Nathan Kirsh
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Nathan "Natie" Kirsh (born 6 January 1932) is a South African born, Swazi billionaire businessman. He heads the Kirsh Group, which holds a majority stake in New York state cash and carry operation Jetro Holdings, owner of Restaurant Depot and Jetro Cash & Carry. The Group also holds equity and investments in Australia, Eswatini, the UK, the US, and Israel. ''Forbes'' estimated his wealth at $5.3 billion in April 2022. He was also listed on the UK’s
Sunday Times Rich List 2018 The ''Sunday Times Rich List 2018'' is the 30th annual survey of the wealthiest people resident in the United Kingdom, published by ''The Sunday Times'' on 13 May 2018. The List was edited by Robert Watts who succeeded long-term compiler Philip B ...
, and the wealthiest person in Swaziland by ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
''.


Early life and education

Nathan "Natie" Kirsh was born in South Africa on 6 January 1932, and grew up in a Jewish family in Potchefstroom, where he matriculated from
Potchefstroom Boys High Potchefstroom High School for Boys is a public English medium high school for boys situated in Potchefstroom in the North West province of South Africa. It is one of the oldest schools in South Africa. Historical perspective School history W ...
, in 1949. Kirsh earned a Bachelor of Commerce at the
University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...
, in 1952. He also holds an honorary doctorate from the
University of Swaziland The University of Eswatini (or UNESWA; formerly known as the University of Swaziland, or UNISWA) is the national university of Eswatini. It was established by act of parliament in 1982. The university developed from the University of Botswana, L ...
.


Career

In 1952, Kirsh began assisting his mother with the operation of his father's original malt factory in Potchefstroom, then, in 1958,"Bloomberg Billionaires Index", ''Bloomberg'', 27 March 2019.
/ref> launched his own first venture,"How Natie Kirsh built his global business" by Ian Fifre ''The Financial Mail'', 1 April 2010.
/ref> founding a corn milling and malt business in Eswatini. After having returned to South Africa, in 1968; in 1970, Kirsh acquired Moshal Gevisser, a South African wholesale food distributor with a pilot cash and carry program. At the time, the South African
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
government prevented white business-owners from operating in black townships, and Kirsh began using Moshal Gevisser to supply goods to black shopkeepers. As a cash and carry business, Moshal Gevisser became a dominant food retailer in South Africa. In June 1976, he founded Jetro, a cash and carry store in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. He acquired Restaurant Depot in 1994, then opened its first New York retail outlet in 1995, and Jetro and Restaurant Depot began operating as sister businesses under Jetro Holdings. In 2003,
Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...
agreed to buy a minority share of Jetro Holdings, however, he and Kirsh could not agree on terms. As of August 2018, Kirsh owned 75 percent of Jetro Holdings, which had about 115 Jetro Cash & Carry and Restaurant Depot stores in the United States. That year, the ''Independent'' reported that several of Kirsh's companies were registered in the
British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Bri ...
and in Liberia, both of which are listed on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s
tax haven A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
"grey list".SlackBelly: Trouble at Tradition: Ex-director sues broking firm
''The Independent'', 14 February 2010
Kirsh Holdings Group, Kirsh's primary holding group, continues to own half of Swazi Plaza Properties. In the late 1970s, he also acquired Magal Security Systems from
Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (Hebrew: התעשייה האווירית לישראל ''ha-ta'asiya ha-avirit le-yisra'el'') or IAI (תע"א) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both mi ...
, listing the company on Nasdaq in 1993. In 2009, Kirsh was a director and held a 24.2 percent stake in Magal Security, which met controversy by providing fences in Israel. In 2014, Kirsh sold his 40 percent stake in Magal to FIMI. Kirsh left South Africa in 1986,"South African billionaire visits old school", ''Potchefstroom Herald'', 17 March 2017.
/ref> after selling much of Kirsh Industries to
Sanlam Sanlam is a South African financial services group headquartered in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. Sanlam is the largest insurance company in Africa. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock Exchange and the ...
, In 2006, his companies included Mira Mag and Ki Corporation. Through Kifin Limited, part of Ki Corporation, by 2008, he also held a stake in
Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...
,Daniel Thomas
"Kirsh abandons Minerva bid,"
FT (8 January 2010).
dropping a bid for majority ownership in 2010. By early 2018, Kirsh retained retail and property interests in Britain, the United States, Australia, and Swaziland.


Personal life

Kirsh is married to Frances Herr, and they have three children, one son, Philip Kirsh, and two daughters. They reside in Ezulwini, Eswatini,"Rich list 2015: The Billionaires"; ''
The Sunday Times Magazine ''The Sunday Times Magazine'' is a magazine included with ''The Sunday Times''. In 1962 it became the first colour supplement to be published as a supplement to a UK newspaper, and its arrival "broke the mould of weekend newspaper publishing". ...
''; 26 April 2015, p. 21.]
and he holds citizenship in Eswatini.


Philanthropy

He established the Kirsh Foundation, an international charitable organization. Its projects include a microfinance venture in collaboration with Swazi chiefs to provide "affordable loans and financial literacy training to Swazi women." As of 2010, Kirsh's seed fund, Inhlanyelo, had financed "5,500 successful small businesses." By 2015, around 20,000 people were employed by small-scale businesses started by the fund. In 2021, Kirsh funded a mission for humanitarian Non-governmental organization, NGO IsraAID to aid with the
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vaccine rollout in Eswatini.


See also

*
History of the Jews in Eswatini The history of the Jews of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland. Modern times In 2002, Swaziland's prime minister, Barnabas Dlamini, said the country appreciates the contribution of its Jewish community: "The Jewish community is small, numbering in th ...
*
History of the Jews in South Africa The history of the Jews in South Africa began during the period of Portuguese exploration in the early modern era, though a permanent presence was not established until the beginning of Dutch colonisation in the region. During the period of ...
* History of the Jews in Southern Africa


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirsh, Nathan Living people 1932 births South African billionaires Swazi businesspeople Swazi billionaires Swazi Jews Naturalized citizens of Eswatini South African Jews South African emigrants to Eswatini University of the Witwatersrand alumni 20th-century businesspeople 21st-century businesspeople