Happy #BoxingDay everyone, it's time for the @Masandawana
#KnowYourOwner review

The board of directors
Chief ABC Motsepe & old money
Dr Patrice and his billions
Family ties & criticism
Blue Bulls rugby
The Giving Pledge

#Sundowns #DownsLive #KaBoYellow

As usual, I will re-post my disclaimer. I'm not an auditor, accountant nor am I a sports journalist. I am merely a football fan who likes to read up on the financial side of sport and this is all publicly available information

Let's go

#KnowYourOwner #DStvPrem #DownsLive

The board of directors of Mamelodi Sundowns comprises a list of six individuals namely, Rejoice Simelane, Andrew Matube, Sandile Langa, Andries Wilkens, Freddy Greaver and of course, Patrice Motsepe. I will begin my review with the man at the top.

Dr Patrice Thlopane Motsepe was born in Soweto but grew up in Pretoria as his father was banished from Johannesburg his views on the apartheid government. His name, Patrice, is a homage to Patrice Lumumba, the first elected Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He worked for his father from as young as five years old in the family businesses which included a bottle store, a grocery store and a restaurant. He attended a Roman Catholic boarding school in the Eastern Cape which his wealthy father managed to organise though his connections.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University Of Swaziland and then obtained a law degree from Wits University, specialising in mining and business law. He joined the law firm of Bowman Gilfillan in 1988 and became their first black partner in 1993

#KaBoYellow

In 1997 Motsepe made a move to acquire mines of his own and was one of the first to take advantage of the new BEE laws.

The price of gold was dropping while the rand had strengthened, and big producers like Anglo wanted to sell or shut down their older, low-producing mine shafts

In a massively controversial deal due to the nature of the risky deal, AngloGold sold Motsepe six gold mine shafts to Motsepe who agreed to pay the $8.2 million purchase price with a percentage of future profits.

Within three years, Motsepe had paid back the $8.2 million.

In 2003, Motsepe created Ubuntu-Botho Investments (UBI) (and in 2019 he owned 55% of it). In 2004 UBI entered into a BEE deal with insurance and financial services company Sanlam.

That deal ended in 2014 when the debt had been paid and UBI acquired 13.5% of Sanlam.

UBI then started African Rainbow Capital (ARC), a wholly owned subsidiary of UBI. Through ARC, Motsepe has holdings in more than 40 companies, including @tymebank, Afrimat, agricultural company BKB, telecommunications company @Rain, Val de Vie, and a stake in insurer Alex Forbes.

He became a billionaire for the first time in 2008, the first black African on the Forbes list, and has an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion.

In 2017, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Commerce from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).

He bought into @Masandawana in 2003 to partner the Tsichlas family, purchasing 51% of the club.

He increased his stake from 51% to 100% in 2004 and renamed the club ‘Mamelodi’ Sundowns and since then, they have become the dominant team in South African football.

Many have criticised his wealth as he is probably the biggest beneficiary of the Black Economic Empowerment policies which have failed in their mandate to uplift the lives of the black majority in South Africa. Much of this has to do with his family and political connections

His sister Bridget is married to Jeff Radebe and his other sister, Dr Tshepo Motsepe is married to President Cyril Ramaphosa. In my view, the criticisms are off the mark, Patrice had a career in law and specialized in mining way before apartheid ended. He was just well prepared

His father incidentally has been hugely influential in the decisions Patrice has made in personal business and in sport. Chief Augustine Butana Chaane Motsepe moved the family to Pretoria. Its because of this upbringing that the clubs name was changed to Mamelodi Sundowns.

Another name change was the switch to the third tier of South African football to now being called the ABC Motsepe League which took inspiration from his fathers initials.

Chief Motsepe was a legend who helped found the Nafcoc Business Chamber and was a teacher by profession. He also led his tribe, Bakgatla-Ba-Mmakau, in successful protests to force a Canadian company, Leuka Minerals, to pay royalties on vanadium being mined on their land.

In spite of his son, Prince Patrice Motsepe, owning current Premier League champions Mamelodi Sundowns, it was no secret that Motsepe snr was an ardent follower and the oldest member of arch-rivals @orlandopirates.

Back to Patrice..

Another criticism of Dr Motsepe was when he had to apologize after what he told Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "Africa loves America. Africa loves you... We want America to do well. We want you to do well," he said to Mr Trump.

Despite that, he has a massive reputation as an astute businessman who can make a success of any project he takes on which is why many believe he can succeed in his quest to be president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

His success has been built on seeing opportunity and embracing partnerships which help him derive success. One such opportunity came up In November 2019, when bought a 37% stake in the Blue Bulls Rugby Company in a partnership which includes Remgro (37%)

His management of Downs has been no different. It was key to his pivot from mining strategy to technology and banking. He needed a vehicle to appeal to the masses and in Sundowns he found that.

He built a team of people around him and they have delivered. But who are they?

Dr. Rejoice Vakashile Simelane is one such director. She has a PhD in Economics from the University of Connecticut in the USA (1994) and an LLB from the University of South Africa (2010). She is Mamelodi Sundowns' representative on the PSL Executive Committee.

Another director Andre Wilkens. He began his mining career in 1969 and was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of ARMgold in 1998. He was then appointed Chief Operating Officer of Harmony following the merger of ARMgold with Harmony in 2003.

Freddy Percy Greaver is another board director who is also listed as a director of 15 other companies including Crosspoint Property Investments, Dubois Investments, Bluedoor Asset Management, and Greenpower Foods. He holds multiple qualifications, including a BA and HDE from UWC

He was also the former mayor of Polokwane who left that position in a bit of a huff citing interference. He had also been investigated for nepotism after his cousin was awarded a multimillion rand tender while he was mayor. An internal investigation ultimately cleared Greaver

Little is known about Advocate Andrew Matube. He holds a BA and LLB. and since 1992 he has practiced law engaging in property and corporate law, criminal work and litigation. He served as the legal consultant for the South African Black Social Workers Association (SABSWA)

To wrap up the review, I look into the philanthropic efforts of Dr Motsepe and Sundowns. In 2013, Motsepe donated half his wealth to charity by signing The Giving Pledge, a move inspired by the actions of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet

The money is managed by the @MotsepeFza and used to improve the lifestyles and living conditions of the poor, the disabled, unemployed, women, youth, workers and marginalized South Africans.

Through the Motsepe Foundation, the hosting and presenting partner of the Global Citizen Festival, Dr Precious and Patrice Motsepe announced commitments totaling over USD $104.4 million to advance education, economic inclusion, and equality of women and girls

In 2009 the @MissSundowns_ Pageant, was established with the aim to discover and empower women in South Africa. The 2020 queen @KadijaMakhanya, drove home in a new Hyundai i20 along with a cheque for R250 000.

Overall, Mamelodi Sundowns have been on a steep upward trajectory of success since Dr Motsepe and his team took over. They found a side that was doing okay but certainly wasn't punching at the level they could have been.

In so many ways, Motsepe's business career is mirrored in his teams performance where he cut the fat, assembled a superstar team of staff and players with serious expertise which were married with smart business principles to attain success on the pitch.

With that I wrap up the @Masandawana #KnowYourOwner Review.

Read the full review kn the website https://www.cashnsport.com/post/know-your-owner-mamelodi-sundowns