Background
GORDON, Donald was born on June 24, 1930 in Johannesburg. Son of Nathan and Sheila Gordon.
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Donald GORDON
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King Edward VII School, Johannesburg.
Career
Educated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg before doing his articles to be a Chartered Accountant at the firm Kessel Feinstein (Now Grant Thornton). He founded the Liberty Life Association of Africa in 1957 out of which he formed Transatlantic Insurance Holdings plc, now Liberty International, in 1980. He was behind the development of Sandton City, one of the most successful shopping centres in the world.
Gordon was a director of the Guardian Royal Exchange Group for 24 years and chaired their South African subsidiary, Guardian National Insurance Company.
The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Johannesburg, South Africa was established in January 2000 following a substantial contribution by Donald Gordon and a major investment by the University of Pretoria. In 2004, Gordon gave the Royal Opera House and Wales Millennium Centre a collective donation of £20 million payable over five years.
This is believed to be one of the largest single private donation ever made to the arts in the United Kingdom. Sir Donald has had the Grand Tier at the Royal Opera House as well as the main auditorium of the Wales Millennium Centre named after him. He currently resides in London.
Achievements
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At the 2000 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in London, Gordon received the Entrepreneur of the Year Special Award for Lifetime Achievement. He received an honorary doctorate of economic science from the University of the Witwatersrand and an honorary doctorate in commerce from the University of Pretoria. In 1968 he was named "Business Manitoba of the Year" by the South African Sunday Times. In 1999 he was named as "The Achiever of the Century in South African Financial Services" by South African Financial Mail. In June 2005, he was awarded a knighthood in recognition of his services to arts and business.
Membership
Board Capital and Counties Public Limited Company since 1982, The South. African Breweries Limited. since 1982, Plate Glass and Shatterprufe Industries Limited. since 1982, Premier Group Holdings Limited. since 1983.
Interests
Connections
Married Peggy Cowan in 1958.
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Born
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Nationality
South African