South Africa’s business titans are gone – and David Shapiro explains why

From Brian Joffe to Raymond Ackerman, South Africa once produced business giants who shaped the economy. David Shapiro argues they have been replaced by spreadsheet managers, over-regulation and compliance paralysis, and explains what that loss means for growth, risk-taking and the country’s future..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Watch here:.Listen here:.By BizNews reporter.There was a time when South Africa’s stock market felt like a stage for giants.Names such as Harry Oppenheimer, Raymond Ackerman, Sol Kerzner, Brian Joffe and GT Ferreira were not just CEOs or chairmen. They were public figures, risk takers and institution builders. They argued with government, backed their convictions with capital and shaped the direction of the economy.David Shapiro believes that era has quietly slipped away.In a wide ranging conversation with BizNews founder Alec Hogg, the veteran market commentator and former stockbroker reflected on what South Africa has lost and why the modern economy feels increasingly managerial, defensive and small in ambition.It began with a simple question. Who are the business leaders South Africans look up to today?Shapiro struggled to answer it. Not because talent is lacking, but because the kind of business leadership that once gave the country confidence has faded from view.“We don’t have the voices we used to have,” he said. “People who stood up, took risks, argued publicly and were prepared to be unpopular if it meant building something meaningful.”What replaced them, in Shapiro’s view, is a class of highly competent managers whose primary task is survival. They manage electricity shortages with solar panels, water shortages with tanks and collapsing infrastructure by adapting quietly. The system is broken, but the response is no longer confrontation or reform. It is compliance.That shift has changed the character of the JSE itself.Shapiro describes a market that has moved from being a platform for champions to a battleground for fighters. Companies are no longer expanding aggressively or dreaming big. They are defending margins, cutting costs and managing decline.Part of the blame, he argues, lies in South Africa’s regulatory environment. Starting or expanding a business has become an exercise in navigating rule books rather than building value. From labour laws to empowerment requirements to compliance obligations, the sheer weight of administration drains entrepreneurial energy.“You don’t get doors opened for you,” Shapiro said. “You get handed a rule book.”That burden has not stopped criminals or politically connected looters. It has instead worn down those who want to operate within the law. The irony, he notes, is that regulation has failed to prevent state capture or systemic corruption, yet continues to punish legitimate enterprise.Another fault line runs back to the post-1994 era, when South African corporates rushed offshore. Exchange controls were lifted, confidence was high and executives believed they could conquer the world.Too often, that confidence turned into hubris.From retail misadventures in Australia to energy projects in the United States, billions of rands were destroyed in deals that lacked deep understanding of foreign markets. Shapiro is blunt about where much of the responsibility lies.“Beware of investment bankers,” he warned. “They are there to make money, not to build your business.”Deals were frequently driven by spreadsheets and glossy presentations rather than long familiarity with the underlying businesses. Shareholders paid the price.Yet Shapiro is not nostalgic for nostalgia’s sake. He believes South Africa still has extraordinary potential. What it lacks is the courage to think differently.Instead of chasing scale at the bottom end of the market, where competition is brutal and margins thin, he argues for a shift toward technology, innovation and what he calls moonshots.Artificial intelligence, data centres and advanced manufacturing are transforming global productivity. These tools are available to South Africans too. Geography is no longer a barrier. What is missing is leadership that embraces this reality and builds ecosystems around it.He contrasts South Africa’s stagnation with the United States, where figures such as Elon Musk, Jensen Huang and Jeff Bezos shape the future through relentless innovation. Whether admired or criticised, they are visible, decisive and unafraid to challenge norms.South Africa, by contrast, has grown timid.Banks rarely fund early stage ventures. Venture capital is scarce. Young entrepreneurs with viable ideas are told to provide collateral they do not have. Many eventually leave, not because they want to abandon the country, but because it is easier to build elsewhere.Shapiro’s advice to young entrepreneurs is therefore both sobering and defiant.Do not give up. Use the same technology and global access available anywhere else. Knock on doors until someone listens. Build ideas patiently rather than chasing quick wins. Above all, reject entitlement and embrace persistence.He speaks from experience. Long before offshore investing became mainstream, Shapiro built a global investment business from Johannesburg, competing with firms in London and New York using the same data and tools.It was not easy, but it proved that location need not be destiny.Fixing South Africa, he believes, must happen block by block. Literally and figuratively. Fix roads, schools and hospitals. Restore safety and basic services. Confidence grows from functioning communities. Investment follows stability.There is no need for grand ideological plans or endless policy papers. The solutions are practical and visible.Most of all, the country needs its business voices back.Not polite compliance, but constructive challenge. Not silence, but leadership willing to say that managing decline is not a strategy.Shapiro’s sadness is not rooted in despair. It is rooted in memory and belief. He has seen what South Africa can be when ambition outweighs fear.The question is whether a new generation is ready to build again.

South Africa’s business titans are gone – and David Shapiro explains why

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