It’s a bad thing to fall from wealth to penury. Unfortunately, many people have experienced this all around the world. Things happen, and millionaires came back to the bottom of the ladder.
In this article, we will see some wealthy South African millionaires who became poor. Please note that there are many who had experienced such an unfortunate phenomenon in the country – but it’s impossible to know all of them by name. Hence, what we will do here is to only highlight very famous South Africans who went down financially from the top. As you will see, many of them are even celebrities.
South Africa Millionaires Who Became Poor
1. Prokid
Let’s first talk about Prokid. He was born as Linda Mkhize on the 22nd of June, 1981, in South Africa. When he was alive, while at the prime of his career as a rapper and producer in the country, he living a lavish and flamboyant lifestyle, obviously pretty wealthy from the proceeds of his talents. Unfortunately, before he died in 2018, he reportedly went broke, that the government had to step in to give him a befitting funeral.
2. Mandoza
He was born as Mduduzi Edmund Tshabalala. He also made a lot of money being a Kwaito artist in South Africa before he died. Mandoza was pretty successful in his career, selling thousands of albums in the country, and making good money in the process. Unfortunately, the public believes he died poor too, and he is being referred as one of those who found themselves below the financial ladder again after moving up.
3. Baby Jake Matlala
He was born on August 1st, 1962, and was from Meadowlands. When he was still here, he was a junior flyweight and South African boxer that did well in his career. He didn’t only participate in many games while at his prime, but he also won a lot of them – you can imagine what that means financially. Unfortunately, prior to when he died, he reportedly suffered bad health, before leaving the earth in December 2013. It was made known that he even had no property under his name.
4. Brown Dash
Although his real name is Siphiwe Mpamile, he was popularly known by his stage name which is Brown Dash. He is also a Kwaito artist that was able to sell many copies of his album during the prime of his career. Unfortunately, he also became poor and broke before his death, according to reports. In fact, other musicians in South Africa had to work together to raise money to give him a befitting funeral.
5. Brenda Fassie
Brenda Fassie, although dead, is still known for the things she did as a musician in South Africa. Her career experienced success, and she had many fans around the country. She had bold stage antics and was even supported by tons of music lovers. She made a lot of money as a musician and had a net worth that ran into millions. Unfortunately, Brenda Nokuzola Fassie was also known to be addicted to drugs.
It was claimed that she made well over R30,000,000 as a musician. Nevertheless, getting addicted to drugs is a very terrible thing, and she ended up blowing her money away. Even as she tried getting help to break the bad terrible, she was said to have spent around R300,000. Indeed, the talented singer made a lot of money throughout her career. Unfortunately, a huge chunk of the money went to drugs. Her life should really be a lesson that should admonish others from shunning bad habits and ignoring destructive addictions.
Apart from unforeseen circumstances that pulled some rich people from the top, many others found themselves at the ground as a result of their nasty habits. Talk about wasting money on irrelevant things, thinking the income will just continue to come in. Unfortunately, it is even worse with addictions like drugs and alcohol.
6. Simon ‘Mahlathini’ Nkabinde
This man died a long time ago – back in 1999. Nevertheless, from the things obtained via reports that surrounded him, he has been included on this list. He was a South African musician who was born in 1938. Back then, he did a lot in the music industry and was able to make plenty of money via his talent. Unfortunately, he reportedly died a destitute. It was stated that the singer only had a small house as property when he died.
7. John ‘Shoes’ Moshoeu
John “Shoes” Lesiba Moshoeu was a footballer who made a lot of money. He was well-known during his prime, playing and earning money in the game, driving several cars. The South African footballer, who was born in 1965, played for the likes of Diepkloof and Kaizer Chiefs. He even played for his country football club and even won the 1996 African Cup of Nations. Unfortunately, Lesiba battled stomach cancer and died in 2015, and it was made known that died a broke man.
8. Tiki Nxumalo
Tiki Nxumalo used to be a musician and actor before he too died. The South African was born in 1950 and was influential while the period of apartheid was still on in South Africa. Indeed, he experienced a career that flourished, fetching him plenty of money. He has many admirers who supported his career. However, it was said that he also died broke after departing the world from an asthma attack in 2015.
According to reports, some folks had to come together to contribute the money needed to give him a good funeral (even the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture reportedly played a role).
9. Pitch Black Afro
His real name is Thulani Ngcobo. He came from Soweto, becoming popular in the country as a Kwaito and hip-hop artist in South Africa. He also performed well as a rapper, making a lot of money at the prime of his career in the industry. Thulani was obviously talented, but it seems he also declined from grace to grass, which is so unfortunate.
It was stated that his debut album alone sold over 50,000 copies. This meant he made a lot of money. However, the musician was addicted to alcohol, wasting a lot of money. As stated earlier, money is not meant to be wasted, as the effects can be unpleasant. It was made known that the rapper is regarded as destitute right now. When folks start making more money, the best thing to do is to learn how to retain and multiply the money, hence they will keep losing money and will go broke. By being disciplined, one can avoid wasting money on things that don’t matter – rather, spending money on productive things should be the norm.
10. Blondie Makhene
The South African musician was born in 1955 as Keoagile Gerald Makhene. He was able to do well in his career, rising to become well-known and famous in the country, and making good money too (he was able to sell numerous albums).
Unfortunately, he too was said to have wasted his money, and the effect hasn’t been too cool. It was made known that he now stays in his mother’s house.
11. Stitch
Finally, let’s talk about Stitch. The Kwaito artist also made a lot of money from doing his thing as a musician during his prime. He, unfortunately, has become broke and is now said to be living with his mother.
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Conclusion:
In conclusion on South African millionaires who became broke, as stated earlier, there are many people around the world who have declined from being rich to becoming poor. It is an unfortunate situation. But then, it happens. The thing is, such should be avoided, and millionaires today should have nothing to do with wasting money on irrelevant things. Rather, millionaires should be conscious of how they spend their money, investing in profitable ventures, securing their future and that of their loved ones.