‘Billionaire’: Exploring Tito Mboweni’s business endeavors

Despite donning worn-out shoes and a leather jacket from thirty years ago, the late Tito Mboweni boasted an impressive resume that included leadership roles in various international companies.

The former Minister of Finance, who was also the first black Reserve Bank Governor, will be laid to rest in a state funeral on Saturday,19 October.

TITO MBOWENI BUSINESS VENTURES

While many know him as the minister who managed South Africa’s finances, Tito Mboweni was also deeply involved in the private sector.

Tito was a founding member of a family business, the Mboweni Brothers Investment Holdings, which included sub-companies like Malwana Properties and the Malwana Consolidated Investments, 

He held a number of impressive leadership roles, including being the:

• International Adviser of Goldman Sachs International, a US investment company
• Chairman of  AngloGold Ashanti, the third-largest gold mining company in the world
• Chairman and independent non-executive director of Accelerate, a property fund company
• Director Discovery, an insurance and banking company
• Chairman of SacOil, an oil and gas company 
• Chairperson Nampak, Africa’s leading packaging company

Other notable roles included…

• Consultant at Sasol
• Member of the Board of Governors at the World Bank
• Member of the Development Committee of the Joint World Bank-IMF
• Trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust
• Member of the Board of Governors at the Asia School of Business

While Tito Mboweni’s net worth was unknown, one X user described him as a “billionaire”, thanks to his lucrative career moves.

EXEMPLAR EDUCATION

While he lived a simple life in the outlying town of Magoebaskloof in Limpopo, where he shared his cooking adventures on his X account, Tito Mboweni was a distinguished scholar.

The 65-year-old holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the National University of Lesotho and a Master of Arts degree in Development Economics from the University of East Anglia in England.

Tito was appointed to the following educational positions:

Honorary Professor of Economics at the University of South Africa

• Honorary professor at the School of Economic and Business Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand
• Chancellor of the University of the North-West 
• Professor Extraordinary in Economics at the University of Stellenbosch 
• Receiving an honorary Doctorate of Economics, University of KwaZulu-Natal