Johann Rupert joins BizNews webinar: SA after Covid; tips for 30-something entrepreneurs

Business partners GT Ferreira, Laurie Dippenaar and Paul Harris were in for a surprise at a recent BizNews' Noontime Thursday webinar. The founders of FirstRand, one of South Africa's largest financial services groups, were delighted when businessman and philanthropist Johann Rupert arrived to share his anecdotes of his business dealings with them. Rupert is chairman of Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and SA-based Remgro. He speaks about how he appointed the trio to head Rand Merchant Bank, talked of his enduring friendship with the three and praised their work ethic and values. The entrepreneurial heavyweights share powerful insights on how South Africans can survive in a post-Covid world. This is part two of a four-part series (you can listen to the FirstRand founders and Rupert share their stories, or watch the full webinar, below). – Nadim Nyker

Alec Hogg: Johann Rupert joins us now. Johann, why did you put so much faith in these chaps?

JR: It's fascinating listening to my three friends. My dad was 68 at the time when I realised that he was having problems controlling some of the subsidiaries, it became a no brainer, and I didn't want to hand my five-year-old colleagues at Rand Merchant Bank over to people that I didn't know. Paul [Harris] had, in fact, done me a big favour.

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