Name: Mosima Gabriel Sexwale Born: 5 March 1953 Nationality: South African Alma mater: University of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland; University of Nottingham (UK) Occupation: Non-Executive Chair of Mvelaphanda Holdings Net worth: R2.14-billion
Tokyo Sexwale F o r m e r M i n i s t e r o f H u m a n S e t t l e m e n t s , To k y o S e x w a l e i s a w e l l k n o w p u b l i c f i g u re i n S o u t h A f r i c a w i t h e x t e n s i v e e x p e r i e n c e i n b o t h t h e p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e s e c t o r s . H e i s a b u s i n e s s m a n , p o l i t i c i a n , a n t i - a p a r t h e i d a c t i v i s t , a n d f o rm e r p o l i t i c a l p r i s o n e r. I f h e w e re t o s a y t h a t h e h a d s e e n i t a l l, i t w o u l d b e d i f f i c u l t t o a rg u e .
EARLY LIFE
HOW HE MADE HIS MONEY
The son of a clerk at Johannesburg General Hospital, Sexwale grew up in Orlando West in Soweto at the height of the turmoil in the township. He joined Steve Biko’s Black Consciousness Movement at a young age and was quickly recognised as a natural leader by the South African Students’ Movement.
After stepping down from public service, Sexwale founded Mvelaphanda Holdings. The company’s primary focus is on the mining, energy, and related sectors. His main interests are in the oil and diamond mining industries.
Just after completing high school in the early 1970s, he joined the African National Congress’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe and went into exile to receive military officers training in the Soviet Union with a specialisation in military engineering. Soon after returning to South Africa, Sexwale was captured by local authorities, tried for terrorism and conspiracy to overthrow the government, and was sentenced to an 18-year jail term at Robben Island maximum security prison. He was released in 1990 after serving 13 years of his sentence and began his successful career as a politician and businessman.
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Sexwale is a major player in the diamond mining industry in South Africa. His company is reportedly the third largest diamond mining organisation in the country. His business acumen was praised by Harry Oppenheimer, a mega-mining mogul himself, who stated that Sexwale understanding of the South African and international diamond mining industry was almost unequalled. He is a well-known philanthropist and a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Global Philanthropists Circle of the Synergos Institute, the Business Trust, and the Robben Island Ex-Prisoners Trust. If that weren’t enough, he is also a patron of organisations such as the Johannesburg Child and Family Welfare Society, Streetwise South Africa, Save the Family Fund, and The Sky is No Limit.