South Africa’s richest man to give away half his fortune to charity
This picture taken on February 11, 2012 shows the new South African bank note of 50 Rand displayed on a screen during the announcement of a new line of bank notes in Pretoria. The new bank notes bear the former president’s image Nelson Mandela circa 1990, the year he was freed from prison in a moment that came to symbolise the fall of apartheid and the rise of a new, democratic South Africa. They replace a design featuring the ‘big five’ safari animals (Cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhino) introduced in 1992, two years before Mandela was elected the country’s first black president.
South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe said Monday he would give half his family's fortune to a charity, matching a pledge made by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
"This is to be used during his lifetime and beyond… to improve the lifestyles, and living conditions, of poor, disabled, unemployed, women, youth, workers and marginalized South Africans," said his wife, Precious Motsepe, according to Agence France-Presse.
More from GlobalPost: South Africa seeks an entrepreneurial revolution
A mining tycoon, Motsepe is the first African to join the Giving Pledge, which challenges the world's wealthiest people to give 50 percent or more of their fortunes to charity. More than 70 billionaires have joined the Pledge since it was launched by Gates and Buffett in 2010.
Motsepe's estimated net worth is $2.65 billion, reported Voice of America. He says he will be making his donation to the Motsepe Foundation, a charity that he and his wife started in 1999 to help disadvantaged South Africans.
The mining mogul's decision put him in a club alongside Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore. He made the announcement two days after his 51st birthday.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. If you’ve been thinking about making a donation, this is the best time to do it. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. All donations between now and June 30 will be matched 2:1. Will you help keep our newsroom on strong footing by giving to The World?