Filipino billionaire snaps up world-class South African golf course

Filipino ports and casino billionaire Enrique Razon, whose company won an multi-billion-rand bid to revive sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest container port, has bought a development that includes one of South Africa’s top 10-ranked golf courses.

Entities associated with Razon are buying Pearl Valley — a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course — as well as the hotel on the property located in the Cape Winelands from a company controlled by shareholders that include Ryk Neethling, a South African businessman and Olympic gold medalist in swimming. 

The nation’s anti-trust authority approved the purchase, according to a March 20 government notice. 

Razon chairs International Container Terminal Services Inc., which in 2023 won a bid to develop South Africa’s port of Durban and operate it for 25 years.

A local court temporarily blocked the deal last year after an A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S unit challenged the award.

ICTSI operates more than 30 port terminals in 20 countries. Razon — who chairs and is president of Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. and is a major supporter of the sport in his home country — has an estimated net worth of $9.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Razon also founded and runs Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the Philippines’ biggest casino operator.