South Africa's richest black man, Patrice Motsepe, has
announced he is giving away half his wealth to improve the lives of the poor.
The mining magnate said the money would be handled by the
Motsepe Foundation to address education and health issues.
He said he was inspired by the word's two wealthiest men,
Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, who are encouraging billionaires to donate to
charity.Forbes' rich list estimates that Motsepe has a net worth of $2.65
billion .
Born in the Soweto township, he is a lawyer by training and
South Africa's first and only black billionaire.
He founded the publicly traded mining conglomerate, African
Rainbow Minerals, which has interests in platinum, gold, coal and other
minerals.
He made most of his mining fortune through the government's
black economic empowerment policy, which mandates that mining companies be at
least 26% black-owned.
Mr Motsepe made the announcement at an event in
Johannesburg, where on a live video link Microsoft founder Mr Gates praised his
decision.
He said he was also going to join the The Giving Pledge, a
campaign started by Mr Gates and investor Mr Buffet in 2010. So far more than
70 billionaires have signed up to it.
Culled from BBC
No comments:
Post a Comment