Sir Donald Gordon (24 June 1930 – 21 November 2019) was a South African - British businessman and philanthropist. He founded Liberty Life Association of Africa in 1957 and

Liberty International Intu Properties plc was a British real estate investment trust (REIT), largely focused on shopping centre management and development. Originally named Liberty International plc, it changed its name in May 2010 to Capital Shopping Centres Group p ...

Career

Educated at King Edward VII School in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

, and then enrolled at the

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 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 ...

where he obtained a BCom degree in Accounting. Thereafter, he completed Donald Gordon: Liberty for All
, Financial Inspiration website. his articles to be a Chartered Accountant at the firm Kessel Feinstein (now Grant Thornton). He founded the Liberty Life Association of Africa in 1957Donald Gordon: CV
out of which he formed Transatlantic Insurance Holdings, now

, in 1980. He was behind the development of

Sandton City Sandton City is a large shopping mall situated in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built and owned by property development company Rapp and Maister, in partnership with brothers Hilliard and Eli Leibowitz, and was later taken over by ...

, 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.

Other interests

The

Gordon Institute of Business Science Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS Business School) is a business school in South Africa and an affiliate of the University of Pretoria. It is located in the heart of Illovo, Johannesburg, close to the Sandton financial and commercial b ...

(GIBS) in

, 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 The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

and

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

a collective donation of £20 million payable over five years.£20m boost for arts centres
BBC News, 16 November 2003 This is believed to be one of the largest single private donations ever made to the arts in the UK. 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.The Donald Gordon Theatre

Awards and recognition

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 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 ...

and an honorary doctorate in commerce from the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

. In 1968, he was named "Businessman 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 ''Financial Mail'' (or the ''FM'', as it is also known), is a South African business publication focused on reaching the country's leading business people. This weekly publication, which was launched in 1959, underwent a major "look and feel" ch ...

''. In 2005 Birthday Honours List, he was awarded a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

in recognition of his services to arts and business.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Donald 1930 births Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom South African businesspeople South African Knights Bachelor South African philanthropists Alumni of King Edward VII School (Johannesburg) Gordon Institute of Business Science Businesspeople awarded knighthoods 2019 deaths South African emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century philanthropists