?How to spend it?? is the question which bothers many a billionaire (one suspects), but an increasing number are opting to give it away instead. South Africa?s richest black man, Patrice Motsepe, has joined the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in opting to give away a good deal of his money to the cause of philanthropy.
His wife Precious Moloi Motsepe announced to the press in Johannesburg on Wednesday that the billionaire mine owner had signed up to Buffett?s Giving Pledge, and that ?at least half of the funds generated by our family?s assets? would be given away to good causes during his lifetime.
The Giving Pledge, which was launched by Buffett in 2010 alongside the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, commits signatories to give ?the majority of their wealth? to charity, and has already enlisted almost 100 billionaires. According to Reuters, Motsepe is the first African person to join the ranks, though not by any means the first African billionaire philanthropist ? the Mo Ibrahim foundation, which supports African governance, has been running since 2006.
Motsepe, the chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, has amassed a fortune in the region of $2.65bn as of November 2012 ? enough to make him Africa?s eighth and South Africa?s fourth richest man, according to Forbes. And like all discerning billionaires, Motsepe has an eponymous charitable foundation for his donations to be channeled through. According to its website, the Motsepe Family Foundation is ?committed to improving the living conditions and lifestyles, of poor, unemployed and marginalised persons? (primarily in South Africa) through health, agricultural and educational projects.
Interestingly, the next richest man in South Africa behind Motsepe is, according to Bloomberg, none other than his brother-in-law Cyril Ramaphosa ? the newly anointed deputy leader of the ANC. Whether Ramaphosa decides to follow the example set by Motsepe will be an interesting one to watch.
The money would certainly come in handy in South Africa, where poverty remains widespread. But with unemployment running at around 25 per cent and one of the worst Gini coefficients in the world, the country needs a lot more than deep-pocketed benefactors at the moment.
Related reading
Buffett and Gates make big appeal, beyondbrics
Buffett to give bulk of fortune to charity, FT
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