Christo Wiese

Last updated

Christoffel H. Wiese
Born (1941-09-10) 10 September 1941 (age 82)
Upington, South Africa
Education Paarl Boys' High School
Alma mater University of Stellenbosch
Occupation(s)Chairman and 44% owner, Pepkor
ChildrenJacob Wiese, and two daughters

Christoffel F. Hendrik Wiese [1] (born 10 September 1941) is a South African businessman and billionaire. [2] [3] His source of wealth is consumer retail. [4]

Contents

Early life

Wiese was born and grew up in Upington in the Northern Cape region of South Africa. He studied at Paarl Boys' High School in the Western Cape. [5] Wiese attended Stellenbosch University, from where he received BA and LLB degrees. [6]

Career

After university, Wiese practised law at the Cape Bar for some years before working as a Director at Pepkor, the discount clothing chain that his parents helped to found. [7]

Under his leadership, Shoprite started out as a chain of eight supermarkets in Cape Town that was purchased for 1 million rand (equivalent to $122,000 USD) which grew into a multibillion-dollar business due to various acquisitions and expansion strategies made in the first 30 years of operations. After playing a role in helping Shoprite acquire distributor Senta, Wiese started expanding his business into franchising new locations for Shoprite department stores. [8] He also purchased the struggling OK Bazaars from South African Breweries for one rand in 1997; inserting 157 supermarkets and 146 furniture stores to the company and adding jobs to the area. [8] In 2011, Wiese's Shoprite stores were considered to be the sixth overall favourite brand, with a third-most valued brand in terms of community upliftment in South Africa. [8] In addition to Shoprite, Wiese owns more than 1,200 corporate outlets under various names. [9] Shares of Shoprite rose by 50% on the South African stock market from March 2011 to March 2012, with Wiese making a $1.5 billion profit. [4]

Wiese had a net worth of US$6.8 billion, [10] but as of December 2017 is reported to be worth only $742 million. [11] He is the executive director of South African retail giant Shoprite (JSE: SHP). [4] Wiese has been chairman of Invicta Holdings Limited since 2006. Wiese formerly was the 11th-most successful businessman in his chosen fields of industry (accounting, banking, finance, consumer goods, fashion, and retail) and previously was the 69th-most successful person in South African history. [12]

Wiese owns a 44% share of Pepkor since becoming the chairman there in 1981 and starting out as an executive director for the retail store Pep from 1967 to 1973. [12] Pepkor is a discount store in South Africa that was founded in 1965. [13]

In April 2015, it was reported that Virgin Group and their private equity backers had sold 80% of Virgin Active to the South African investment firm Brait, owned by Wiese. The sale price will be £682 million for an 80% stake, valuing the business at £1.3 billion, including debt, and the transaction should be completed in summer 2015, and the company will continue to operate under the Virgin Active brand. [14]

Wiese was formerly chairman and largest shareholder (about 20% following the sale of his company Pepkor to Steinhoff in 2014) of Steinhoff International, a German-listed furniture conglomerate holding company, and resigned in 2017 in the wake of the Steinhoff accounting scandal. Wiese suffered a huge financial loss when the share price crashed and in March 2019 announced he was making a 4 billion dollar claim against Steinhoff. [15] [16] [17]

Lanzerac Manor & Winery

Wiese bought a South African farm dating back from the 19th century in 1991, and converted it into a five-star hotel, Lanzerac Manor & Winery , with 48 rooms. [18] He later sold the property to a foreign investment firm for an undisclosed sum on 7 March 2012. [19]

Financial controversies

As of August 2012, it was reported that Wiese owed SARS an estimated R2 billion in back taxes. [20] [21]

Wiese faced a legal battle to recover $1 million that he was carrying while boarding a flight from England to Luxembourg in 2009. This amount was confiscated by customs officers as the sum was in hard cash bundled up in rubber bands in his luggage. [22]

Personal life

Wiese is married to Caro, lives in Cape Town and has three children. [6] His son Jacob Wiese works for Pepkor and is expected to take over from him when he retires. [7]

Wiese owns various properties including a private game reserve in the Kalahari Desert and the prestigious wine producer, the Lourensford Estate. [4] The Cape Town Sakekamer awarded with the title of Business Leader of the Year while the South African Council of Shopping Centres awarded him with the prestigious Pioneer of the 20th Century Award. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Walton</span> American businessman

James Carr Walton is an American businessman, currently an heir to the fortune of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. As of November 2023, Walton was the 15th-richest person in the world, with a net worth of US$73 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is the youngest son of Sam Walton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrice Motsepe</span> South African businessman

Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe is a South African billionaire businessman and football administrator. Since March 2021, he has been president of the Confederation of African Football. He is the founder and executive chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, which has interests in gold, ferrous metals, base metals, and platinum. He sits on several company boards, including being the non-executive chairman of Harmony Gold, the world's 12th largest gold mining company, and the deputy chairman of Sanlam. In 2012, Motsepe was named South Africa's richest man, topping the Sunday Times' annual Rich List with an estimated fortune of $1 billion. Almost a decade later in 2020, Motsepe was ranked as the 1,307th-wealthiest person in the world by Forbes, with a reported fortune of US$3.1 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Marcus</span> American billionaire businessman

Bernard Marcus is an American billionaire businessman. He co-founded The Home Depot. He was the company's first CEO and first chairman until retiring in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunil Mittal</span> Indian businessperson

Sunil Bharti Mittal is an Indian billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, which has diversified interests in telecom, insurance, real estate, education, malls, hospitality, Agri and food besides other ventures. Bharti Airtel, the group's flagship company is one of the world's largest and India's largest telecom company with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa with a customer base of over 399 million. Bharti Airtel clocked revenues of over US$14.75 billion in FY2016. In 2023 he was ranked the 10th richest person in India by Forbes, with an estimated net worth of US$14.8 billion.

The following lists events that happened during 1941 in South Africa.

Postie, formerly Postie Plus, is a New Zealand clothing store chain. It was founded in 1909 by Thomas Dellaca. As of October 2022, Postie has 61 stores as well as an online platform. Together with Australian retailer Best & Less, it forms the Best & Less Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Active</span> International health club chain

Virgin Active is a chain of health clubs in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Italy, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Soon-Shiong</span> American billionaire physician, CEO & philanthropist (b. 1952)

Patrick Soon-Shiong is an American transplant surgeon, billionaire businessman, bioscientist, and media proprietor. He is the inventor of the drug Abraxane, which became known for its efficacy against lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer. Soon-Shiong is the founder of NantWorks, a network of healthcare, biotech, and artificial intelligence startups; an adjunct professor of surgery and executive director of the Wireless Health Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles; and a visiting professor at Imperial College London and Dartmouth College. Soon-Shiong has published more than 100 scientific papers and has more than 230 issued patents worldwide on advancements spanning numerous fields in technology and medicine.

ENS (Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs) is Africa's largest law firm. ENS currently has over 620 practitioners and was established over 100 years ago. The firm specialises in all commercial areas of Law, Tax, Forensics and IP. The firm is a Level 2 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) contributor. ENS is one of the traditional "Big Five" law firms in South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pep (store)</span> Retail store chain established in 1965 in South Africa

Pep is a multinational retail company based in Cape Town, South Africa. Founded in 1965, Pep operated in 11 countries in Southern Africa with the opening of an outlet in Lobito, Angola in November 2008. As of November 2009, the company reported over 1400 stores in operation, with total employment equalling 14,000 employees. It also owns and runs the largest clothing factory in southern Africa, where it manufactures much of its clothing.

Nathan "Natie" Kirsh is a South African billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He heads the Kirsh Group, which holds a majority stake in New York state cash and carry operation Jetro Holdings, owner of Restaurant Depot and Jetro Cash & Carry. The Group also holds equity and investments in Australia, Eswatini (Swaziland), the UK, the US, and Israel. He lives in Eswatini (Swaziland), and has residency in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Pepkor is a South African-based investment and holding company focused on the discount and value consumer retail and fintech markets. The majority of operations are in South Africa, and operations extend to other African countries and Brazil. It manages retail brands, selling predominantly clothing, footwear, and homeware products, in addition to household furniture, appliances, consumer electronics, and building materials.

DigiSpice was an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Singapore. The company operates in the sectors of telecom, finance, entertainment and technology. They operate internationally in Los Angeles, New York, Kuala Lumpur, London, Dubai, Nepal, Bangladesh, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Shenzhen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naspers</span> Multinational holding and investment company

Naspers Limited is a South African multinational internet, technology and multimedia holding company headquartered in Cape Town, with interests in online retail, publishing and venture capital investment. Naspers' principal shareholder is its Dutch listed investment subsidiary Prosus, which owns approximately 49% of its parent as part of a cross ownership structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steinhoff International</span> South African-based international retail holding company

Steinhoff International was a multinational holding company that was dual listed in Germany and South Africa. It was officially liquidated on 13 October 2023. Its holdings were in the retail sector, primarily in furniture and household goods, and included a 43,8% stake in South Africa's Pepkor group. The company operated in Europe, Africa, Asia, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. It was well known for an accounting scandal which led to criminal charges against its former chief executive, Markus Jooste.

Markus Johannes Jooste is a South African businessman and the former CEO of Steinhoff International. He is an avid horse breeder, and in 2016 was reported to be one of Africa's richest people, worth $400 million. Joining forces with Christo Wiese in 2014, they embarked on an aggressive international expansion programme. The share price of their conglomerate reached a peak in March 2016, favouring their strategy of paying for dividends and acquisitions by sales of stock.

Bruno Ewald Steinhoff is a German billionaire businessman, the founder of Steinhoff International, a South African-based international retail holding company, and its executive chairman until September 2008. He is now a non-executive director, and a member of the supervisory board.

Magdalena Franciszka Wierzycka is a Polish-South African billionaire businesswoman. She is the co-founder and CEO of Sygnia Ltd, a financial services company. She is the richest woman in South Africa, and is also known for her anti-corruption activism. In 2020, the magazine Forbes listed her among "Africa's 50 Most Powerful Women".

James Wellwood "Whitey" Basson is a South African businessman and billionaire who was largely responsible for growing a small business called Shoprite from an 8-store chain valued at R1 million into an international retail conglomerate with revenue in 2019 of R150 billion, market capitalisation of R114 billion, more than 2 300 stores and 140 000 employees across 15 African countries. Deloitte's Global Powers of Retailing 2019 ranked The Shoprite Group as the 86th largest retailer in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoprite Holdings Ltd</span> South African supermarket chain

Shoprite Holdings Ltd (Shoprite) is Africa’s largest supermarket retailer, operating 3,326 stores across the continent. The company's headquarters are in Brackenfell in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Shoprite is a public company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with secondary listings on both the Namibian and Lusaka stock exchanges. The Shoprite Group employs more than 153,000 people and is the largest private sector employer in South Africa.

References

  1. ↑ "investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=8364021&ticker=IVT:SJ". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Wiese loses billionaire status as Steinhoff continues massive sell-off" . Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  3. ↑ "Christoffel Wiese". Forbes. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Christoffel Wiese career information at Forbes.com
  5. ↑ Article about the richest men in South Africa Archived 5 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine at Sabsa.co.za
  6. 1 2 "Christoffel Wiese". Forbes. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  7. 1 2 Nsehe, Mfonobong (24 July 2012). "Meet South African Billionaire Christo Wiese, Mr. Shoprite". Forbes. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "History". Shoprite. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  9. ↑ "Shoprite Holdings Geographical Spread". Shoprite. Archived from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  10. ↑ businesstech.co.za
  11. ↑ Cheetham, Joshua; Palumbo, Daniele (19 December 2017). "Steinhoff investors decide fate of firm" . Retrieved 19 December 2017– via www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. 1 2 3 Christoffel Wiese Archived 20 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine (Dead link) at Who's Who SA
  13. ↑ "Bloomberg Businessweek: Pepkor profile". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  14. ↑ Kollewe, Julia (16 April 2015). "Virgin Active stake sold to South Africa's Brait for £682m". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  15. ↑ "Steinhoff ex-chair Christo Wiese open to talks over $4bn claim". Business Day.
  16. ↑ "Steinhoff chairman Christo Wiese resigns amid accounts scandal". Financial Times.
  17. ↑ "South Africa's Steinhoff to Buy Mattress Firm for $3.8 Billion". Fortune. Reuters. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  18. ↑ Lanzerac Manor & Winery information at Lanzerac.co.za
  19. ↑ Wiese sells Lanzerac to foreigners at Fin24
  20. ↑ South Africa’s third wealthiest man owes the taxman $250 million at Mining.com
  21. ↑ "Christo Wiese's R2bn tax bill" . Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  22. ↑ O'Connor, Clare. "This Is What Happens When A Billionaire Tries To Get On A Plane With $1 Million Cash In His Luggage". Forbes. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.