A look at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s R6.4 Billion Net Worth, Wives, Family, Scandals and Business Interests
No doubt he is one of the most controversial political figures in Mzansi and arguably one of the worst Presidents Mzansi has ever had. Well, he has seen himself trending for the wrong reasons in recent years from the controversial Marikana killings to poor governance.
However despite this on the other hand he is one of Mzansi finest depending on one’s vision. The President is not only a celebrated statesman but he is also one of Africa’s biggest Business Mogul’s. Let’s take a look at his R6.4 billion Net worth and how he managed to have a booming empire since his early life.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Early Life
Ramaphosa was born in Soweto on 17 November 1952, to Venda parents. The SA head of state is a middle child and his father worked as a police officer.
He matriculated in 1971, from Mphaphuli High School in Sibasa, Venda. Ramaphosa’s leadership skills showed from a very early age; he was elected the head of the Student Christian Movement in high school. A year after finishing Grade 12, Ramaphosa enrolled at the University of the North to study law.
It was during his time at Turfloop that Ramaphosa got a taste of politics. He joined the South African Students Organisation (SASO) and Black People’s Convention (BPC). At 22, Ramaphosa’s political activities saw him detained under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act, 1967.
Two years later, in 1976, Ramaphosa was apprehended again following the unrest in Soweto. He was jailed for six months at John Vorster Square. Throughout it, all Ramaphosa managed to continue his studies via distance learning with UNISA. The head of state bagged his B. Proc. Degree in 1981.
Founding member of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
In 1982, the Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA), where Ramaphosa worked as a legal advisor, asked him to start a union for mineworkers. It led to the establishment of NUM. The union has been in existence ever since but many have lost faith in it due to several reasons, including the Marikana massacre and questionable increases for the current secretary, Wikipedia reported.
Political Career with ANC
Ramaphosa was elected the African National Congress’ secretary-general in 1991. After the first democratic election, Ramaphosa was appointed as a member of parliament. He left the ruling party in 1999 to focus in his private-sector career but he returned several years later. In 2014, Ramaphosa was appointed deputy president of the country.
In December 2017, Ramaphosa was elected head of the ANC in his second bid for the presidency. A couple of months later, in February 2018, Ramaphosa became the SA head of state after Jacob Zuma was forced to step down.
Wives, Failed Marriages, Children and Family
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Dr Tshepo Motsepe have been married for 25 years. It appears that President Ramaphosa and his wife prefer to keep the details about their relationship private. Even though it is known they were married in 1996, there is no information on how they met.
However, Dr Tshepo isn’t Ramaphosa’s first wife. In 1978, President Ramaphosa married a woman named Hope. The couple was married for just over a decade before getting a divorce in 1989 and they share a son, Andile, together. Two years after his first failed married, the businessman tied the knot to his second wife, Nomazizi Mtshotshisa.
However, the couple was not even married for three years before calling it quits in 1993. Ramaphosa was blessed with another child, Tulisa, during his second marriage to Nomazizi. In 1996, the head of state said “I do” to Dr Tshepo and they have been together ever since. They have four children together, according to Buzz South Africa.
Ramaphosa has one child from a previous marriage and four children with Dr Tshepo: boys Andile and Tumelo, and girls, Mashudu and Keneilwe (Kiki). The head of state managed to keep his family out of the spotlight for the most part but Andile recently trended over his alleged Bosasa connections. Shortly after Ramaphosa’s election as president, one of his other sons also trended. Tumelo is also a businessman, he is the acting CEO of StudEx Wild Life, a company he founded.
Cyril Ramaphosa’s Business Empire and Net Worth
In 1999, Ramaphosa lost the ANC presidency election to Thabo Mbeki and he quit the ruling party to venture into the business sector. Cyril Ramaphosa has achieved success not only in politics but in his businesses as well. The SA head is worth an estimated R6.4 billion ($450 million) as of 2018. He made his impressive nett worth through properties and previous ownership in companies, including McDonald’s and businesses he founded.
In 2001, Ramaphosa launched the Shanduka Group, a leading black-owned investment company that had a shareholding in the likes of MTN, Coca-Cola, Standard Bank, Alexander Forbes, to name only a few. Ramaphosa took a step back from the private sector after he was elected deputy president by Jacob Zuma.
Ankole Cattle Farmer
However back then in May, Ramaphosa’s Ntaba Nyoni Estates ranch in Mpumalanga also sold a number of Ankole cattle at an auction. A five-year-old bull called Mufasa fetched R700 000, while a pregnant cow, Lindi, fetched R560 000. Another cow, with a calf, was sold for R400 000. In total, Ntaba Nyoni’s nine cattle brought in R2,7 million.
President Ramaphosa is the foremost investor in Ankole cattle in South Africa. Back in 2004, his interest was piqued on a visit to Uganda where the former Ugandan president had introduced him to the indigenous African longhorn breed. Ramaphosa then commissioned Dr Morne de la Rye of a veterinary biotech company, Embryo Plus to import frozen embryos from East Africa, which were then artificially inseminated into local cows who served as surrogate mothers.