South Africa has some of the richest individuals on the African continent. Even though it has many hardworking young people, not too many are in the class of the very rich. Needless to say, there is still a class for the youngest millionaires in South Africa, who have distinguished themselves in their professional lives, and may not be set to become the next generation of billionaires the country will produce.
Most of the young people on the list started it all from the scratch, although some have got support and backings from their families. They have started their enviable businesses and built empires that have sustained for a while. Among the young millionaires are people who started making money as early as their teenage years and into their 20s.
See The Youngest Millionaires In South Africa
1. Sandile Shezi
- Age: 31 years old
- Place of birth: Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal
- Net worth: $2.3 million
- Source of wealth: Forex trading
Born and brought up on the streets of Umlazi in the North of Durban, Sandile Shezi is very interesting to story to tell, not only because he is one of the young millionaires in South Africa, but mostly because of how he made his fortune. Like many other millennials, he made his wealth through investment in Forex. He had an interest in trading since he was a little child, and he started the business when he was still in school, where he sold muffins to raise money for his forex trading.
Today, Sandile, who is regarded as the youngest self-made millionaire in the country, has established himself as one of the top individuals in the business, going to give seminars at various events, and he has since partnered with George Van der Riet, whom he described as his mentor to start the Global Forex Investment (GFI), which has been recognized for training young people in the high-risk trading.
2. Vusi Thembekwayo
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBYSxMuHEL5/
- Age: 39 years old
- Place of birth: South Africa
- Net worth: $36 million
- Source of wealth: Business, capital investments, books, and international public speaking
Vusi has become rich and famous, trying to motivate people into becoming rich and living their dreams. He is a public speaker who has delivered speeches in different parts of the world. Each year, he delivers speeches across 17 countries that cut through 4 continents to well over 350,000 people.
The Wits Business School graduate has also made a great fortune from being a venture capitalist. He has put in his money in many businesses that have gone to be a success through the years. More so, he is famous on the Dragon’s Den TV series, where he is one of the investors. His books and other businesses have also seen his fortune hit the ceiling.
By the time he was only 25, Vusi was already in charge of a company worth R400 million, and he later became the youngest Director of a JSE listed company.
3. Adii Pienaar
- Age: 37 years old
- Place of birth: South Africa
- Net worth: $5 million
- Source of wealth: Entrepreneurship
Born Adriaan Pienaar, Adii is yet another among the youngest millionaires in South Africa, who made their fortune thanks to the internet. He made some early mistakes in his entrepreneurial journey, but that did not throw him out, instead, he built on it, and today, he has a fortune that is more than $5 million.
He was one of the founders of WooThemes/WooCommerce together with Magnus Jepson and Mark Forrester before it was later sold to Automattic for what was reported to be over $30 million. Pienaar started the company in 2008, to create and sell themes and plugins for WordPress websites., but left in 2015, three years before it was sold. Next, he went on to start yet another company, Conversio, an automating eCommerce email marketing campaigns company. This was later sold to CM Group for a massive $6.7 million.
Adii has also founded other businesses, including PublicBeta, which he founded from 2013 to 2014 as a learning community for entrepreneurs. Although it failed, it led to the formation of his highly successful company, Conversio. His recent project is the company, Cogsy, which is designed to help e-commerce platforms optimize their inventory and returns.
4. Duduzane Zuma
- Age: 42 years old
- Place of birth: Maputo, Mozambique
- Net worth: $10 million
- Source of wealth: Business dealings
Duduzane Zuma is one name that would not fail to raise many eyebrows, most especially because he is the son of the former South African President, Jacob Zuma, and the many controversies he has been engulfed in through the years, including corruption allegations against him.
With that said, he is still recognized as a businessman whose business dealing have yielded great fortune for him, placing him among the youngest billionaires in South Africa. Of course, his family has also been influential in his business, but he has also played his part. The flamboyant Zuma has been involved in business with the controversial Gupta family before he later branched out. Before then, it was reported that the family helped him to get an R18-million apartment at the iconic skyscraper Burj Khalifa building in Dubai back in 2015. He is also reported to have business interests in the UAE city.
The young Zuma’s fortune was made from his involvement in Mabengela Investments, Westdawn Investments (Pty) Ltd, which is into mining, quarrying, and milling, among other things. Gemini Moon Trading 254, Karibu Hospitality, and Shiva Uranium are other businesses listed against his name.
5. Rupert Bryan
- Age: 33 years old
- Place of birth: South Africa
- Net worth: $13 million
- Source of wealth: Internet
From the stories of school dropouts who turned things around and became influential individuals and millionaires, Rupert Bryan is another that falls in this category. When he was only 14, Rupert realized that school was not something designed for a person like him, and because of that, he left the walls of the school. Apart from leaving school because he felt it wasn’t for him, his family was also poor, and so he had to take care of himself financially. This pushed him into coming up with ways to make money.
For the next three years after leaving school, Rupert found himself running his own business, before he hooked up with his friend, Matthew Tagg, and together, they started what would later become one of the biggest web hosting companies in the continent, Web Africa. When the two started the business, they had nothing to their names, but they were soon able to build it into an R130 million company.
6. Ludwick Marishane
- Age: 33 years old
- Place of birth: Motetema, Limpopo
- Net worth: $9 million
- Source of wealth: Entrepreneurship
Matishane gained fame as a student in the late 2000s when he came up with his invention of a waterless bathing lotion that earned him the 2011 Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The idea for the product came to him when he was sunbathing with his friend, who wondered how come no one had come up with something people could use to bathe without having to use water.
Ludwick, 17 at the time, got stuck with the idea and for the next 7 months, he researched and came up with his product, DryBath. The product is an anti-bacterial cleanser that is also odorless and creates a biodegradable film. It doesn’t just cleanse the body, but it also moisturizes the skin. He founded his startup, Headbody Industries, which caught the attention of many and opened him up to a business that would turn him into a millionaire.
7. Doug Hoernle
- Age: 33 years old
- Net worth: $5 million
- Source of wealth: Tech businesses
Born Douglas Hoernle, Doug is a serial entrepreneur who brings many things to the table. He started his business when he was only 16. In the next 10 years that followed, he continued to build himself a strong businessman with diverse technology businesses to his name. Also, he made a big name for himself in the education sector with some innovative businesses he designed to take care of several pressing challenges.
In 2012, he started Rethink Education, which has come up with innovative mobile learning platforms for students. This was followed in 2016 by another mobile app, Karri which took South Africa by storm. The app is designed to help schools, as well as community organizations in collecting funds from parents and members. The app has made payments in schools very easy. This became one of his most important innovations, which had gained acceptance by over 300 schools in the first two years of its existence.
Apart from his great business sense, he has also been involved in charity and has delivered speeches on education and entrepreneurship in different parts of the world, including Africa and Europe.
8. Murendwa Mmabasotho
- Age: 33 years old
- Place of birth: Johannesburg
- Net worth: N/A
- Source of wealth: Serial Businesses
By the age of 25, Murendwa Mmabasotho had already registered her name as one of the youngest millionaires in South Africa. This feat is major in more ways than one, being the only woman on the list.
Murendwa describes herself as someone who was born blessed, even though she lost her mother in 1990, shortly after she was born together with her twin brother. Raised by a father, who had a fleet of taxi cars and other businesses, she wanted to become a nurse, but somehow, she realized she was drawn to the world of entrepreneurship.
By 2013, she had already had different businesses to her name, including the Phomolong Guest House, which she owns. Her other businesses include an internet cafe and a company that operates in Chicago, America. What makes her story slightly different is that she is a daughter of a millionaire, who is also into many businesses, including running a mortuary and butchery; the business has always been in the blood for her.
9. Max Hussman
- Age: 38 years old
- Place of birth: Accra, Ghana
- Net worth: N/A
- Source of wealth: The aviation industry
Max Hussman was born to a career diplomat in Ghana, although it is now in South Africa that he mostly lives and operates his business. An aspiring Olympian, he spent most of his life between Africa and Europe. He trained as a pilot and is also a swimmer. A graduate of Oxford University in the United Kingdom, he spent time in different countries, including Germany, Gabon, Nigeria, Guinea, and much more. More so, he speaks French, Portuguese, German, and English.
While he was studying to become a pilot at the Gryphon Flight Academy in South Africa, he also got the idea to start his own business in aviation, but he realized he needed so much capital to be able to do that. Even with his hopes of becoming a businessman, he continued studying to become a pilot. After his education in Germany, he moved to South Africa in 2010, and first settled in Cape Town before deciding that Johannesburg would afford him more opportunities in the aviation industry.
Hussmann founded his company, Elegance Group, which is into a lot of things, including concierge and charter service (through Elegance Air), a sport consulting division, as well as Aviation Consulting, among other divisions. His business has continued growing, earning him millions in net worth, and earning him a place among the youngest millionaires in South Africa.
10. Mike Eilertsen
- Age: 42 years old
- Net worth: N/A
- Source of wealth: Entrepreneurship and media/publishing
Mark Eilertsen built his fortune right from the floor in the early 2000s to what it is today. His path to becoming one of the youngest millionaires in South Africa began in 2000 when he began his small business of selling breakfast packs for R10 in Sandton’s morning traffic. From breakfast, he expanded to selling coffee after someone told him it was also needed. Soon he was in business.
It was, however, not a smooth ride for him as by the time he was 25, he had already dropped out from the University of Johannesburg, but he soon realized he was in an R7-million debt. He sold his backpack company, Boiling Point, and decided to branch into a business he knew nothing about by starting a magazine and publishing company. He soon found out he was spending too much, leading him to the aforementioned debt.
Mike was still able to rise from the rubble of his initial business mistakes to become a self-made millionaire, thanks to his luxury lifestyle magazine, LIVEOUTLOUD, as well as his other businesses, including an online marketing platform, VAULTLife.com. The serial entrepreneur has won many awards and recognitions, including the Africa SMME Awards 2012, where he was named the Second Most Innovate Company on the African Continent, as well as the Most Innovative Company in South Africa.
