Duduzane Zuma (born 20 May 1982, Age: 40 year old) is the son of former South African President Jacob Zuma who has an estimated net worth of $15 million.
While he may still be a young man at his age, Duduzane has achieved what many could only dream of through his involvement in businesses that have raised eyebrows. The young man has now kept many of his business dealings, most especially in the UAE, a private affair, but his net worth has remained publicly known. Here is a look at what he is currently worth and how he came by the fascinating numbers.
Duduzane Zuma Is One Of The Richest Young South Africans
Zuma’s accumulation of a net worth that goes as high as $15 million places him close to the top of the list of young South African millionaires, which is topped by Vusi Thembekwayo, whose net worth is placed to be around $36 million, even though there are sources that claim he is way richer than that.
Interestingly, his father, former President Jacob Zuma, has an estimated net worth of $20 million, which means that there is only a difference of $5 million between the father and son. A member of the former first family of South Africa, Dudazane’s official sources of wealth include his business dealings and numerous investments against his name.
According to him, despite his youthfulness, he believes he would have achieved more thus far, in both his personal life and finances, if not because of his name, which is believed by many to be one of the things that have given him an edge.
He Began Building His Fortune When He Was 25 Years Old
Duduzane Zuma who is about 40 years old first started making headlines in 2007 when his father won the election to become the 13th President of The Republic of South Africa. This also became the point at which he was first fingered to be into some business which happened to connect him with the highly controversial Gupta family.
Together with some of his siblings, he became a director in some companies belonging to the Guptas at the time. Shortly after his father won the ANC election, the younger Zuma got many top executive positions in close to 10 companies that all belonged to the Guptas, giving him a boost in the race to build his fortune at a young age.
By the time he was 34, he was already standing on his own. He resigned from all the companies linked to the Gupta brothers because of the controversies that followed, and he decided to continue his business all on his own.
The Name – Duduzane Zuma Has Been In The News For Many Controversies
In 2016, a floodgate of controversies seemed to have opened against the young Zuma who, it was discovered, occupied top positions in businesses belonging to the Guptas and had shares therein. Questions were asked on how he was able to achieve that within that short time.
He insisted that his history was like that of any black South African with economic forces against him. Still, he has made efforts to take part in legitimate businesses, but aspersions were cast on him and his family.
Dudu joined the Oakbay Groups, mostly controlled by the Guptas in the 2000s as a trainee. Before long, he became a valuable member of the company, rising to a director’s position as a major shareholder. Both the Zuma family and the Guptas insisted there was nothing wrong with his rise as questions were being asked.
Investigations revealed that something could as well be wrong with the rise of the young man as it was found that he probably paid only R45 for some of the shares he acquired in one of the Gupta companies, Mabengela Investments. More so, he started getting the shares only months after his father became president of South Africa.
In addition, former South African Deputy Finance Minister, Mcebisi Jonas claimed he was offered the post of finance minister by a member of the Gupta family shortly before Nhlanhla Nene was unceremoniously fired from the position.
With all the controversies that continued to swell around Dudu and his family on their business dealings with the Gupta family, he resigned from the companies belonging to the Guptas in 2016.
Duduzane Zuma Has Since Moved To Dubai, Where He Continues With His Business
With the mounting corruption allegations against him and his father and since the fall out following his involvement with the Gupta family, Zuma decided to move his businesses to the United Arab Emirates, where he now runs his businesses and makes money in Dubai. Details about the kind of business he is now into have been guarded jealously.
He revealed that his move to Dubai was something he was forced to do by some institutions after being excluded from the financial system. He maintained in 2020 that he was still inactive in the South African business scene. After his accounts were frozen, he decided to leave the country with his businesses, which he said allowed him to forge new relationships.
The move has not been without its own controversies as before then; he was reported to have bought an apartment worth R18 million in the famous skyscraper Burj Khalifa building. Leaked emails later showed that he got the property with the assistance of his former controversial business partners, the Guptas.
All The Ways Duduzane Has Made His Fortune Till Date
As indicated, there are many ways that the young Zuma got to become as rich as he is today. His most important investment and source of money until 2016 was his involvement in Oakbay Investments, where he was a shareholder, giving him claims to big money at the time. The company owned companies such as the mining company Oakbay Resources and Energy and Sahara Computers. Others are the media companies ANN7 and The New Age.
While that was among his most significant investment, there are other businesses to his name including the following, although his worth in most of the businesses were never made known:
Shiva Uranium
He was reported to have had a generous interest in the Gupta-owned and controlled mining company, Shiva Uranium Ltd. The company is into the mining of gold and Uranium as well as processing services in South Africa. He was first linked to the company in 2010 when he became a director.
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Although not many details are available on his involvement in this business, his name has been drawn several times. In the same way, details about the company’s worth and how much he possibly makes from it are all not available.
His name has been mentioned in other businesses, including Karibu Hospitality, Westdawn Investments, and Gemini Moon Trading 254.
Duduzane Zuma May Join Politics
Duduzane Zuma’s influence may soon stretch beyond the business world as he has indicated interest that he might soon appear on posters for an elective position. While he has not revealed how soon that might be, there are speculations that it might be as soon as 2024.
Already, he has started taking a strong political stance by commenting on important political issues in South Africa. He once blasted the government of his father’s successor, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa. He accused the government of failing to step up and give the country a sense of direction.
For now, he seems to be the only one among the over 20 children of the former president with a strong interest in politics. Importantly, it is known that the charismatic young man has got a generous fan base among young South Africans.