It all began rather inauspiciously. Vivian Reddy grew up in one of Durban’s poorest neighborhoods, on South Africa’s east coast, as the youngest of nine children. His father, a schoolteacher, was earning a meager $3.70 a month—which was a pittance, even in the 1950s.
“Times were really tough. And when you’re one of nine siblings, you’re always fighting for things. Those were very humble beginnings,” says Reddy.
Being the youngest he had to fight for his place, which toughened him up. After a somewhat mundane childhood, he joined the Boy Scouts at the age of 12, where he learnt about teamwork, self-reliance and leadership. The group sparked his ambition to succeed in life.
“It’s an amazing organization that helped to shape my future,” he says.
It also led to one of the most defining moments in Reddy’s life. When he was 16, he was chosen to head the South African delegation at an international Boy Scouts jamboree in Japan where he encountered a man who would become his life-long inspiration: astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.
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“He made an indelible impression on me. When I talked to him, he told me about his life, and how important it was to persevere. I still remember his words: ‘Perseverance prevails when all else fails.’ He also told me: ‘If you can dream it, you can achieve it.’ His words stuck with me. They were my source of inspiration for many years to come,” says Reddy.
As if Armstrong had a hunch, perseverance was indeed a character trait Reddy would need in his professional life. He had trained as an electrician and found a job with an electrical company in Pietermaritzburg, 60 kilometers north of Durban. A few years later, he was promoted to branch manager. His career prospects looked good, but when his bosses held a corporate Christmas party in the late 70s, during the height of Apartheid, in two separate rooms—one for the white management, the other for the black workers—he could not keep his mouth shut.
“I have always been very radical in my views, and I could not tolerate injustices. So I took the workers over to the other side. The white managers were very upset. On Monday morning, I was called into the office and fired. I was very angry and I told the managing director that, one day, I would have an electrical company bigger than his, even though I didn’t have two cents in my back pocket,” he says.
Freshly unemployed, Reddy was about to face some tough times. Word had spread in the industry that he was a troublemaker. His job applications were met with silence. That left him with only one option: to open his own business, Reddy Electrical.
The first contract he netted was an electrical installation worth $5,300, which was a substantial sum of money at that time. Reddy had just got married to his first wife, Mogi Naidoo, with whom he would have three children, still lived with his parents and was saving up for their honeymoon. He worked day and night to finish the job. But when he went in his ramshackle pick-up truck to collect his money, he found a note on the company’s door that sent a chill down his spine: ‘Company in liquidation. Contact our attorneys.’
“My whole world fell flat. I was shocked to the core. I couldn’t believe it. I had the naïve expectation that if you deliver a service, you will be rewarded. Then I was confronted with the real world. I realized how important it is to have securities in place before you do a job. I was a good tradesman, but I had no financial experience. I had to learn the hard way to become a good business person,” he says.
When he lay in bed that evening, wallowing in depression, the words of Neil Armstrong came back to his mind. He realized it was time to live up to his ideals. He had to persevere and work towards achieving his dream of becoming the biggest electrical company in South Africa.
“I got up at 2AM and started to make a plan about how I was going to overcome this. And I tell you what: it inspired me. I decided I was going to succeed. The first thing I did the next morning was to go to see everyone I owed money and told them the truth, that I was unable to pay them back,” Reddy says.
There was very little sympathy. He received threats and legal letters from all of his suppliers but one, while his bank pressured him to settle his small overdraft. Only when Reddy proved month after month, that he was paying back his debt in small installments, did his debtors relent.
“Only one company allowed me to continue trading. I still do business with them. I’ve given them billions worth of contracts because they stood by me,” he says.
Today, as Reddy has made billions with his diversified Edison Corp, many may wish they had done the same.
It would be a long journey. Reddy borrowed $53 from his sister and launched into rebuilding his business. He worked 18-hour-days. Within five months, much earlier than he had hoped, he paid back all of his debts.
“One thing I learnt from this experience is financial discipline. One of the problems in business today is that start-ups overspend. They have a business plan and think it’s going to work immediately. But it takes at least three to four years before you can even turn a profit. That’s a reality a lot of people don’t want to see,” he says.
The first years were hard. Whenever he tendered for contracts, Reddy didn’t receive a reply. Then he realized: it was his firm’s name, Reddy Electrical, that was detrimental to his business as long as apartheid ruled South Africa. His luck changed when he renamed his company Edison Power, after the inventor of the electrical light bulb, Thomas Edison.
“I realized that because my name indicated that I am Indian, people were not going to give me work. I decided to masquerade as a white person. People used to phone and ask to speak to Mr. Edison. So I said: ‘Mr. Edison is not in. Can I help you?’ It was the only way I could succeed at that time,” he says.
The ruse worked until the firms found out. They retaliated by delaying payments and sabotaging contracts wherever they could, Reddy says.
“They did everything to make us lose money, but we persevered. I kept on investing in my staff, training them. We became perfectionists. Our workmanship became so good, that after four years, we became an exemplar company. We even had to turn away work,” he explains.
Reddy’s business really kicked off in the early 1990s, towards the end of Apartheid, when Nelson Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress (ANC) was released and activists, like President Jacob Zuma, returned from exile. Reddy became a major benefactor of the ANC and a close friend of Zuma’s.
“I wasn’t politically active, but I was always conscious of Apartheid issues, so I got involved. I financially supported the ANC, and have been very consistent in my support since then. It’s not a new-found relationship,” Reddy says.
Reddy, who in the South African media regularly gets tongue-lashed for his controversial funding of politicians and involvement in various empowerment deals, insists that his success in business is based on excellence in service delivery, not on political connections.
“We win tenders because we are good at what we are doing. We are the biggest electrical business in the country. A ‘tenderpreneur’ is someone who gets a tender because he knows someone, not because he is good at his job. I believe that when you have friends that are of influence, it is morally wrong to use that relationship to prejudice them in your favor. I’ve never made any demands,” he says.
Today Edison Corporation, which employs 7,500 people, has become a diversified, family-owned conglomerate with interests in property, casinos, wind and solar energy as well as medical waste management. It is the oldest surviving electrical company in South Africa and, with a multimillion US dollar turnover, the biggest in Africa.
“I have achieved my dream by working towards a policy I called BABA, which stands for biggest and best in Africa. We are very dependable. We still have the same clients we had 30 years ago. Building relationships is very important,” Reddy says.
Over the years, Edison Corp has netted countless lucrative electrical engineering contracts, including the $750 million Durban’s Dube Trade Port, international airports, casinos, hotels, shopping malls, convention centers, theme parks and golf estates.
“He is charming, persuasive and extremely self-confident. Whatever he sets his mind to, he makes happen. He is an achiever,” says Durban lawyer Ashwin Trikamjee, an old family friend who has known Reddy for more than 40 years.
Reddy, who is estimated to be worth billions, but does not want to disclose his net worth, says with a wink of an eye: “If I give millions of my personal money to charity, it means I can afford it.”
There is certainly no restraint to his cash flow. It’s no secret that Reddy, whose trademark are lightly-colored, tailor-made suits, likes to lead a lavish life of travel, luxury and style. He bought a huge, modern mansion in one of Durban’s most exclusive suburbs where he lives with his second wife, TV and radio personality Sorisha Naidoo, and their children, Saihil, four, and Kalina, two. In the garage are parked a fleet of luxury cars, including a Rolls Royce Ghost and a Bentley Continental GT. He is also a family man who loves to play chess with his wife, spend time with his children and grandchildren and watch soccer. His other hobby, is gambling, and that one he has turned into a flourishing business. In 1994, when gambling was legalized in the newly democratic South Africa, Reddy smelled opportunity and launched himself into a sector that, at that point, he knew little about.
“I love gambling. When I told people I wanted to own a casino, they laughed at me. But I knew casinos are all about good management, so I went in with the right partners, an international management company. We put in a bid, scored the highest points and won the license,” he says.
By 1999, he opened his first casino, Monte Vista, in his home province KwaZulu-Natal, which would over the next decade be followed by two multi-million dollar casinos in Durban, Suncoast and Sibaya, and interests in many others. Reddy has cast his eye even further. His next goal is to open five casinos on the continent, expanding into Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
Reddy says it’s a myth that one can only be successful in a business sector one has specialized in. It’s all about doing in-depth research, selecting the right partners and learning as you go along, he says, adding that only entrepreneurs who are willing to take calculated risks and explore new opportunities will enjoy major success.
“You’ve got to go beyond your borders. You’ve got to remove the blinkers from your eyes. That’s what life is all about,” he believes.
From the casino business, he branched out into real estate. Most recently, Reddy built a $53 million shopping mall in Newcastle, and is about to finalize a posh shopping, medical, office, hotel and residential complex outside of Durban.
“Property is one of the easiest businesses. People just make it sound difficult. I don’t understand why more people don’t invest in real estate. I see great investment opportunities all over Africa. People must just go out and grasp them,” he says.
Like every good entrepreneur, Reddy is never content with what he has, always on the lookout for new opportunities, ways to innovate and expand.
“You have to constantly evolve your business. When you’re in business, you have to do research. Business is all about knowing what’s happening next, how the market evolves. That’s what innovation is all about, and that’s what we do. I’m always planning five years ahead. And I diversify,” he explains.
What helps him to reach new horizons, he says, is a second philosophic principle he came up with, called CANEI, or ‘constant and never-ending improvement’.
“It simply means that today must be better than yesterday, and tomorrow must be better than today. You’ve got to strive for improvement, whether it’s in business, sports or your private life. This principle is the mantra of my business,” he explains.
It’s a principle Reddy applies not only to grow his own business. It also forms the basis for his entire supply chain. In the past three decades, Reddy has kick-started dozens of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) businesses and dished out millions to previously disadvantaged subcontractors. Through his involvement in development and mentorship programs to help grow South African businesses, he has been credited for ensuring that small and medium-sized firms get a piece of the BEE cake.
“My goal is to empower people. I started implementing BEE policies 35 years ago, from the time I started. Whenever we give out contracts, we pay attention to BEE. It’s very, very important to me. We have very strict internal policies that we apply. I know what it is like to start from scratch, to be struggling,” says Reddy, whose Edison Corp is a Level 2 BEE Contributor, which means that the group has reached somewhere between 85 and 99 points on the 100-point scorecard.
Empowering people is also a motto Reddy, whose real first name is Vathasallum, which means ‘child of peace and tranquility’ in Hindu, applies to his staff members. It starts with creating a work environment in which people feel appreciated to help them rise to their full potential. Edison Corp’s offices have a quiet room, where staff can relax, and every once in a while, the computer screens are automatically turned off for a few minutes, to ensure people take breaks. Reddy also regularly organizes staff lunches to create team spirit.
“He wants people to feel comfortable at the workplace and enable them to grow in their work. He takes an interest in everyone, from the office cleaner to the top executive. He doesn’t micromanage but makes sure people meet their targets,” says Edison Corp’s brands and communications manager Roderick Ephraim.
Reddy also places emphasis on Edison Corp’s social responsibility section, which has a strong focus on assisting children. To share some of his wealth more permanently, he launched a private foundation on his 60th birthday in February, which he celebrated with an event for 10,000 disadvantaged children—apart from a glamorous $1 million, two-day birthday bash with hundreds of guests, including family members, friends, business partners, royalty and politicians. The Vivian Reddy Trust, to which he pledged $10.6 million of his own money, focuses on improving the lives of poor children. In five years time, when Reddy plans to retire, he will even go further and donate half of his wealth to charity, he says.
Meanwhile, the electricity tycoon is grooming his 32-year-old son from his first marriage, Santhan, to take over the chairmanship of Edison Corp. Despite the fact that Reddy has built a business empire that includes the biggest electrical company on the continent, there remains a lot to accomplish and conquer.
“The legacy I leave for my son is a $300 billion opportunity to electrify Africa. If you look at a satellite image of Africa at night, it’s still largely a dark continent. The opportunity is massive.”

One Small Step For Neil Armstrong, One Giant Leap For Vivian Reddy

As the 2013 European tour began at Royal Durban Country Club in South Africa in December, the tour had a new member—take note of this name: Justin Walters. Like Branden Grace in 2012, here was another young man from South Africa on the verge of a breakthrough in the tough world of professional golf.
Also like Grace, Walters, 32, goes into his European tour campaign with just one backyard victory to his credit in the Sunshine Tour. Unlike Grace, who enjoyed a fairy-tale rise, it has been a grim journey for Walters. When he was four years old, Walters suffered a damaging and traumatic eye injury.
“I have 50 percent vision in my right eye. I suffer with double vision and lazy eye, you name it,” says Walters in the players’ lounge at Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate, where he was playing the 102nd South African Open in November.
“I fight a lot of conditions with it. When I was four years old, I had a pine needle go straight through my eye. I&#8217;ve had several operations, five or six, trying to help it. Right now, it&#8217;s as good as it&#8217;s going to get. I have a contact lens in my right eye. I&#8217;ve had it [the condition] so long, maybe it does hurt me, but I&#8217;m so used to it now. I can&#8217;t spend too much time dwelling on it.
Walters explains that overcast skies, rather than bright sunshine, are the biggest worry for him on the golf course.
“There will be several occasions when I&#8217;m out on the golf course when I can see two golf balls, four sets of shoes and my double vision really causes havoc. I wear Oakley sunglasses all the time, the guys take care of me and really get me through a day&#8217;s golf. They limit the fatigue on my eyes and help me do my job as good as I can.”
Securing playing privileges doesn&#8217;t come much tougher than playing the Challenge Tour for a full season, but that&#8217;s just what Walters did. The Challenge Tour, the secondary tour in Europe, provides 20 cards for the main European tour, via the season-long money list. Walters was outside the top 20, coming into the final event of the season in Italy, and needed a good finish to get his card. He wasn&#8217;t just playing for money; he was playing for his future.
Even after the first round he wasn&#8217;t lying well after a level par 71.
“I got off to a really slow start, and your back is against the wall. There was only one of two results—I was going to play well and get it done or I wasn&#8217;t.”
He played the next three rounds in 14 under par to finish fifth for the event. If Walters was two shots worse, he would have missed out on getting his card completely. In those circumstances, to come through and make the grade, shows great mental strength and determination—something that bodes well for the European main tour.
“The night before the final round, I was a little bit nervous and it was really tight. All the guys around me were right there or ahead of me. I knew I had to produce something that was half-decent. It was a very stressful day, but I got off to such a good start. I made the mental goal of not looking at a leader board the whole day. The conditions were tough and I was playing well. I managed to post a really good score given the conditions. When I tapped in for par on 18, that was the first time I looked at a leader board and saw I had managed to cross the finish line.”
Walters studied in the States at North Carolina State University, where he did business management and qualified cum laude. There he was roommates with fellow South African Garth Mulroy, who now campaigns on the US PGA Tour. Walters said the reason he went abroad was because of his father&#8217;s influence and having a back-up career, if the golf path did not pan out.
“My dad was quite hard on me, he really wanted to make sure I had a degree to go with me pursuing golf. At the time in South Africa, that wasn&#8217;t really possible. It was either a degree or you just played golf. It really improved my game and played a big role in where I am today.”
Walters explains the conditions in the States help make better-rounded players. Added to that is the high competition level at college, where the best players from around the world ply their future trade before turning professional.
“If you look at the PGA Tour and European Tour, a lot of the guys have gone through the college system. If you can show your worth there, it certainly gives you a good boost mentally and confidence to take on the pro ranks.
Walters is honest with his expectations—he doesn&#8217;t know what to expect, but with help of the healthy contingent of South Africans out on tour, he hopes to be able to cement his place among the top golfers in the world.
“I&#8217;m lucky that there&#8217;s a big tribe of South Africans playing there [in the European Tour]. I&#8217;ve already spoken to a couple of the players and the caddies, asking if they can take me under their wings and show me the ropes. I&#8217;ll be relying on them as much as I can and hopefully in a year&#8217;s time I can sit here and tell you more.”
Walters has conquered the pain of the pine needle of outrageous fortune, now he wants to conquer the world.

The Rising Star  With The Lazy Lucky Eye

Igugu is the horse that stole the hearts of many and cost those who failed to believe.  An Australian filly sired by an Epsom Derby winner, Galileo, Igugu has sent waves through the racing industry and was named “Horse of the Year”. Igugu was bred by Kia Ora Stud and bought at a yearling sale for $65,000 by Livestock Traders in 2009. It was then sold to Andre Macdonald—a former electrician and now principal officer at Lido Electrical’s East Rand branch, in South Africa—from the Summerhill draft in 2009 at the Ready-To-Run Sale for $127,530. Macdonald had gone to the sale with the secret intention of buying both of Galileo’s fillies in order to up his chances of owning a champion, only to be outbid for the first horse by South Africa’s top trainer Mike de Kock at $255,060. Luck was on his side when the second horse turned out to be the champion.
Macdonald’s love of horses began when his family moved to the northern suburbs of Johannesburg at a time when horse riding was popular with children. His daughter took an interest and joined a stable. He then bought a horse each so they could ride together on their property. His daughter grew up, got married and Macdonald sold the horses.
“Before I knew it a friend of mine said they had a horse for sale and asked ‘do you want to buy it?’ I said ‘I don’t want to buy it but I’ll think about it.’ Twelve o’clock that night they phoned me and said ‘your horse is standing in the stables.’ But I didn’t say no, I said ‘okay I’ll take it.’ It was the biggest mistake I probably made,” Macdonald recalls. Sitting with a dud, Macdonald then got serious.
Igugu is now co-owned by the Macdonalds and Sheikh Mohamed bin Kalifa Al Maktoum—who also co-owns the 2010 Vodacom Durban July (the July) winner. The royal family clearly has a love for the sport. Years ago, in the United States, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is reported to have bid $10 million for a horse at a yearling sale. Sheikh Mohamed bin Kalifa Al Maktoum‘s share came about when he took interest in Igugu and went into talks with Mick Goss, CEO of Summerhill Stud, about acquiring his 25% stake. Not one to be satisfied with a minority share, the sale was in jeopardy unless the Macdonalds, who owned 75%, sold 25% shares to Sheikh Mohamed bin Kalifa Al Maktoum to ensure an equal partnership.  Macdonald says this is something he would only have done for Goss.
It’s common practice in the industry to have more than one owner of a horse. As much as this can be seen as spreading the winnings, having more than one investor means spreading the risk as well as the costs. These costs include training fees, farrier fees, veterinary care, insurance, race entry fees, jockey fees, ownership registration fees and transport.
For most this is a business after. For Macdonald, it’s a sport.
And as with any business, there is money to be made and Igugu has made more than her fair share for her owners.  She’s a Triple Tiara Princess, winner of the 2011 Vodacom Durban July as well as the 2012 J&amp;B Met (the Met). She is only the second horse to have ever won both the July and the Met. The only other horse to have done so is Pocket Power, who also holds the record for winning the July three times. The prize money for the July and Met alone were $361,600 and $301,330 respectively.
The industry is big and money is no problem for those looking to be a part of the thrill. There are seven sales that take place every year and they work the same as any auction. Potential buyers get a catalogue beforehand and the bidding wars begin. The aggregate price at the Emperors Palace National Yearling Sale held in April was $10,576,311; it was $564,713 at the Milkwood Stud Sale in May and $922,184 at the Cape Mare &amp; Weanling Sale in the same month.
Macdonald laughs as he remembers how he first tried to pick horses at sales. Not knowing what he was doing, he’d shadow the trainers while they checked out the horses.
“If he wants to turn his head left, I turn my head left and if he goes right, I go right.”
You must remember that these buyers take risks on untested horses. De Kock does not shy away from the fact that this is a risky business and is all about luck. He admits that picking up a horse at a sale is not an exact science but reiterates Macdonald’s advice of having a professional around to help.
If it’s so risky, why get into it?
“There is a 1% chance of a horse being a champion from a sale but that’s the intrigue. It’s a sport that becomes a part of your life,” he says with a hint of excitement in his voice.
For de Kock, it all started with two years of military training at an equestrian center and then moved on to work for a number of trainers. In 1988, the trainer de Kock worked for died and since he already had a good working relationship with the owners and staff, he took over the late trainer’s string. He is now the top trainer in the country and is also an owner. Having won the July four times, he’s three wins short of the record for trainers.
Training a race horse takes a hell of a lot of patience says the expert. Purchases would occur when the horse is around 18 months old. If you buy one from a Ready-to-Run Sale it can be ready to race by 24 months, provided it suffers no injury or illness. The monthly cots will average somewhere between R7,000 ($840) and R8,000 ($960), but the rewards for a great runner are tremendous. The industry consists of owners, trainers, breeders, racing operators, insurers, transporters and blood stock agents. Racing operator, Golden Circle, stages both the Vodacom Durban July and the J&amp;B Met. The company has numerous operations and reports an annual turnover of more than $216.8 million. Racing operator Phumelela’s glory comes from staging the Triple Crown and the Triple Tiara. The Triple Tiara’s spoils are $783,151, including the bonus for the horse that wins all three legs. The Triple Tiara—won last year by Igugu—has a combined prize of $270,911, not including the $120,366 bonus.
With this amount of money on the line, it’s no wonder these fine creatures are insured.  The way that the insurance works, is that the horse’s value is established by looking at its track record, breeding and other attributes.  If the horse is a filly, its value will be higher as it can be used for breeding. An unknown horse that’s just been bought at a sale will be insured at the fall of hammer price. As the horse develops a track record and its value increases, so will its insured amount.
The international scene is also a potential money maker for the lucky few. The Dubai Carnival in January has nine events, with $27.25 million to be won.  Unfortunately, the export protocol needs reform. Australia requires 60 days quarantine in the African Sickness Free Zone in Cape Town, South Africa, followed by another 60 days in Europe. Dubai involves 21 days of quarantine in Johannesburg, 90 days in Mauritius, 30 days in Europe and two weeks in Dubai. This means that a horse competing internationally not only has to forgo most of the South African season but it also loses training time and so will run at a disadvantage against other horses on the track.
This is all due to the fear of the African Horse Sickness (AHS). Paranoia, de Kock calls it. He claims that this is the one thing holding the industry back from being a major export industry that creates jobs and adds to government revenue. What we need, he says, is to get more aggressive and let the trading partners know that this is not a major threat. The fact that South African horses competing internationally are doing so well, is a testament to how strong the industry is.
Igugu is geared to start her international career in Dubai. As for her chances for this year’s July?
“Some people don’t win the Met or the July. I was lucky enough to win both. I don’t know when that will ever happen again,” says a realistic Macdonald. He feels that his horse has already done more for him than he could have asked for.
Horse racing has a tradition of being elitist and de Kock says that the image that the sport portrays, along with that of a lack of transparency, is another one of one of the industry’s problems. Syndication, however, is one way to get around this as it makes the sport accessible to more people but de Kock says that it is up to people to educate themselves and the industry to demonstrate the available opportunities. Nonetheless, de Kock is, as he puts it, “bullish” about the future of the South African horse racing industry and expects an explosion if it were to get it right.

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One Small Step For Neil Armstrong, One Giant Leap For Vivian Reddy

The Rising Star With The Lazy Lucky Eye

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