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12 Things You Didn’t Know About Christoffel Wiese

12 Things You Didn’t Know About Christoffel Wiese

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Financialmail.co.za
Financialmail.co.za

Christoffel Wiese, 73, is a South African retail tycoon with a net worth of at least $5.4 billion USD. He’s considered the third-richest person in South Africa and one of Africa’s 12 richest.

This week, he became a major player in the U.K.’s fashion scene, paying 780 million pounds ($1.2 billion US) for the New Look chain.

Wiese is surprisingly humble. He sold Pepkor, his footwear and clothing company, to rival Steinhoff, and still owns a stake in Shoprite Holdings, the company behind supermarkets, fast food outlets and furniture stores in more than 15 African countries. Here are 12 things you didn’t know about Christoffel Wiese.

Source: Forbes.com, FinancialMail

This is an updated version of an article that originally published Feb. 4, 2015.

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

He ignored racial segregation rules

When Wiese was just starting at Pepkor Limited in the 1960s during apartheid, white and black women in the office had to use separate toilets. Wiese rejected this and all women used the same bathroom facilities in his office building.

Vebidoo.com
Vebidoo.com

His business ideas are rooted in his small-town upbringing

Wiese said his business ideas are linked to his small-town roots–he grew up in Upington in the Northern Cape province of South Africa–where everybody knew everybody and everybody followed basic social norms. As a result, Wiese said that he believes in “…giving people the benefit of the doubt. All people are good people until they prove themselves otherwise.”

Source: Dailymaverick.co.za

diamonds+XXX

 

He’s been in a tax scandal

In 2012, an audit found that Wiese owed the South African Revenue Service $245 million in unpaid taxes. It’s believed that a government investigation into the tycoon was set off when he was detained by a British customs official while traveling with a suitcase containing more than $1 million. Wiese said he does not like to deal with his legal battles in public, but rather in “…forums where we can address them.” Wiese did however offer up the explanation that the money came from diamond deals in the ’80s and ’90s. He said he had been keeping the money in a safety deposit box in England due to foreign exchange restrictions in South Africa. This didn’t stop the government from investigating.

Source: Forbes.com, Dailymaverick.co.za

Thismoney.co.uk
Thismoney.co.uk

Pepcor was a family business

Wiese’s parents helped found Pepkor in the 1960s but at the time it was called PEP Stores. In 1982 the company changed its name to Pekor Limited and PEP stores became a subsidiary company.

Source:  Forbes.com

Destinyman.com
Destinyman.com

He is best friends with Whitey Basson

Whitey Basson is managing director and CEO of Shoprite Holdings and a good friend of Wiese. During an interview on TheAfricanMillionare.com, Wiese received a phone call from Basson inviting him up to his farm for the weekend.

Source: Theafricanmillionaire.blogspot.com

Thelegacyproject.co.za
Thelegacyproject.co.za

 

His office is humble

Wiese’s office is in Cape Town’s Parow Industria, an area of the city earmarked for improvement and located next to a township. TheAfricanMillionaire.com described it as “more brick than glass” and “the sort of place where ordinary folk go about their business.”

Source: Theafricanmillionaire.blogspot.com

ThinkStockPhotos
ThinkStockPhotos

He went to law school

Wiese got a bachelors degree in law from the University of Stellenbosch and practiced law in the Cape for several years before moving on to work as executive director at Pepkor.

Source: Forbes.com

Thisismoney.co.uk
Thisismoney.co.uk

 

He plans on working longer

Wiese said in a 2012 Forbes interview that he planned on working five to seven more years. He was 70 at the time.

Source: Forbes.com

Wikimedia.org
Wikimedia.org

 

He owns a game farm

Wiese has a game farm in the Kalahari, but he rarely hunts. Wiese also owns the Lourensford wine estate which has been around since the 1700s and is located in one of South Africa’s top wine-producing regions, the Somerset-West Winelands near Cape Town.

Source: Lseafricasummit.com 

Youtube.com
Youtube.com

 

He promotes education and employment opportunities

When asked about how he shares his wealth, Wiese said he believes his social responsibility is to build his business and create employment opportunities. Wiese also mentioned that his company has adopted and put money into several schools. He is credited with creating 9,107 jobs, according to VenturesAfrica.

Source: Dailymaverick.co.za

Financialmail.co.za
Financialmail.co.za

He doesn’t want to leave South Africa

In a DailyMaverick interview, Wiese said, “I cannot imagine being happy anywhere else in the world but in Cape Town — South Africa in general but Cape Town in particular.”

Source: DailyMaverick.co.za

Valdevia.co.za
Valdevia.co.za

He keeps clothing for a long time

Wiese admitted that he holds onto some of his shirts for up to 15 years He said he doesn’t feel the need to show off by wearing new clothes all the time.

Source: Dailymaverick.co.za