News / Africa
Zuma set to be South Africa's youngest billionaires!
28 Feb 2011 at 04:13hrs | Views
At 28, President Jacob Zuma's businessman son Duduzane Zuma is set to become one of SA's youngest billionaires according to a story by timeslive.
Political connections and empowerment transaction beneficiaries, desperate to gain favour with President Jacob Zuma, have catapulted his son, Duduzane, into the ranks of South Africa's richest.
Duduzane may not reign as the country's biggest empowerment dealmaker, but he has bragging rights on some of the country's biggest deals.
Companies which list him as a director have secured stakes in controversial business contracts worth billions.
The 28-year-old businessman, who is set to become one of the country's youngest paper-billionaires, has repeatedly slammed the media for exposing his lucrative deals, citing that people with a political agenda wanted to get to his father through him.
This week he said: "At some point I have to believe that there's some sort of political agenda at play ... I understand that the target is ... my father. I'm just the conduit in this case. But I'm not going to take it lying down. This is my father that they're targeting. If they want to bring it that way, then that's the way that we're going to have to take it."
Last week the Sunday Times reported that Duduzane and his business partner, Rajesh Gupta, were directors and shareholders in a R500-billion deal with China Railway Construction Corporation.
The deal places them in the forefront to cash in on the government's rail infrastructure project, an estimated 2200km high-speed train link between Johannesburg and Durban, Cape Town and Musina.
Telkom chairman Lazarus Zim's Afripalm Horizons announced the deal with one of China's biggest construction companies in August when he accompanied the president on a state visit to China.
Menzi Mbatha, a director of Afripalm Horizons, confirmed to the Sunday Times that the shareholding had been finalised and that Mabengela Investments, "would have shares".
The Chinese deal comes after a R9-billion empowerment deal with steel giant ArcelorMittal, in which the Gupta brothers and Duduzane hold lucrative stakes. As part of the empowerment deal, entities linked to the Guptas will acquire at least a R3.2-billion chunk.
Outside the world of rail infrastructure and the steel industry, Duduzane has also been able to cash in from mining empowerment deals.
These types of deals, in particular mining, have long been the best bet for getting rich at a young age.
Duduzane's meteoric rise in empowerment transactions and his flamboyant lifestyle have raised questions about the Gupta family's financial influence.
While most entrepreneurs his age are starting out in the careers, Duduzane is enjoying a life many will only dream of.
The Sunday Times has established he has exclusive use of a fleet of exotic cars and motor bikes - including a R2-million Porsche 911 Turbo - owned by Mabengela Investments, a company sources claim was funded and "kick-started" with a cash injection from the Gupta brothers - Atul, Ajay and Rajesh.
But the only assets registered under Duduzane's name include a 2005-model Citi Golf and a two-year old Harley-Davidson.
In a recent interview with the Sunday Times, Athul, who heads the Gupta family's business empire, denied that his family bankrolled Duduzane's lifestyle and spearheaded his business deals to cement a cosy relationship with his father.
However, the empowerment company Mabengela Investments, which is headed by Duduzane and was registered only two years ago, already owns extravagant assets worth millions.
Among the assets is a R4-million mansion in Saxonwold, one of Johannesburg's most exclusive suburbs, and a super bike, a Ducati Streetfighter, which retails for between R190000 and R235000.
Duduzane, who is fiercely protective of his privacy, lives on the 2023m² property in Saxonwold.
This week the Sunday Times can also reveal that Mabengela Investments has also splashed out on a R2-million Porsche 911 Turbo, a R500000 Chrysler 300c, and a star-of-the art roadster, a BRP Spyder 990, worth about R130000.
The Ducati Streetfighter and Porsche were bought last year, while the Chrysler 300c and BRP Spyder 990 were bought in 2009.
Duduzane has exclusive use of the exotic fleet and the residence to match, a palatial home in Saxonwold's Griswold Drive.
The property is financed by the Bank of Baroda, one of India's largest banks. The bank's chairman and managing director M D Mallya was presented with a special award by Duduzane's father for outstanding services that have furthered the relationship between India and SA at the International Pro20 match in Durban in December. The match was followed by a concert hosted by the Gupta's publishing group TNA Media. The Sunday Times has made several attempts to get comment from Duduzane. Questions, which sought information about his relationship with the Gupta family, were also forwarded to Gary Naidoo, the Gupta family's spokesman.
He told the Sunday Times that most of the questions were covered in the interview with Athul.
Duduzane's co-director in Mabengela Investments is 38-year-old Rajesh.
Athul acknowledged that the two men were not just business partners but also close friends.
Athul also described Duduzane as a "close family friend".
"He sits with us at the dining-room table. At one stage he was a trainee manager at (the family's computer company) Sahara Computers. We found him to be a bright, intelligent, person," said Athul.
Eight months ago, Duduzane was appointed to the board of directors at Sahara Holdings, the Gupta family's investment company, which owns Sahara Computers. The president's son also holds a number of directorships linked to the Gupta family's other corporate investments, which range from mining to technology.
In an interview with Business Times last year, Duduzane said: "I think people forget this very quickly and think, okay, this guy popped up a year ago and it's all gravy, which is not the case."
He added in a statement issued by Mabengela Investments last year, that he had been in business long before his father became president.
The Gupta brothers, who were born in Saharanpur, India, immigrated to South Africa in 1993, and about four years later set up Sahara Computers. They took Duduzane and his twin sister, Duduzile, under their wing after Zuma's election as ANC president in December 2007, and got them involved in their businesses.
Political connections and empowerment transaction beneficiaries, desperate to gain favour with President Jacob Zuma, have catapulted his son, Duduzane, into the ranks of South Africa's richest.
Duduzane may not reign as the country's biggest empowerment dealmaker, but he has bragging rights on some of the country's biggest deals.
Companies which list him as a director have secured stakes in controversial business contracts worth billions.
The 28-year-old businessman, who is set to become one of the country's youngest paper-billionaires, has repeatedly slammed the media for exposing his lucrative deals, citing that people with a political agenda wanted to get to his father through him.
This week he said: "At some point I have to believe that there's some sort of political agenda at play ... I understand that the target is ... my father. I'm just the conduit in this case. But I'm not going to take it lying down. This is my father that they're targeting. If they want to bring it that way, then that's the way that we're going to have to take it."
Last week the Sunday Times reported that Duduzane and his business partner, Rajesh Gupta, were directors and shareholders in a R500-billion deal with China Railway Construction Corporation.
The deal places them in the forefront to cash in on the government's rail infrastructure project, an estimated 2200km high-speed train link between Johannesburg and Durban, Cape Town and Musina.
Telkom chairman Lazarus Zim's Afripalm Horizons announced the deal with one of China's biggest construction companies in August when he accompanied the president on a state visit to China.
Menzi Mbatha, a director of Afripalm Horizons, confirmed to the Sunday Times that the shareholding had been finalised and that Mabengela Investments, "would have shares".
The Chinese deal comes after a R9-billion empowerment deal with steel giant ArcelorMittal, in which the Gupta brothers and Duduzane hold lucrative stakes. As part of the empowerment deal, entities linked to the Guptas will acquire at least a R3.2-billion chunk.
Outside the world of rail infrastructure and the steel industry, Duduzane has also been able to cash in from mining empowerment deals.
These types of deals, in particular mining, have long been the best bet for getting rich at a young age.
Duduzane's meteoric rise in empowerment transactions and his flamboyant lifestyle have raised questions about the Gupta family's financial influence.
While most entrepreneurs his age are starting out in the careers, Duduzane is enjoying a life many will only dream of.
The Sunday Times has established he has exclusive use of a fleet of exotic cars and motor bikes - including a R2-million Porsche 911 Turbo - owned by Mabengela Investments, a company sources claim was funded and "kick-started" with a cash injection from the Gupta brothers - Atul, Ajay and Rajesh.
But the only assets registered under Duduzane's name include a 2005-model Citi Golf and a two-year old Harley-Davidson.
In a recent interview with the Sunday Times, Athul, who heads the Gupta family's business empire, denied that his family bankrolled Duduzane's lifestyle and spearheaded his business deals to cement a cosy relationship with his father.
However, the empowerment company Mabengela Investments, which is headed by Duduzane and was registered only two years ago, already owns extravagant assets worth millions.
Among the assets is a R4-million mansion in Saxonwold, one of Johannesburg's most exclusive suburbs, and a super bike, a Ducati Streetfighter, which retails for between R190000 and R235000.
Duduzane, who is fiercely protective of his privacy, lives on the 2023m² property in Saxonwold.
This week the Sunday Times can also reveal that Mabengela Investments has also splashed out on a R2-million Porsche 911 Turbo, a R500000 Chrysler 300c, and a star-of-the art roadster, a BRP Spyder 990, worth about R130000.
The Ducati Streetfighter and Porsche were bought last year, while the Chrysler 300c and BRP Spyder 990 were bought in 2009.
Duduzane has exclusive use of the exotic fleet and the residence to match, a palatial home in Saxonwold's Griswold Drive.
The property is financed by the Bank of Baroda, one of India's largest banks. The bank's chairman and managing director M D Mallya was presented with a special award by Duduzane's father for outstanding services that have furthered the relationship between India and SA at the International Pro20 match in Durban in December. The match was followed by a concert hosted by the Gupta's publishing group TNA Media. The Sunday Times has made several attempts to get comment from Duduzane. Questions, which sought information about his relationship with the Gupta family, were also forwarded to Gary Naidoo, the Gupta family's spokesman.
He told the Sunday Times that most of the questions were covered in the interview with Athul.
Duduzane's co-director in Mabengela Investments is 38-year-old Rajesh.
Athul acknowledged that the two men were not just business partners but also close friends.
Athul also described Duduzane as a "close family friend".
"He sits with us at the dining-room table. At one stage he was a trainee manager at (the family's computer company) Sahara Computers. We found him to be a bright, intelligent, person," said Athul.
Eight months ago, Duduzane was appointed to the board of directors at Sahara Holdings, the Gupta family's investment company, which owns Sahara Computers. The president's son also holds a number of directorships linked to the Gupta family's other corporate investments, which range from mining to technology.
In an interview with Business Times last year, Duduzane said: "I think people forget this very quickly and think, okay, this guy popped up a year ago and it's all gravy, which is not the case."
He added in a statement issued by Mabengela Investments last year, that he had been in business long before his father became president.
The Gupta brothers, who were born in Saharanpur, India, immigrated to South Africa in 1993, and about four years later set up Sahara Computers. They took Duduzane and his twin sister, Duduzile, under their wing after Zuma's election as ANC president in December 2007, and got them involved in their businesses.
Source - timeslive
