Success Stories of Self-made Millionaires

Cyril Ramaphosa

In the year 1996 Cyril Ramaphosa began his exploits in the business field by trying to help underprivileged youth, by giving them bursaries to go to university. From there he got involved in other initiatives that helped uplift the community and eventually properly established the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation in 2004. This foundation includes Adopt-a-School, Cyril Ramaphosa Trust, Kagiso Shanduka Trust, Thari Program and the Black Umbrellas. These different foundations help improve the country through the betterment of the community. They either improve the education system in areas or help uplift entrepreneurs. In my opinion he gave back to the community and portrayed a good and responsible business image that worried about helping the surrounding community.

The role that Cyril Ramaphosa played in South Africa is that through his involvement in the business field the country has been improved. Since the start of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation there have been 565, 868 learners who have benefited from the adopt-a-school program, 238 schools that have been adopted through the Kagiso Shanduka Trust, the average pass rate since 2012 is 86% due to the Cyril Ramaphosa Education Trust and the Black Umbrellas has a R2,400,000,000 turnover since it was started.

Cyril Ramaphosa has also been part of businesses such as MTN, South Africa Breweries, Standard Bank, Mc Donald’s etc. In High school he already showed characteristics of a leader. He was chosen as head of the student Christian movement and then went on to become part of other organizations when he was in university. His decision to leave politics in 1994 was influenced by President Nelson Mandela who persuaded him into entering the business field instead. There he showed his skill as a dealmaker and negotiator when he started the Shanduka group.

Cyril Ramaphosa was a member of the yearly list of 100 individuals whose abilities is changing the world in the 2007 Time 100. He is believed to be one of the richest men in South Africa, with a wealth of approximately R6.4 billion.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump is now better known for his status as The President of the United States of America, but before his election in 2016 he had taken on a multitude of other business ventures.

Donald Trump first started his business career by taking control of his family’s real estate business in 1971. From there he went on to other exploits such as Grand Hyatt Hotel, Wollman Rink, Trump Place, Trump Tower, Trump Model Management, The Apprentice etc. These were his successful business ventures but he also faced a lot of failure along his road to success. His triumphs in the business field allowed for many jobs to be created which would intern help reduce the unemployment rate in America and help boost the economy. Only 42% of all his exploits were successful whereas the rest failed. These failures include Trump Vodka, Trump: the game, which is a copy of Monopoly, Trump ice etc. Trump is worth approximately more than $10 Billion.

I feel that Trump decided to go into the business field due to the fact that his family was already involved in such affairs thus motivating him in that direction. He had taken his family’s business and developed it. He grew up learning the trade and evidently picked up a few maneuvers and styles from his father in which to outdo the competition. His father often worked with apartments but when Donald Trump took over he sought out bigger projects. This shows me that even when he was young he liked taking risks, even if there was a good chance of failure. He seemed to have a “go big or go home’ outlook on life.

Trump sees himself as a good dealmaker and it is believed that he is a top-down manager. Some would say that his high level of energy is his greatest strength. It is clearly evident that the way he now runs America is similar to the way he would run any of his other business ventures. It seems to me that America as a whole is Donald Trump’s latest exploit.

Patrice Motsepe

Patrice Motsepe first got a taste for the business world when his father started a small Spaza shop, which mine workers frequented. By being in a place where mining was common talk, he picked up a few things about the mining world.

After studying law he was them employed by a very reputable law firm. He worked very hard and was very driven while working there. While being part of that firm he got to go to America as a visiting attorney. This resulted in him meeting mining organizations which led him into taking a greater interest in that field. He then went on to learn all that he could about the mining industry and its technological aspects. He showed a keen interest in that field and even though he didn’t know a lot about it he worked hard to educate himself. It is very important that as the owner of the business he had to know everything he possibly could about that business.

He started from the bottom and worked his way up in that Law firm and because of his dedication the owners of that business took an interest in him and gave him opportunities. He was the first black person to be a partner in the firm. Due to his drive in the firm, doors were opened for him and he then went on to greater things.

He saw opportunities where others saw weaknesses and used that to his advantage. While still being part of the law firm he specialized in mining and business law. This allowed him to open his own business called Future mining.

The mining firms that he has opened have impacted the surrounding communities greatly. By establishing mines he created jobs for over 10 000 people. This helps to reduce the unemployment rate in South Africa and is contributing positively to the growth of the country’s economy.

J.K Rowling

In the words of Joanne Kathleen Rowling herself “You sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve." These words are clearly evident in her rags to riches story. She was a single mother who depended on welfare cheques in order in take care of her young daughter. She then decided to write the first of many Harry Potter books. It is believed that all of the publishers that she went to rejected her book except for Bloomsbury Children’s Books. They gave her the opportunity she needed.

Her first book was a complete success and so were the rest that followed. Millions of copies in the US alone were sold. She had become a millionaire within a year. With her new found wealth she became a philanthropist and started supporting and contributing to organizations such as Anti-poverty and children's welfare, Multiple sclerosis and other organizations.

I believe that she became an entrepreneur not out of choice but more so her need to take herself and her child out of poverty. It just so happened that her books were a hit. The publishers that she had went to earlier did not see the book as beneficial or worthwhile and this obviously would have taken its toll on her and her confidence in the product, yet she did not give up. She persisted and showed characteristics of a great entrepreneur. She was and is driven, does not accept failure and is very risk tolerant. She faced a lot of trials in her life but still chose to persevere.