Mary Oppenheimer Fund Donates R1 Billion to Fight Coronavirus

Mary Oppenheimer-Slack, the daughter of former Anglo American chairman Harry Oppenheimer, and her daughters have contributed R1 billion to the Solidarity Fund created to fight the spread of the Coronavirus in South Africa.

“We join all South Africans in expressing our profound hope that, together, we can overcome this grave challenge to South Africa and the world,” Mary Oppenheimer Daughters said in a statement. The statement was signed by Mary Oppenheiimer, Victoria Freudenheim, Rebecca Oppenheimer, Jessica Jell and Rachel Diamond.

After donations by her brother, Nicky Oppenheimer, Patrice Motsepe, Johan Rupert and Naspers, the contributions by private enterprise in South Africa to the Corona fight now total R5.5 billion.

Some of the funds have been specifically donated to the Solidarity Fund, while Naspers said R1 billion of its R1.5 billion donation would be spent on Corona-fighting gear bought in China.

“My daughters and I have thought long and hard about where we could make the greatest difference in this fight and have decided it is to support the humanitarian needs of everyone living in SA.

“So, we think that it is the Solidarity Fund which is most aligned to our concerns about basic needs, food, medicine, general care and gender abuse,” the statement said.