The South African billionaire who moved to Israel with a focus on philanthropy
Brian Joffe, one of South Africa’s most successful entrepreneurs, is now living in Tel Aviv and has been making their mark on philanthropy in Israel.
Joffe was born in Johannesburg in 1947 and showed his entrepreneurial flair and business acumen at an early age. As a schoolboy, he packed birdseed at his father’s micro grain and milling business, earning a few cents an hour.
He diversified by helping his pharmacist uncle, where he counted out tablets and dropped them one by one into phials.
“I learned you only make a profit by meticulously managing your assets, down to the last pill,” he said.
After his matric at Greenside High School, he attended the University of Witwatersrand, where he graduated as a chartered accountant.
His own entrepreneurial career began in 1978 when he borrowed R49,000 to buy an interest in a small pet food manufacturer.
A year later, he acquired full ownership and expanded the company. Within six months, his business held 15% of South Africa’s canned dog food market.
Joffe launched Bidvest in 1989 and built it into South Africa’s top services, trading, and distribution company.
He developed a uniquely empowered business model driven by autonomous entrepreneurs, each responsible for growing their own operations.
After successfully running the company for 26 years, he stepped down as Bidvest chief executive in May 2016.
He launched Long4Life, a lifestyle-focused investment holding company, shortly after stepping away from his executive responsibilities at Bidvest. This was another great success.
Long4Life successfully listed on the JSE on 7 April 2017, raising R2 billion from investors. Its holdings included well-known brands like Sportsman’s Warehouse, Outdoor Warehouse, and Sorbet.
In 2022, Old Mutual Private Equity acquired 100% of Long4Life, allowing Joffe to step away from the executive requirements of a listed company.
Numerous awards and accolades
Over his career, Brian Joffe received numerous awards, accolades, and honorary degrees for his contributions to the business world.
- In 1992, shortly after he founded Bidvest, he was recognised by Sunday Times as one of South Africa’s five businessmen of the year.
- In 2004, he won the SA chapter of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Award and subsequently was the SA representative at the World Entrepreneur Awards.
- In 2008, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Commerce from the University of South Africa.
- In 2010, he was named by Wits Business School Journal as one of the top 25 business leaders with a significant impact on South Africa’s business sector.
- In 2011, he received the Sunday Times Lifetime Achiever Award
- In 2012, he was included in the Forbes list of the 20 most influential people in Africa.
- In 2016, Joffe received an honorary doctorate from the University of South Africa and the University of Witwatersrand.
Forbes Magazine also named him as one of the most powerful people in African business.
Joffe moved to Israel with a strong focus on philanthropy
With his executive responsibilities behind him, Joffe and his wife, Lee, moved to Tel Aviv, Israel, where they have a strong focus on philanthropy.
Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Centre in Jerusalem, said the couple endowed the prominent Warsaw Ghetto Square Balcony at the Yad Vashem museum.
They also began dedicating the Yad Vashem International Book Prize for Holocaust Research Award in memory of Brian’s parents, Benny and Tilly Joffe.
“This prestigious Book Prize is a major incentive for scholarship in this field,” Yad Vashem said in a statement.
“Brian and Lee recently extended their existing seven-year endowment of the Book Prize by an additional eighteen years.”
During his tenure at Bidvest, the company donated substantial funds to charitable causes, including Johannesburg Chevrah Kadisha and ORT SA.
Other corporate projects included Reach For a Dream, developing the potential of quadriplegics and paraplegics, and graduate development.
It also supported Hear for Life, the Chefs Association, Wits University, Hospice, Bethany House, the Nkosi Haven, and PinkDrive.
Apart from his philanthropic and business endeavours, Joffe is also an avid photographer and artist.
In 2015, Nature’s Best Photography recognised his work in this field by giving him the coveted Photographer of the Year award.
In 2014, he started to pursue another talent, Giclée art, which allows him to express his keen sense of humour and explore modernism.
Brian Joffe’s photography
Brian Joffe’s art
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