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Origins and wealth of ‘The Stellenbosch Mafia’


IF you’re familiar with Italian gangster movies and culture, the term mafia immediately conjures images of those involved in some form of organised crime.

This thought was not so far-fetched in the title of Pieter du Toit’s ‘The Stellenbosch Mafia: Inside the Billionaire’s Club’.

At first glance, the book reads like a gateway to an exposé of the dealings of the men on the cover of the book – said to be the wealthiest men in South Africa.

They are placed in profile headshots at the bottom of the book, with the positioning of each man seemingly suggesting their dominance in the clique of white Afrikaner businessmen from Stellenbosch.

From the far right and placed relatively smaller than anyone else on the cover is Jannie Mouton, a ‘rand billionaire’ and Stellenbosch University aluminus.

The face of Steinhoff, Markus Jooste, is placed to the left of Mouton, but sits slightly larger in the frame. Jooste’s former partner, Christoffel Wiese is sandwiched in between him and Johan Rupert.

Rupert’s share of the bottom space is larger than everyone else’s.

The suggestion being that he owns a larger share of the economy, something that is hardly refuted in South African economic circles.

Although they might not be equal in size on the cover, Jooste, Rupert and Wiese, like Mouton, are Stellenbosch University alumni, and at one time all lived in Stellenbosch and had business headquarters there.

All this information can be gleaned from the cover of Du Toit’s book.

CONNECTING THE DOTS

The contents of the book, however, detail another story. While brilliantly documenting the history of the town and its economy, the book is filled with snippet profiles of the rich white Afrikaner men in Stellenbosch. It also explains how the men were and for most part are somehow all connected to each other through their various business interests and their share in the economy.

Towards the meat of the introduction, Du Toit details the history of Afrikaner capitalism and its origins. He writes about the ‘poor white’ who had no role to play in the emerging and modernising economy but who was preoccupied with the politics of the day.

He also details the 1939 First Economic Congress of the People and how that parachuted Afrikaner businesses into the space they occupy today.

Interestingly, but probably not surprisingly, Du Toit dedicates a significant part of the book to Johan Rupert, who is seen to be the face of the so-called ‘Stellenbosch Mafia’.

He, however, does not vilify Rupert as many expected. He writes on the origins of the Rupert wealth, almost depicting the business tycoon as a mere beneficiary of his father Anton’s wealth.

Du Toit also writes on how Rupert, as he has said himself on a number of occasions, was a victim of apartheid.

He paints Anton, Johan’s father, with a similar brush, bringing up a time when the senior Rupert wanted to establish a programme to assist black entrepreneurs, to the dismay of the apartheid government of the day.

On the other hand, Markus Jooste is depicted as the black sheep of the Stellenbosch clique. Most of this is attributed to his involvement in the failure of Steinhoff and Jooste’s apparent urge ‘to be part of the Stellenbosch set’.

The stories of Piet Mouton, Edwin Hertzog, Whitey Basson and GT Ferreira are also intertwined in the Stellenbosch set.

Apart from the personal anecdotes, the book is a beginner’s guide to understanding the history of Stellenbosch – the town and the university – but more importantly, the wealth generated from the two and how it plays a role in the economy of South Africa.

Du Toit rubbishes the existence of the mafia more than he confirms it. He suggests that the term is more of a political expression, as opposed to a reference to a group of wealthy white Afrikaner men from Stellenbosch who benefit from the exploitation of the South African workforce.

In essence, the book speaks to Stellenbosch, where Du Toit is from. It speaks to the businesses there and the families who run them. It speaks to the opposition and criticism faced by the families, as well as their connections, whether economic or political.





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