There are thousands of rich families in South Africa. As a developing country, South Africa has wide discrepancies in terms of income distribution- a factor which continues to plague the country today. The complex South African society is often defined according to race relations, which has been a major factor in the country’s history.
When one takes a closer look at the number of millionaires in the country, the disparities are also glaring. A report found that South Africa has 46 800 millionaires and Indians are ahead of blacks.
According to the South Africa 2015 Wealth Report:
“This discrepancy is alarming when one considers that the Indian community now makes up 14 percent of local South African millionaires, but only three percent of the national population. Africans, on the other hand, make up 80 percent of the national population, but only 10 percent of local South African millionaires.”
The history of the Indian community in South Africa, extends back to the mid-1600s, when slaves from India and South East Asia, were introduced to the Cape. By 1849, the first Indians were introduced to Natal.
Since then, millions of Indian families have spread across South Africa. Over the years, there has been a surge in rich Indian families in South Africa.
Self-made South African entrepreneur Vivian Reddy, who was born Vathasallum Reddy in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal is one of many who belong to a rich Indian family in South Africa.
Reddy founded the Edison Group in the 1970s. He has revealed in an interview that he renamed the company after he couldn’t get business in the apartheid days as “Reddy’s Electric”.
Nowadays he has diverse interests in energy, casinos, healthcare, financial services and property development and is one of the country’s numerous millionaires.
