PETER BRUCE: How Steinhoff has exploded the myth of Afrikaner business
'The essence of South African capitalism's disease is that business chases short-term gain at the expense of long-term stability'
I know a guy who hasn't worked for 20 years. A very long time ago his father farmed near Stellenbosch. One day, a neighbour named Anton Rupert, came visiting. He was selling shares in a new company. My friend's dad bought some and his sons today live off Rembrandt group dividends. There's a myth about Afrikaner capitalism; that it represents a uniquely productive form of wealth creation because it recognises the power of ethnic bonds. People say the same thing about Jewish businesses here. Today black South Africans speak with admiration of the Afrikaners whose visions created Eskom, Iscor, Rembrandt and Sanlam.
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