South Africa’s richest woman leaves London for South Africa

Sygnia CEO and founder Magda Wierzycka has returned to South Africa after seven years as a resident of the United Kingdom, with the island-nation now proving uninvestable. 

Wierzycka has been clear that tax changes in the United Kingdom are part of the reason why she returned to South Africa, but are not the only reason. 

The CEO is optimistic about South Africa’s prospects and feels as though she can make more of a difference at home than anywhere else in the world. 

Wierzycka first announced her return in her CEO’s report for the 2025 financial year, after outlining the impressive growth of Sygnia. 

Founded in 2006 with R2 billion in assets under management, Sygnia has grown significantly since then to have over R460 billion in assets. 

In 2017, Wierzycka moved to London out of concern for her safety after her criticism of the infamous Gupta family’s influence over the South African government and her eventual role in exposing the extent of State Capture in the country. 

During her time in London, Wierzycka remained involved in running Sygnia as its co-CEO and launched a private equity firm, Braavos Investment Advisers.

Wierzycka owns around 90 million shares in Sygnia, which is over half of the company’s total issued shares. The company is valued at R4.61 billion on the JSE.

Speaking on Conversations with Lelethu, Wierzycka explained her decision to leave the United Kingdom in more detail. 

“You have got a socialist government in the UK where people are encouraged not to work, their social benefits are higher than any wage they can earn,” Wierzycka said. 

“The UK has also withdrawn from the European Union, so the economy has just gone spiralling downwards. You have a country with one of the highest tax rates in the world.” 

Wierzycka explained that with recent changes to the tax regime, the UK is chasing away wealthy people with significant consequences for government revenue, economic growth, and employment. 

“Thousands of people have left the UK because of these tax changes, and they might not all be billionaires, but they are wealthy,” Wierzycka said. 

“It is not only about the people who have left – they won’t come back – but it is also about the wealth that will not come to the UK or be created in the UK in the future. They take one look at that tax regime and say, ‘Never mind’.” 

Inheritance tax and South Africa

Wierzycka explained that her biggest issue in the UK was the changes made to inheritance tax in the country, which would have significantly slashed the wealth she could pass on to her children. 

“The biggest bone of contention, never mind the marginal tax rates and social benefits, was the inheritance tax of 40%,” Wierzycka said. 

“So, here you are, and you have your children and worked for your money, which you have already been taxed on, and invested in, again paying more tax on it, and now you die, and the government takes another 40% of that.” 

South Africa, in contrast, has an inheritance tax rate of 20%. In the case of Wierzycka, this difference would impact the inheritance passed to her children to the tune of hundreds of millions of rands. 

These changes ultimately pushed Wierzycka out of the UK. However, there were also several factors that drew her back to South Africa. 

This includes business reasons, with Wierzycka seeking to exercise closer control of her company and drive its growth at a faster rate. 

“I wanted to assume stronger leadership of the company. I think there is a lot to be done in that regard. I want to see what else we can do with Sygnia,” Wierzycka said. 

This is coupled with South Africa looking much more attractive economically, which naturally creates more opportunities for businesses to expand. 

“I have also lived out my fantasy of living overseas. A lot of my friends did that in their twenties, but I did not. In my twenties, I was working like a dog,” she said. 

“I wanted that experience, and now I have seen it. I am now very happy to come back to a country that I view as home, where my parents still live.” 

Wierzycka also mentioned the UK’s weather and general “grimness” as reasons for her longing for life in South Africa. 

South Africa’s richest woman also revealed that she received a personal message from SARS boss Edward Kieswetter welcoming her back, indicating that he understands the importance of these “rainmakers”.

“I got a WhatsApp from Edward Kieswetter, who is the head of SARS, to say, ‘Welcome back’,” Wierzycka said.

This potentially indicates a shift in attitude from members of the government, with it becoming more appreciative of the importance of wealthy individuals in terms of tax revenue, employment and general prosperity in South Africa. 

The country has one of the most concentrated personal income tax bases in the world, with just 2.4% of South Africans paying 77% of all personal income tax in the country. 

This means that just over 1.5 million people out of the broader population pay R562 billion worth of personal income tax in South Africa.