Wendy Appelbaum Biography
Wendy Appelbaum (Wendy Donna Appelbaum) is a South African entrepreneur. She is the owner and chair of De Morgenzen Wine Estate. She is known as the richest woman in South Africa.
Wendy Appelbaum is a trustee of The Tribune Trust, an investment holding trust, and a director of Victory Strategic Services Limited. She chairs De Morgenzon Estate, a wine farm and agricultural business in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Is a director of Sphere Holdings Limited, a black empowerment company focused on the financial services and mining sectors?
She was previously the Deputy Chairman of Womens’ Investment Portfolio Limited (Wiphold Limited), the first women-controlled company to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with then assets in excess of R 1billion.
Wendy Appelbaum Early Life
She grew up to be a highly competitive woman as a result of the sports and games she played, and she believes that is why she is a great director. Wendy studied psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand and graduated with a degree. She then went to work with her father at the Liberty Group.
Appelbaum says that she learned some amazing skills such as attention to detail, determination, work ethics, and patience from her father, Sir Donald Gordon. However, he was more of a role model than he was a mentor to her.
Wendy Appelbaum Age
Appelbaum is a South African Entrepreneur born in 1961, and as of 2019, she is 59 years old.
Wendy Appelbaum Parents
She is the daughter of Donald Gordon and Peggy Gordon. Growing up as the only daughter with two brothers, Richard and Graeme, she loved games and could play almost anything including scrabble, tennis, bridge, show-jumping, golf; you name it! At an interview with Forbes Africa, she says that games are a great teacher for mastering negotiation.
Most often than not, she would be the only one challenging him in the boardroom, and he was not happy with it. His option would be to accept the challenge to avoid making the situation worse. Mr. Gordon did not hate women as his issue was whether he wanted to work with them or not.
Wendy Appelbaum Husband
Her husband is Hylton. Together, they bought De Morgenzon (“the Morning Sun”), a wine estate in midst of the Stellenbosch Winelands. Their maiden vintage, a 2005 Chenin Blanc, became the first wine ever to get five stars in South Africa’s leading wine guide John Platter.
Wendy Appelbaum Children
Wendy Appelbaum has two sons. The firstborn, Nicholas, is a surgeon while the last born, Matthew, is a banker in Johannesburg. During an interview conducted by Forbes Africa at Wendy’s house in Cape Town, Nicholas walks in and is asked how it feels to have such an energetic mother.
His reply was quite interesting as he said that despite Wendy being with everybody else at all times, she is a mother behind closed doors. He adds to say that she is not cuddly but capable of being motherly. Appelbaum also speaks to say that Nicholas is the most amazing child but is mostly unbelievably serious. Her husband, Hylton, is usually in charge of their Morgenzon estate.
Wendy Appelbaum Facts and Body Measurements
Here are some interesting facts you don’t want to miss about Wendy Appelbaum
- Full Name: Wendy Appelbaum
- Age/ How Old?: 59 years old
- Education: Studied psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand and graduated with a degree.
- Nationality: Not revealed
- Father’s Name: Donald Gordon
- Mother’s Name: Peggy Gordon
- Siblings: Richard and Graeme
- Marital Status: Married to Hylton
- Children/ Kids: Two son
- Height/ How tall?: Not known
- Weight: Not known
- Profession: Entrepreneur
- Net worth: around R2. 6 Billion.
Wendy Appelbaum Career
She served as the Co-Founder and Deputy Chairman of Women’s Investment Portfolio Limited (Wiphold), the first women-controlled company to list on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, with assets in excess of R1 billion ($150 million).
Appelbaum was the Deputy chairperson of the Connection Group Limited, a South Africa’s leading computer and technology retailers. She was a Director at Liberty Investors, an insurance and real estate firm that is a holding company of the Liberty Group.
In 2003 along with her husband, Hylton Appelbaum, she purchased De Morgenzon, a wine farm and agricultural business in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Director
She is a director of the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (Pty) Limited, a post-graduate teaching hospital of the University of the Witwatersrand. She is a trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa.
Wendy serves on the board of Synergos Southern Africa. She is also a member of the President of Harvard University’s Global Advisory Board, Harvard University’s Women’s Leadership Board, and the International Women’s Forum.
In 2006, Wendy was named one of the Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World, an organization that honors and promotes female entrepreneurial excellence. She has served as Deputy Chairman of Connection Group Holdings. An information technology firm and South Africa’s leading computer and technology retailer. Wendy was also a director of Liberty Investors Limited, the previously listed holding company of the Liberty Group.
Wendy Appelbaum Net Worth
Wendy a South African Female billionaire has been estimated net worth of R2. 6 Billion, her name is at the top of the list of the richest women in South Africa. This means that she is also among the richest South Africans overall.
Wendy Appelbaum Success
It’s not just luck that has made De Morgenzon successful; Appelbaum reveals the wine business’ quirky trade secret to the program: “We play music to the plants and the barrels. Everything is made and played to music… If you grew up to beautiful music like this, wouldn’t you taste beautiful, too?”
Appelbaum outlines the size of their business to date and her hopes for the future of a company still in its early days: “We make about 750,000 bottles a year and we export about 75% [of that], mostly to the UK and the US… I think we’ve got the potential for another 25% growth.
I can’t make wine I can’t sell. So, I think one must keep increasing once the reputation is established. Remember, we only bought this farm in 2003, so it’s only 15 years old.”
Wendy Appelbaum Philanthropy
In 1990 she co-founded Wiphold the company’s management team tutors women in townships and rural areas in basic finance and business skills and also helps them, form groups, to buy shares.
She formed the Wendy Appelbaum Foundation, which supports programs addressing the education concerns of South African women. In 2011 she established the Wendy Appelbaum Institute for Women’s Health to ensure that appropriate health care attention is given to women across her country.
Wendy Appelbaum Membership
- Global Philanthropists’ Circle Member
- Member International Women’s Forum
- Women Moving Millions Member
- Trustee of The Donald Gordon Foundation
- Helen Suzman Foundation Trustee
- Trustee of The Children’s Haemophilia & Oncology Clinic (CHOC)
- The World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa Trustee
- Trustee of Redhill School Trust
- Director at The Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, a post-graduate teaching hospital
- Sphere Holdings, a black empowerment company focused on the financial services and mining sectors Director
- Director at The Synergos Institute Southern Africa
- Former director of Business Arts South Africa (BASA), a non-profit organization administering a government grant for Arts and Culture programs.
The Richest Woman In South Africa Shares Her Career Journey
This week on Profit Point, a segment that airs on ‘CNN Marketplace Africa’, South Africa’s richest woman Wendy Appelbaum discusses how she started her own wine business due to her experiences of being in boardrooms.
Despite being the daughter of Donald Gordon, founder of the Liberty Group, Appelbaum says that her privileged start in life isn’t the only reason for her success: “I really did understand how to run a business and how to make money. A lot of people say I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, which to a degree I was, but I’ve certainly not relied on that to get on with my own business and do what I wanted to do.”
Learning Business
Appelbaum explains to host Eleni Giokos that she learned a lot from her father. But her work ethic was something she had to develop independently: “He certainly taught me a lot about business, but being a girl and growing up in the 1970s there was not much expectation for me to do anything. It was my choice to do something. So, I have always worked and I have always been busy.”
In 1994, she and 10 other women started Wiphold, an investment company that empowered women from all walks of life. Appelbaum reflects fondly on her time there: “Wiphold was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life…
We empowered women that were technically completely disadvantaged, really empowered them to understand how to invest and take a little bit of money and make it a lot. There was an incredible amount of energy in that boardroom. I’ve never been in a boardroom that good ever since.”
