In Franschhoek, a village near South Africa’s Western Cape with 17th-century charm and postcard views of the Drakenstein Mountains, is L’Ormarins, a 3,200-acre estate belonging to Johann Rupert; it’s the largest part of Anthonij Rupert Wyne, the South African billionaire’s wine empire. Driving past a Rodin sculpture in the garden and equally statuesque stallions on the lawns, he arrives at the property early one February morning in a jovial mood, the harvest season under way. His comfortably appointed study is in one of the property’s newer buildings, its red wine cellar designed to resemble the inner workings of a watch (an appropriate metaphor for Rupert, who built his fortune as chairman of Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods and jewelry company with such brands as Cartier, Van Cleef &amp; Arpels and Piaget).
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The 65-year-old Rupert belongs to that substratum of the stratospherically wealthy for whom silence is considered platinum. He rarely gives interviews but is undeniably garrulous when the conversation is about wine. Visible through the study’s windows are rows of Chenin Blanc, a popular varietal in South Africa that rivals the Loire Valley’s.
“Chenin Blanc is a wine that, if properly handled, is a really nice drinking wine,” says Rupert, deeply tanned and smoking his way through a pack of cigarettes. With a net worth of nearly $6 billion, he has never underestimated the value of a good customer. “I look at people, and I would say there are sippers and there are drinkers. People who stir a salad around and sip a bit of Sauvignon Blanc are probably the same people who in the past would drink spritzers. They’re not wine drinkers, and I’m not in that business. I want people who love wine.”
In leading both Richemont and his winemaker, Rupert innately understands the competition to capture discerning customers. Many wealthy men have been known to buy wineries as markers of success, much in the way they purchase sports teams or movie studios. What the trophy-vineyard set lacks and Rupert possesses is an intimate connection to his grapes: Winemaking is far more than an expensive hobby – it’s deeply personal. The original owner of Anthonij Rupert Wyne was his younger brother, Anthonij, who, in 2001, at age 50, died in a car crash. “He was my best friend,” says Rupert, “and I wanted to finish his dream.”
Eager to bring his brother’s vision to its full fruition, Rupert has substantially expanded the winemaking operations, adding hundreds of acres of vineyards farther north and to the west – and next door, too, after purchasing land from Graham Beck, whose sparkling wine was reportedly used at both Nelson Mandela’s and Barack Obama’s inaugurations. Visitors to L’Ormarins and other nearby wineries typically stay in one of the country hotels in Franschhoek; the luxe La Residence, starting at $530 a night, is the best of the bunch. Close to L’Ormarins, in neighboring Stellenbosch, is diamond billionaire Laurence Graff’s winery, the Delaire Graff Estate, which has ten lavish lodges, beginning at $800 a night. Nearby Babylonstoren, owned by billionaire Koos Bekker, costs a lot less (starting at $250) but is sumptuous, too.
To reach a broad international clientele, Rupert has insisted on exporting his goods in climate-controlled containers, a change from the usual shipping method a slow boat through varied temperatures that can alter a wine’s character. And among his winery’s new offerings is a line called Terra Del Capo, made from Italian vines, a tribute to Anthonij’s fondness for that country’s wines. More personally, he learned to accept that winemaking would never have the same level of predictability as, say, his watch business. “Once we’ve done our jobs properly,” he says of Richemont, “then we don’t have to worry about a drought, hail or some bug I’ve never heard of in my life. If you have any overconfidence, the wine industry will take that out of you quickly.” His estate’s greatest success fittingly carries his brother’s name: the Anthonij Rupert 2007, a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. (It’s also priced like a Bordeaux, at $100-plus.) The vintage scored a 95-point rating from the industry bible, Wine Spectator, in 2012 only the fifth South African wine to do so and is, naturally, hard to find these days.
A surprise hit was a 2005 Petit Verdot originally produced as part of a blend (in keeping with Bordeaux custom). In its early stages it was powerfully tannic, but once left to age it improved immensely. Rupert’s staff decided to bottle and sell it as a stand-alone wine but didn’t consult with their boss. He wasn’t disappointed.
“People went crazy for it,” he says. “True wine lovers discovered it.” A French acquaintance tried a bottle and took a case to France to share among friends in the industry. “They said, ‘It’s not possible!’ They couldn’t believe it. Guess what? We’re starting to make it again this year, and we’re going to plant some more.”
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Rupert also enjoys a prosperous partnership with Baron Benjamin de Rothschild originally forged by Anthonij; Rupert &amp; Rothschild wines include the highly rated Baroness Nadine Chardonnay. As for the billing on the bottle, Rupert recalls the baron saying simply that it “sounds better than Rothschild &amp; Rupert.” What you won’t find Rupert making much of is Pinotage, South Africa’s signature variety, first developed about a century ago. To many winemakers the cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut (also known as Hermitage) is an unpalatable, barnyard-evoking wine. “I just don’t have an affinity for Pinotage,” he says. “I’ve said to my colleagues, ‘We’ve got to make wine that I like, because if I can’t sell it at least I can drink it.’”

Putting The Boer  Into Bordeaux

The BBC calls him young and charismatic. Uebert Angel is an enigma who has private audiences with heads of state, parliamentarians, philanthropists, billionaires and once with the late world icon, Nelson Mandela.
Business analysts have argued that his unlimited access to world leaders and leading businessmen has given Uebert Angel an unfair advantage over his peers in the real estate business.
Regardless of this, Angel, after close investigation, is one of the thousands of successful entrepreneurs across Africa who are creating million-dollar fortunes. These entrepreneurs do not inherit wealth; they earn it.
The prophet, a former finance lecturer and financier by profession, has two degrees in business finance from the Salford University in Britain. He has business experience and qualifications.
He also obtained a postgraduate degree at Bolton University in Manchester and has a pending Master’s degree in applied philosophy from the University of Wales in Cardiff.
His eye for the finer things in life facilitated his business acumen. In 2005, Angel established Club Millionaire, a concierge establishment providing services to the cash-rich but time-poor individuals around the globe.
Angel timed the launch of his business well. He set up his company long before the concierge boom flooded the industry in 2012 to secure part of his fortune. He then ventured into real estate, starting with residential and then moving into developing commercial properties.
His real estate and construction companies traded under various holdings and trusts in Europe, Africa and Asia. He then forayed into building a noteworthy media empire, with secular and lifestyle television channels and a Christian charitable record label that owns the rights to the music of multi-award winning artists like Sonnie Badu.
Aside from Africa, some of Angel’s companies are registered in Europe and Hong Kong. Hong Kong is favorable due to investments not being taxed in the region. The corporate profits tax rate is 16.5%, there is no capital gains tax and no accumulated earnings taxes on companies that retain earnings rather that distribute them.
Angel is reputed to have such a keen business sense and entrepreneurial skill that he is able to start small companies and grow them. He then sells them and invests the money in real estate and other projects.
In February, he bought Great Hampton Limited in Britain, a company with 30,000 square feet of choice real estate as its chief asset. The structure, which is close to the Birmingham University School of Law, is said to be valued at around $2 million and will be worth more after the renovations and improvements he is putting in place.
The Zimbabwe-born British national, who is also the bestselling author of Healing Is Easy and a sought after conference speaker, was voted the most influential Zimbabwean last year and won the Newsmaker Award in the same year.
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He is also a Peace Ambassadorial Award recipient.
His fame is huge and his contacts, impressive. He has presidents and the rich on speed dial.
There is a lot more to Angel than just business. He is a strong believer in the Giving Pledge initiative, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, which encourages wealthy people to donate at least half of their money to charity.
The Giving Pledge has so far persuaded more than a hundred billionaires to give the majority of their wealth to charities. South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe is on that list.
While Angel is not in their league, he has engaged in philanthropic endeavors which have not gone unnoticed.
Last year, after a donation of $1.4 million was given to him by friends and well-wishers for his birthday, he donated all of it to charity.
Using his own resources, Angel is also building houses for the poor and helping parents pay school fees in what he and his wife, Beverly, the patron of Hand Of Mercy (HOME) have called Adopt A School – Adopt A Child program. Hand of Mercy intends to help at least 100,000 people by 2017, a feat he says is possible if they concentrate on community development rather than individuals.
While Angel has a lot of business interests, there is another side to him that has attracted the world’s attention.
He is a staunch believer in Christ and claims to have the gift of prophecy. Some argue that his businesses and his contacts have grown primarily because of this. Others stress that he is a darling of the masses because he helps the less fortunate. Angel returned to Africa from Britain, while his business empire was at its peak, to help develop the continent.
Such is his influence in Africa that when he moved back to Zimbabwe, the Christian organization he started, Spirit Embassy, grew from 12 to 5,000 people in four weeks and is now approaching the 10,000 mark.
His business adventures have slowed down since the media latched onto his uncanny ability to predict events. He has given accurate prophecies about the deaths of Michael Jackson and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the Kenya Mall massacre among many world events. His predictions include the date and time, even a year before they occur, putting him on the forefront of the prophetic movement in Southern Africa.
Last year, media reports claimed Angel was worth $60 million, a figure he denies. His wife backs him up on this subject.
Beverly, a former finance lecturer, exudes humility. She is intelligent, but an individual of few words. When asked about her husband, she will only talk about their charitable initiatives.
&#8220;Whatever you find or see is already committed to our very own giving pledge initiative, so, come to think of it, what do we really own if it is all for philanthropy? Zero is the answer!&#8221;
Angel’s success is clear but there is still a lot about him that is shrouded in mystery.

Tag: Empire

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The Prophet Of Success