The ANC Billionaires

Big Capital's Gambit and the Rise of the Few

By: Pieter du Toit

Narrated by: Joe Vaz

In 1985, a group of white South African business leaders, led by Gavin Relly, the executive chairperson of Anglo American, travelled to a game lodge in Zambia to meet with the exiled ANC leadership under Oliver Tambo and Thabo Mbeki. This visit set in motion a coordinated and well-resourced plan by big business to influence and direct political change in South Africa.

In The ANC Billionaires, top-selling author Pieter du Toit draws on first-hand accounts by major roleplayers about the contentious relationship between capital and the ANC before, during, and after the country’s transition to democracy, and shows how the liberation organization was completely unprepared to navigate the intersection between business and politics.

He also ties the rise of the new elite–including Cyril Ramaphosa, Patrice Motsepe, and Saki Macozoma–to the ANC, a party of government and patronage.

©2022 Pieter du Toit (P)2023 Jonathan Ball Publishers

Unveiling the Business Behind Politics

This book provides a captivating exploration into the inner workings of South Africa and the African National Congress (ANC), but with a twist—it approaches the narrative from a business perspective. This angle is particularly intriguing as it sheds light on aspects often overshadowed by political discourse. It delves into the role that business and capital have played in South Africa's transition, illuminating the incentives that were at play. The author's ability to weave these complex themes into a coherent narrative is commendable. Like many books of its kind, it is well-written, engaging, and offers a fresh lens through which to view the interplay between politics and business in South Africa.

Very informative

Enlightening book. interesting how business/capital pivoted to supporting a democratic change and also how ANC Economic ideologies changed during that time.