Billionaire Patrice Motsepe funded six political parties in South Africa

Billionaire Patrice Motsepe is known to be one of the largest funders of political parties in South Africa, with his companies having donated R62.47 million since September 2021.

Motsepe has built a massive business empire, making him South Africa’s first and only black dollar billionaire and one of the most influential businessmen in the country.

According to Forbes, the brother-in-law of President Cyril Ramaphosa has an estimated net worth of $3 billion (R52.06 billion), making him the tenth-richest person in Africa.

Since reporting became mandatory in 2021/22, Motsepe’s companies, African Rainbow Minerals, Harmony Gold Mining and Botho Botho Commercial Enterprises have donated to six political parties.

The composition of the collective donations is made up of:

• African National Congress (ANC) – R45.5 million;
• Democratic Alliance (DA) – R9.3 million;
• Economic Freedom Fighters – R4.9 million;
• Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) – R1.5 million;
• Vryheidsfront Plus (VF Plus) – R1.1 million;
• African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) – R240,000.

For most of South Africa’s democratic era, political party funding remained secret, with no law requiring disclosure of private donations.

Civil society groups challenged this, and in 2018 the Constitutional Court ruled that voters have a right to know who funds political parties, compelling Parliament to pass disclosure laws.

The result was the Political Funding Act, which took effect in 2021 and was later amended to raise disclosure and donation limits.

It introduced donation caps, IEC oversight, and public access to donor information. Donations above R200,000 must now be disclosed, with a cap of R30 million per donor annually.

Smaller donations remain undisclosed individually, meaning the public still sees only a partial picture of party finances, as these are what the disclosed donations over the threshold are.

Why Motsepe donates

In a 2024 interview with FRANCE 24, Motsepe explained why his family contributes financially to political parties across South Africa, citing the importance of a functioning multi-party democracy.

“I’m confident that South Africa is a multi-party democracy. The family gives money to all political parties,” Motsepe said.

“Of course, we grew up in Mandela’s party, and we’ll always support Mandela’s party, but I recognise that, having grown up and having had the honour and privilege to work with Mandela, I’ve got a duty to multi-party democracy.”

Motsepe said that donations are intended to ensure accountability and transparency across the political spectrum.

“The family donates money to all political parties because it is proper that—including the Mandela party—should be kept to account, should be questioned, should account, should be interrogated, and let the people in South Africa decide.”

Addressing concerns about personal connections influencing his contributions, Motsepe dismissed suggestions that family ties affect his political giving.

“The issue of whether the president is my brother-in-law is the most unimportant and irrelevant issue. I have a duty to all South Africans, and, of course, I’ve got a duty to the poor, to the unemployed, to try and create a future.”

Who is South Africa’s first black billionaire?

Motsepe was born in Soweto, South Africa, on January 28, 1962, and grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. 

His father, Augustine Motsepe, was a successful liquor distributor and spaza shop owner in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria.

Working in his father’s shop, Motsepe was exposed to mining through the mineworkers who bought goods there.

Because his father opposed apartheid’s segregated education system, Motsepe and his six siblings were sent to a Roman Catholic boarding school in the Eastern Cape.

He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Swaziland and an LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand.

Motsepe joined the law firm Bowman Gilfillan in 1988 and became the firm’s first black partner in 1993, specialising in mining and business law.

After South Africa’s democratic transition, he left law to enter the mining industry. In 1994, he founded Future Mining, a services company focused on reviving unproductive mines.

He launched African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) in 1997, listing it on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2002.

In 2002, he was voted South Africa’s Business Leader of the Year by the CEOs of the country’s top 100 companies and named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

The following year, ARM merged with Harmony Gold and acquired Anglovaal Mining’s underperforming assets. Motsepe became executive chairman of ARM, a role he still holds.

The success of ARM also enabled Motsepe to expand into sports. He bought 51% of Mamelodi Sundowns in 2003 and became sole owner a year later.

In 2004, Motsepe’s investment company, Ubuntu-Botho Investments (UBI), became Sanlam’s black empowerment partner, acquiring a major stake in the insurer.

Motsepe reportedly chose Sanlam over Old Mutual after Sanlam emphasised its commitment to remain in South Africa, unlike Old Mutual, which had relocated to London.

The deal has created R15 billion in net value for UBI investors and, according to Sanlam, produced 700 black millionaires. Motsepe serves as Sanlam’s deputy chairman.

His success propelled him onto Forbes’ list of billionaires in 2005.

In 2016, he launched African Rainbow Capital (ARC), a listed investment holding company with significant stakes in Rain and Tyme Bank.

In 2019, he acquired a share in the Blue Bulls Company, partnering with Johann Rupert’s Remgro and the Blue Bulls Rugby Union.

In March 2021, Motsepe was elected president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), a position he still holds.

Motsepe is also known for his philanthropy. He founded the Motsepe Foundation in 1999 to address poverty and unemployment, and in 2013 became the first African to sign the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett Giving Pledge, committing to donate half of his wealth to charity.