What are some interesting facts about Cyril Ramaphosa? Cyril Ramaphosa was born in Soweto on 17 November 1952. He is widely recognised as a successful businessman and respected politician and commended for his humility. His credentials for the struggle against apartheid can be traced to his activism in student politics at the University of the North (now University of Limpopo). During this period, he organised rallies, which led to his detention in 1974 along with other student activists. However, no amount of intimidation by the security forces could deter him from pursuing the noble objective of fighting for a free and democratic South Africa. Here are ten interesting facts about SA’s new president: 1. He is one of the richest people in the country and is estimated to be worth around R5.67 billion. 2. He has four children and is married to Dr Tshepo Motsepe, the sister of mega-rich Patrice Motsepe, but has kept his family out of the public eye. 3. Ramaphosa was an acting professor of law at Sanford University in 1991. 4. His Cape Town home, a mansion in the shadow of Lion’s Head, is valued at around R30 million. 5. He was an inspector of the IRA weapons dumps in Northern Ireland. 6. Ramaphosa is an Ankole cattle breeder and in 2017 one of his prize bulls sold for a whopping R640 000 at auction. 7. He is on record as saying his favourite food is fish and salad. 8. In 2011 Ramaphosa was awarded a 20-year franchise with fast food giant McDonald’s. 9. Ramaphosa had previously campaigned to be president, but lost the race to Thabo Mbeki. 10. He is the founder of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation, which “aims to foster the development of an inclusive society that is empowered”, and along with his wife, assists a number of disadvantaged students financially. After completing his degree in 1981, he joined an independent trade union movement, the Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA). When the government and the Chamber of Mines announced their decision to allow black mine workers to join unions, CUSA propelled Ramaphosa into establishing the National Union of Mine-workers (NUM) in 1982, which mobilised extensively against oppression. In the eyes of many black mine workers, he was a true compatriot who fought for the transformation of labour relations in the mining industry under the apartheid government. Fearlessly, he steered NUM to focus its campaigns on wages and working conditions for black mining workers. In effect, the union won scores of significant victories through bargaining and the courts. Understanding the need to stand up against the oppressors, Ramaphosa led NUM to a three-week strike in 1987 after a wage deadlock with the Chamber of Mines. The strike saw a halt in production at half of South Africa’s gold mines and at least one-fifth of the coal mines. This cost the industry millions of rands a day as this sector largely depended on its black work force. His achievements in the NUM include growing the union’s membership from 6 000 in 1982 to 300 000 in 1992. Following a long and intensive history in student and trade-union politics, and playing a leading role in the Mass Democratic Movement that preceded the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC), Ramaphosa hit the headlines as he introduced Nelson Mandela to the thousands of supporters outside the Cape Town City Hall, where Nelson Mandela delivered his first public speech in 30 years.