Billionaire Christo Wiese’s message for people who want to stay in South Africa

Billionaire Christo Wiese believes that South Africa and the African continent are still where the real opportunities to create wealth are. 

This is despite the problems and challenges faced in these countries. Wiese said this is what makes it fun and provides opportunities. 

Wiese explained what he would tell individuals staying in South Africa and those leaving in a recent interview with The Economic Club of Stellenbosch. 

Born in Upington in 1941, Wiese is one of South Africa’s most successful businessmen and is considered retail royalty. 

After working at the Cape Bar as a lawyer, Wiese joined a small retailer his father had invested in called Pep as a director. 

Wiese helped to grow Pep into a dominant player in the discount clothing market. He played a key role in transforming it from a small town maestro into the largest retailer in South Africa. 

Today, Pepkor has the largest retail store footprint in Southern Africa, operating over 6,000 stores across 10 countries. 

Wiese used to own close to 44% of Pepkor prior to Steinhoff’s purchase of it. After the collapse of Steinhoff, Wiese received a cash payment and 5% of Pepkor in exchange for dropping his court cases against Steinhoff.

Apart from Pep, Wiese was instrumental in building Shoprite alongside CEO Whitey Basson as its chairman. 

Wiese oversaw the iconic R1 purchase of OK Bazaars in the 1990s and steered the company’s expansion into a giant employing over 170,000 workers in South Africa. 

Currently, Wiese is still the largest individual shareholder in Shoprite, holding 10.67% of its shares. He is only second to the Government Employees Pension Fund. 

Wiese has shown incredible resilience in his business career. This was on full display when he lost $4 billion in the collapse of Steinhoff and his life’s work at Pepkor. 

After losing his status as a dollar billionaire, Wiese famously told the media that no one likes a bitter old man, and he was ready to move on. 

He reclaimed his dollar billionaire status in 2022 after a settlement with Steinhoff and good performance from his other investments. 

Wiese has a significant stake in Brait, an investment holding company that owns Virgin Active, New Look, and a portion of Premier Foods. 

Alongside his other investments, Wiese owns 37.57% of Invicta Holdings and 11.9% of TradeHold. Wiese is chairman of both Invicta and TradeHold.

Wiese’s advice for young South Africans

“The first thing I would say to young South Africans is that this is where the opportunities are,” Wiese told the club. 

“South Africa and Africa are where the opportunities are, with all their problems and challenges. That is what makes it fun.” 

Wiese has always been positive about South Africa’s future, saying the country is in a relatively good position compared to other places. 

However, he does admit that changes need to occur to make it a better place for all of its citizens and enable more people to reach their full potential. 

Advocating for a more forthright private sector, Wiese said the government should focus on getting the basics right. 

“A government’s primary job is the security and the safety of its people. That is what the government should do. Secondly, foreign relations is the government’s job,” Wiese said. 

“A government shouldn’t run airlines, ports, and trains. That is not its job. Leave it to the private sector.” 

Wiese said that despite these challenges and the government’s mismanagement, South Africa is not like the other failed African states. 

“People make the mistake that South Africa is like other failed states in Africa. They forget that South Africa has one thing those countries never had – a large, dynamic private sector,” Wiese said.

“That can cure everything. The private sector should never give up. There are people who have left, and it is one thing I did not foresee in my optimism.” 

Wiese said many people have left South Africa, but not enough to cause a vacuum. Some have returned, and the country has attracted people looking for opportunities. 

The billionaire said he still has 95% of his assets in South Africa and does not plan on changing that dramatically. 

“When you compare yourself to the rest of the world, I don’t see many happy pictures in too many places,” he said.

“I believe most of the people in South Africa are good people. There are other countries where you cannot say that of people,” he said.

He explained that, in the end, the fact that the majority of South Africans are good people will matter.