Patrice Motsepe: Mining magnate

Good Bad Billionaire

Metal man and football fan Patrice Motsepe rose out of post-apartheid South Africa to become the country’s first black billionaire. Under apartheid, Patrice had to get a special permit to study at an ‘whites-only’ university - the same that Nelson Mandela attended in the 1940s - becoming a lawyer before following the gold into the mines. When the racist regime finally crumbled, he benefited from Black Economic Empowerment initiatives that turbo-charged his wealth. BBC business editor Simon Jack and journalist Zing Tsjeng track Patrice’s rise from asking to do the worst job in the mines to owning them. Then they decide if they think he’s good, bad, or just another billionaire.