Who is your money role model or idol? Quite a few of the young people we spoke to for this blog post admire Patrice Motsepe and DJ Sbu. Here are some of the money lessons these two public figures can teach us.
Patrice Motsepe is South Africa’s third richest person, worth more than R58 billion. That is more money than most of us can even imagine. More than 10 years ago, in 2013, he became the first African to sign Bill Gates’ and Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge, promising to give at least half his fortune to charity.
In 2022, Motsepe shared advice for entrepreneurs to make a success of business, and most of those tips can be applied to our personal finances too:
- Do not be afraid to fail
“I’ve had so many failures in my life, and I know that I’m still going to make many mistakes in the future. But that should not discourage you. You’ve got to feed your self-confidence and self-belief and start that business.” The same goes for drawing up that budget, opening up that savings account and starting that side hustle. - Keep moving. Keep dreaming. Keep going.
“When I was five years old, my parents were in business. My father used to wake us up at 5am to buy fruits and vegetables from the market in Pretoria, and we closed the family store at midnight. Staying behind the counter taught me what profitability is all about. Later in life, I became a lawyer because it was my dream, and I worked my way up to become the first black partner of a major law firm. It was while I was there I realised my passion was in business. So, whatever stage you are in now, dream of what you want to do now. 10 years later, you may have a different dream, which is fine. The most important thing is to keep moving, keep working, keep growing. Don’t stand still.” - Do your due diligence
“Before you dabble in any type of business, take the time to do the necessary research.” This applies to a billionaire buying a company as much as to you wanting to start selling products. - Pursue your passion and the money will follow
“Having money is not the same as happiness. Money is important, yes, but pursuing the dreams and interests that you have is significantly more important. Doing the things that excite you and combining it with hard work and sacrifice will make you extremely successful.” - Do not listen to the pessimists
“You cannot become successful if you allow the noise of the world to drown you out.” This is as much about going into business as it is about saying ‘no’ when your friends want to go out and you don’t have cash left to join them. You must chase your own dreams.
DJ Sbu often talks about the mistakes he made when money first started rolling in. “When it comes to finances, I’ve fallen and I’ve got myself to blame and nobody else,” he is on record as saying. “I’ve lived the lifestyle, I’ve travelled, I’ve driven all these great cars, these sports cars.
I’ve lived the nicest life, the celebrity life, partying and just throwing parties. As you grow older you know better and do better. I was overspending and I was proud about it but now I realise that I was dumb.” These mistakes cost him dearly and he still owes SARS a lot of money in unpaid taxes.
Sbu’s wake-up call came when his son was born. These days he drives an old car that is fully paid off and his cellphone is a Samsung from 2010. He proudly says that he no longer follows fashionable trends and criticises the culture of constantly buying new luxury items every year. “I left that life behind a long time ago.”
Different people’s lives play out differently, but by taking lessons from the people we admire we can all make small changes that end up making a big difference to our financial wellbeing.
