The South African businessman who created a globally renowned private jet business and then sold it to Warren Buffett

Rob Hersov, part of the well-known Hersov family, has created one of the world’s most successful private jet businesses, which he sold to Warren Buffett.

He shared details about this business venture in an interview with Newsday, where he discussed his international career.

Hersov is the grandson of Bob Hersov, founder of Anglovaal, which was one of the world’s largest mining and industrial companies.

His father, Basil Hersov, managed the company from 1973 to 2001. The family sold Anglovaal in the 1990s.

Rob Hersov had the option to join the family business, but he opted to build an international career.

He started at Goldman Sachs in New York and then became head of the European media investment banking team at Morgan Stanley in London.

From 1989 to 1991, he was business development manager at News Corporation in New York for chairman Rupert Murdoch.

After this, he became a board member of the luxury goods company Richemont SA, founded by South African billionaire Johann Rupert.

He also served as the chief executive officer of Telepiu Srl, Italy’s largest pay-TV company, based in Milan and belonging to the Mediaset media group.

Hersov was behind many successful entrepreneurial ventures globally, which included Invest Africa.

It is a global business network designed to connect international investors, business leaders, and funds with opportunities in Africa.

He returned to South Africa after spending three decades overseas and has invested in many local ventures.

These investments include the Cape Winelands Airport, Africa Padel, a crypto mining initiative to use excess Eskom power, and a development on the West Coast.

Rob Hersov’s private jet company, which he sold to Warren Buffett

In the Newsday interview, Hersov described himself as an entrepreneur and investor who starts and invests in businesses.

“I start and invest in businesses, take them to a certain level, and then hand them to people better suited than me to take them to the next level,” he said.

“I became good at knowing my level. This includes taking a business from point A to point B, and then handing it to much better people to run it.”

He cited one of his most successful ventures, Marquis Jet Europe, which he founded during a time when few people were experts on private jets.

At the time, the industry was in its infancy, and most rich people either owned a private jet or chartered one.

“There was a huge opportunity in between: the jet card to buy 25 or 50 hours a year on a very reputable fleet,” he said.

He joined forces with two partners in the United States and negotiated with NetJets, the world’s largest private jet company at the time, to launch this business.

They told NetJets that many people, such as athletes and entertainers, would be interested in buying 25 hours a year.

“These people didn’t have long-term visibility of income, but had money now and wanted the reliability, availability, and high quality of the NetJets fleet,” he said.

“We negotiated a deal with NetJets. I took on Europe while my partners took on America, and we built those businesses separately.”

“I built Europe to where it was almost the tail wagging the dog. I owned so many fractions in the NetJets fleet that I was more important to them than anyone else.”

NetJets, which was controlled by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, decided to buy Rob Hersov’s Marquis Jet Europe.

“After the sale, I took a position at NetJets as vice chairman for the next few years,” he told Newsday.

“That was a great success. I played to my strengths, which were identifying an opportunity, setting it up, and funding it.”

I brought on an excellent team, building it up to a point where it really was a major player, and then selling it to the most obvious buyer.”