Rupert, Anton

▪ 2007

Anthony Edward Rupert 

      South African industrialist and philanthropist (b. Oct. 4, 1916, Graaff-Reinet, Cape province, [now Eastern Cape province] S.Af.—d. Jan. 18, 2006, Stellenbosch, Western Cape province, S.Af.), built a small tobacco company into a huge multinational conglomerate that encompassed hundreds of businesses in more than 30 countries. In the 1940s Rupert formed a cigarette company named Voorbrand, and during the following few years he expanded into the South African wine industry. In 1948 he renamed the company Rembrandt, which became the core of a financial empire that included such luxury brands as Piaget, Cartier, and Montblanc. Rupert also was a founding member of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and in 1997 he became a founding patron of the Peace Parks Foundation, which was created to establish cross-border conservation parks in southern Africa.

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