Wendy Appelbaum
Jewish philanthropist and businesswoman Wendy Appelbaum is the wealthiest Jewish woman in South Africa. This is according to ghbase.com.
Wendy Applebaum is worth about 2.6 billion SA Rand, or $170 million. This may not sound like that much money, but for South Africa, and for a South African woman, it is a real fortune.
According to Entrepreneurs.org, Wendy Donna Appelbaum, who was born in South Africa, is the only daughter of the South African business mogul, Sir Donald Gordon, founder of Liberty Group, and her mother, Peggy. She has two brothers, Richard and Graeme, and they grew up in Johannesburg.
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As a child, Wendy Appelbaum was known for playing all sorts of games like scrabble, tennis, bridge, golf, show-jumping and all other kinds of sports, all of which aided her success in business.
Also, she studied Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand. After school she worked for her father at the Liberty Group, and also became a director at the Liberty Investors.
WendyAppelbaum married Hylton Appelbaum. They have two sons together, Nicholas and Matthew. Nicholas is a surgeon and Matthew is a banker.
Her husband, Hylton, manages the wine garden and holds positions in other organizations in South Africa such as being a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund Chairman and Mindset Network.
She also fights for social justice causes. According to the South African Jewish Report, in 2015 Wendy Appelbaum was the driving force behind the application that resulted in the landmark Western Cape High Court ruling that declared emoluments attachments orders (also known as garnishee orders) obtained against low-income farm workers and others, unlawful.
At the time, Wendy Appelbaum told the publication, “Injustice is something that drives me quite wild and I believe that was my visceral reaction to the Auction Alliance case. I believe that we all have a role to play in this country and I think that people who sit back and complain… One really needs to do something about it.”
