Mary Slack
Mary Slack | |
---|---|
Born | Mary Oppenheimer December 1943 (age 81) |
Citizenship | South Africa |
Education | Heathfield School, Ascot |
Spouse | |
Children | 4, including Jessica Slack-Jell |
Father | Harry Oppenheimer |
Relatives | Nicky Oppenheimer (brother) |
Mary Slack (née Oppenheimer; born December 1943) is a South African businesswoman and philanthropist. The daughter of Harry Oppenheimer, she is a former chairperson of the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust and the former managing director of the Market Theatre. She is also active in horse racing and breeding and owns the Wilgerbosdrift stud farm in Piketberg, Western Cape.
Biography
Slack was educated at the Healthfield School, where she was head girl,[1] and the Sorbonne University.[2] She is one of two children of Anglo American magnate Harry Oppenheimer and his wife Bridget.[3] Though her younger brother Nicky has a more prominent role in managing the family's business interests, she has equal voting rights with him and reportedly influenced the family's decision to sell De Beers to Anglo American in 2011.[4][5][6] Slack's own business interests have included an investment company called Wiphold, which she co-founded,[2] and Amaridian, an art gallery in SoHo, New York.[7]
Slack became a trustee of the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, founded by her father, in 1971,[8] and later served as its chairwoman.[9] She was managing trustee of the Market Theatre in Johannesburg between 1989 and 1992.[8] She founded Business and Arts South Africa in 1997 and served as its inaugural chairwoman.[10] She has also served as chairwoman of her family's Brenthurst Library and Brenthurst Press, was a patron of the South African Mzansi Ballet, and was involved in fundraising for Dorkay House.[8]
Horse racing and breeding
Slack's parents were prominent in horse racing and breeding and Slack, a show-jumper in her youth, joined them in the early 1990s.[11] In 1997, she opened her own stud farm at Wilgerbosdrift outside Piketberg.[11][12] After Slack's mother died in 2013, the Oppenheimer stud farm, Mauritzfontein, passed to the management of Slack's daughter Jessica Slack-Jell, and the breeding operations of Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein were subsequently conjoined; collectively the farms own about 150 mares.[13][14]
Slack also races horses in South Africa and, more recently, in Britain. Her colours, black with a scarlet cap, were registered by Jack Joel in 1900 and later gifted to her by Jim Joel.[15] Her horse Sparkling Water won the 2022 Durban July,[16] and her horse Claymore won the Hampton Court Stakes in the 2022 Royal Ascot.[15] Later that year, she and businessman Zhang Yuesheng became the first non-resident members of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.[17][18]
In May 2020, Slack's family office, Mary Oppenheimer Daughters, extended R100 million in post-commencement finance to Phumelela Gaming & Leisure, South Africa's largest horse-racing company, which had recently entered business rescue.[19] Later that year it extended R550 million more as part of a restructuring plan.[20][21] Slack does not have a position in the restructured company, 4Racing.[22] Partly in recognition of her intervention to rescue Phumelela, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Equus Awards in September 2020.[23][24] 4Racing also renamed the SA Fillies Classic in her honor.[25]
Philanthropy and political activities
Slack donated R1 billion to the Solidarity Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] Her other philanthropic initiatives have included sponsoring the recording of an Allen Kwela album and sponsoring the establishment of the African Leadership Academy.[27][28] She is also a major donor to South African opposition political parties. Since the introduction of party finance disclosure requirements, which she opposed,[29] Slack has been one of the primary donors to the Democratic Alliance (DA),[30][31] and she was the party's second largest individual backer, after Michiel le Roux, ahead of the 2024 general election.[32]
Personal life
Slack lives at Brenthurst Estate, the Oppenheimer family compound in Parktown, Johannesburg.[33] She has four daughters.[8] Three – Victoria Freudenheim, Rebecca Diamond, and Jessica Slack-Jell – are also major political donors.[34][35] Jessica is married to Steven Jell, a horse trainer who works with Mike de Kock.[36]
Slack's first husband was Scottish rugby player Gordon Waddell, whom she met in 1962 and married in 1965. After their divorce in 1971, Waddell won custody of their daughters, Victoria and Rebecca, and remained involved in the Oppenheimer businesses.[37][38]
References
- ^ Pallister, David; Lepper, Ian (1988). South Africa Inc: The Oppenheimer Empire. Corgi Books. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-552-13380-7.
- ^ a b Head, Tom (9 September 2021). "Who is Mary Slack? Nicky Oppenheimer's sister gives R15m to the DA". The South African. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Bridget Oppenheimer dies after short illness". The Mail & Guardian. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Diamond dynasty". News24. Reuters. 27 November 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "'Corruption Is An Extremely Insidious And Dangerous Thing'". Forbes Africa. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Carats to Carrots: De Beers no longer jewel in crown". The Mail & Guardian. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Louie, Elaine (1 June 2006). "A Touch of Modern Africa, On Display in SoHo". New York Times. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ a b c d "How to Spread It: Mary Slack". News24. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Memorial trust gets R1bn for education". Business Day. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Business and Arts SA, champion of the arts, celebrates alliances". Business Day. 3 April 2017. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Mary Slack: The fountainhead of wealth is the mare who foals a filly". Sporting Post. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "This mine is not fine by Oppenheimer heir". Sunday Times. 1 May 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Jessica Slack: Living the Dream". Sporting Post. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "How a fiery filly who survived a flood became South Africa's premier producer". Racing Post. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Mary Slack Colours Have Been Triumphant At Royal Ascot Before". Turf Talk. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Clower, Michael (8 July 2022). "Slack's star sparkles in July". The Irish Field. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "New dawn in Hong Kong racing as Zhang Yuesheng and Mary Slack join owners list". Asian Racing Report. 9 October 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "History In Hong Kong as Slack becomes Owner". South African Horseracing and Betting. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "South Africa's Richest Family Gives Horseracing a Lifeline". Daily Maverick. Bloomberg. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Khumalo, Sibongile (29 August 2020). "Battle for Phumelela heats up as Mary Oppenheimer Daughters hits out at rival offer". News24. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Lumley, Michael (4 January 2021). "Pudding's proof may just be in her saving of horseracing's future". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Moon, Mike (5 July 2022). "'I'm thrilled!': Mary Slack's win changes her mind about Durban July". The Citizen. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "September a blooming bonanza for Mary Slack". Business Day. 14 September 2020. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Moon, Mike (14 September 2020). "Oppenheimer women mine silverware at Equus Awards". The Citizen. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Old names get the boot as De Kock and Slack honoured". Business Day. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Planting, Sasha (1 April 2020). "Mary Oppenheimer and daughters join Covid-19 battle". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Let's Kwela again". The Mail & Guardian. 5 June 1998. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Jekwa, Sizwekazi (19 June 2008). "The missing link". News24. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Karim, Azarrah (10 September 2021). "Oppenheimer daughter says release of party funder names may scare off donors in future". News24. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Wicks, Jeff (9 September 2021). "Oppenheimer daughter is the DA's single biggest donor with R15m - IEC". News24. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Gerber, Jan (20 May 2024). "Political party funding: Who is paying for all these posters?". News24. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Leathern, Ray (20 March 2024). "Meet Mary Slack: The minted 'Oppenheimer' backing DA to win". The South African. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Bruce, Peter (17 August 2023). "To all those who could go but stay: respect". Business Day. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Hussain, Muhammad (3 March 2024). "Rebecca Oppenheimer: I have 'zero' influence over parties I donate to". News24. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ Davis, Rebecca (10 September 2023). "The Big Eight funders of South Africa's major political parties who keep the system moving". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "No slack for newly-weds on standards of race horse breeding". Business Day. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Oppenheimer's fixer who sidestepped sanctions". Financial Times. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Gordon Waddell". The Telegraph. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2024.