Gordon Schachat - Biography

Gordon Schachat (born January 25, 1952) is a South African businessman and prominent art collector. He is featured regularly on the Sunday Times Rich List.

Personal life

Schachat met his first wife at university, the former Sunday Times columnist Jani Allan and married her in Mauritius in 1982. She makes an acknowledgement to him in her book Face Value. The marriage ended in 1984 and the two remained on friendly terms. In 1992 Schachat supported Allan's testimony in the libel suit she brought against the British broadcaster Channel 4. He later remarried and had three children with his wife Pamela.

Career

Schachat was recently ranked as the 71st wealthiest person in South Africa in the Sunday Times Rich List.

Schachat has held a number of directorships during his business career. Schachat's early business background was in housing development, serving nine years with the Schachat housing group. Since the 1980s he spent 13 years in private equity and investment banking. This was followed by the establishment of Boabab Solid Growth Ltd, a precursor to the 1998 establishment of African Bank Investments Limited, which Schachat is an original founder and architect of. Schachat currently serves as a director of the company as well as the Executive Deputy Chair.

In 2007 Abil's R10.6 billion all-share offer for Ellerines funrniture giant was approved.

Abil is listed on the JSE and is South Africa's biggest mass-market lender and recently issued a $54.81 million (550 million rand) senior unsecured bond.

Art collection

The Gordon Schachat collection was premiered at the 2009 Joburg Art Fair. The collection hosted the most prominent piece of the festival Security by Jane Alexander and Tumela Mosaka. Schachat's private art collection includes works by Robin Rhode. He displayed works by Rhode in the 2008 Joburg Art Fair.

Schachat's collection also includes works by the South African painter Alexis Preller. He is currently sponsoring a forthcoming book by art historian Esme Berman on Preller.