known billionaire, now 881 places below Dangote in world’s ranking

Patrice Motsepe is a South African billionaire with a net worth of $2.8 billion as of Sunday 25th December 2022.

In 2008, he became the first Black African to be featured on the Forbes list of world billionaires at the age of 46.

Motsepe is currently the 1023 richest man in the world, 881 places below Aliko Dangote who sits at 142 with a net worth of $12.6 billion.

Who is Motsepe

Forbes reports that Motsepe's wealth is the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, a private equity firm he founded in 2016.

Motsepe also has a stake in Sanlam, a listed financial services firm, and is the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club.

Life and family

Motsepe comes from a family of entrepreneurs, which made his journey in the business world seem like a natural path. His grandfather and father were both entrepreneurs.

His father, who was chief of the Mmakau branch of the Tswana people, was a schoolteacher and later became a businessman as the owner of a Spaza shop that was frequented by mine workers.

It was from this shop that Motsepe gained exposure to the mining industry and had an opportunity to learn key business skills from his father that would shape his success.

Journey to mining

Motsepe is a mining magnate in South Africa, but he started at a small-scale mining.

His breakthrough came he bought low-producing gold mine shafts in 1997 and turned them into profitable ventures in a year. His African Rainbow Minerals Ltd (ARM) mines iron ore, manganese ore and alloys, platinum group metals, copper, nickel and coal. ARM also has an investment in gold.

He is a sports investor

Motsepe, now 60, is also an avid sports investor, with major investments in football and rugby. The billionaire is the bankroller and founder of the South African football club Mamelodi Sundowns.

Sundowns plays in South Africa’s elite league and are one-time champions of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League. Also, he is the joint major shareholder with a 37 percent stake in the Pretoria-based Bulls, currently the most successful rugby team in South Africa.

He is the CAF President

Motsepe is the head of Africa’s football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

In 2021, he was elected as the seventh (7th) person to occupy the position of CAF President.