Inside Cyril Ramaphosa's Fortune: The Mcdonald's Deal, Mondi, Standard Bank Ties, Coal, Telecoms And The Trusts That Followed

Cyril Ramaphosa did not arrive at the Union Buildings as a politician who had only ever lived on party salaries. Long before he became South Africas president, he built an active, public career as a businessperson, with a rsum that moved from the picket line to corporate boardrooms and investment deals. His political story began in the apartheid era, when he rose through the labor movement and became a central figure in the National Union of Mineworkers. He later entered the African National Congress leadership and played a prominent role in the negotiations that ended white minority rule, a period that made him nationally known and internationally connected. After 1994, as the new government and big business tried to remake the economy, black economic empowerment took shape as a push to broaden ownership and management in a country where capital was still concentrated in a few hands. Early empowerment was often deal-driven: consortia, bank-backed transactions, stakes bought with leverage, and partnerships with established corporations eager to meet new expectations. Ramaphosa, with credibility across labor, politics and business, became one of the best-positioned beneficiaries of that moment. He used access and networks to assemble stakes, join major boards and, eventually, build Shanduka Group, the investment holding company that became the engine room of his fortune. Shanduka at full stride Shandukas peak years were defined by a portfolio built to look like South Africas economy itself: consumer brands, heavy industry, finance, resources, telecoms and energy. It was not a single trophy asset. It was a web of bets, some quiet and long-term, others flashy enough to put Ramaphosas name on billboards and storefronts. One of the clearest examples of Shandukas industrial reach was packaging. Shanduka entered Mondis South African packaging businesses through a landmark empowerment transaction and stayed connected to the sector for years. The attraction was steady demand, factories that could not be wished away, and customers spread across food, retail and exports. Banking exposure ran in parallel. Shandukas relationship with Standard Bank was frequently cited in reporting about the era, with Standard Bank linked as a shareholder in Shanduka and Shanduka described as holding significant Standard Bank shares. In practice, it was the kind of mutually reinforcing structure common in empowerment deals: a rising black-owned investment vehicle with capital and credibility, backed and banked by an established financial institution. Shanduka also wanted cash flow people could recognize. The group secured the master franchise for McDonalds South Africa on a long-term agreement, turning a global brand into a local investment story. That asset mattered because it sat at the intersection of consumer spending and property, with outlets tied to prime retail locations and the rhythms of middle-class growth. The portfolio extended into beverages. Coca-Cola Shanduka Beverages carried the groups name in a sector built on scale, logistics and distribution. It later formed part of a broader consolidation in the Coke bottling business in southern and east Africa, a reminder that Shanduka did not only chase cyclical industries. Resources were always close to the center. Shanduka Coal became a major pillar, structured through a joint venture in which Shanduka moved into a controlling position while sharing operational influence with Glencore. Coal is lucrative in good cycles and politically combustible in bad ones, which meant the investment carried both upside and reputational risk. Telecoms brought the biggest continental swing. Shanduka invested in a stake connected to MTNs Nigerian business, a bet on Africas largest market and the kind of play that could pay off spectacularly or sour quickly depending on regulation, currency and competition. Energy and infrastructure were also on the map. Shanduka was linked to an independent power producer project in Mozambique, the sort of investment that promises long-term returns but can be buffeted by financing, regional politics and changing partners. In a portfolio like Shandukas, that was the point: spread risk across sectors while keeping a seat at the table in strategic industries. The unwind into public life Ramaphosa began pulling back from Shanduka when he returned to executive government, first as deputy president in 2014 and later as president in 2018. The political logic was simple. A senior public official cannot plausibly oversee policy in banking, mining, telecoms and energy while privately benefiting from the same industries. The business reality was messier, because Shandukas assets were not the kind you sell with a single signature and a press release. Publicly, the divestment was framed as a firewall against conflicts of interest. The language around the time emphasized stepping away, selling down, and placing family interests into trust structures intended to create dis