Mary Oppenheimer, sister to South Africa’s richest man Nicky Oppenheimer on Wednesday became the first billionaire to directly donate money to the Solidarity Fund aimed at raising funds to fight Covid-19 announced by President Ramaphosa last week.
Mary in a statement said her immediate family will donate R1 billion to the fund.
“My daughters and I have thought long and hard about where we could make the greatest difference in this fight and have decided it is to support the humanitarian needs of everyone living in SA,” read the statement.
“So, we think that it is the Solidarity Fund which is most aligned to our concerns about basic needs, food, medicine, general care and gender abuse.”
Mary’s brother, Nicky and his son Jonathan have also pledged R1 billion in a form of loans to employees of small businesses battered by Covid-19 – the Rupert Family has also opted to provide loans to embattled SMMEs.
The Motsepe family and their companies have also pledged R1 billion in purchasing water tanks and borehole drilling, as well as building sanitary facilities amongst other initiatives.
