Billionaire Christo Wiese opens up about Johann Rupert and the Stellenbosch Mafia
Christo Wiese, one of South Africa’s most successful businessmen, said that, from his side, he has a good relationship with billionaire Johann Rupert.
He added that he finds the term Stellenbosch Mafia laughable, as many in this supposed club do not particularly like each other.
Wiese shared his views about these issues in a wide-ranging discussion with Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh on the SMWX podcast.
Wiese is South African business royalty. He acquired a controlling interest in Pep Stores in 1981 and pioneered discount consumer retail in South Africa.
He is behind many of South Africa’s top retailers, including Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Pep Stores, and OK Bazaars.
There has been speculation that he is not on the best of terms with fellow billionaire, Johann Rupert. However, this is not true, at least not from his side.
“There is no bad blood with Johann Rupert from my side, despite a previous business deal where we were on different ends,” he said.
The subject of the dispute was a diamond mining company called Trans Hex Group, in which Wiese was the largest shareholder.
When a Rupert-affiliated company planned to make a takeover bid for Trans Hex, Wiese pushed for a higher price than Rupert’s offer.
Wiese successfully leveraged his position to secure a more favourable price in the transaction involving the Trans Hex Group.
Wiese told Mpofu-Walsh that he views this as nothing more than a squabble around a business deal in which he came out on top.
“I don’t know if there is anything from his side, but I never held a grudge against Johann Rupert,” Wiese said.
He added that when they see each other, they are always friendly with each other. However, they are not ‘firm friend’,
Christo Wiese’s view on the Stellenbosch Mafia
Wiese said he views the term Stellenbosch Mafia as laughable and that it is nothing more than a conspiracy theory.
EFF leader Julius Malema popularised the term Stellenbosch Mafia, which referred to wealthy Afrikaans men who lived in and around the Western Cape town.
It became part of the business lexicon following the publication of Pieter du Toit’s book, The Stellenbosch Mafia – Inside the Billionaire’s Club.
Du Toit delved into the lives and business dealings of many wealthy men living in the picturesque Boland town, supposedly headed by Rupert.
Members of the club reportedly include PSG founder Jannie Mouton, Shoprite’s Christo Wiese and Whitey Basson, and Mediclinic’s Edwin Hertzog.
Other wealthy men associated with Stellenbosch include GT Ferreira, Michael Jordaan, Paul Harris, and Naspers chairman, Koos Bekker.
“There is an interconnected grouping of extremely rich and influential businessmen who call Stellenbosch their home,” Du Toit said.
“They exert enormous influence on various industries in South Africa, social life, and politics. They are deeply connected with politicians and politics.”
Wiese dismissed the concept. He told Mpofu-Walsh that several people who are supposedly in this club don’t even live in Stellenbosch.
“The Stellenbosch Mafia concept is in the category of ‘white monopoly capital’. It is just something somebody thought up,” he said.
He said it is essentially the same as a conspiracy theory, suggesting that a small group of people is ruling the world.
“I happen to know that among the people supposedly in the club, there is not a lot of love lost between several of them,” he said.
“They don’t particularly like each other, and I can hardly imagine them conspiring to do something together.”
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