The Rembrandt Group, officially known as Rembrandt Trust (Proprietary) Limited, is a South African tobacco and industrial conglomerate founded by

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cas ...

tycoon Dr

Anton Rupert Anthony Edward Rupert (4 October 1916 – 18 January 2006) was a South African businessman, philanthropist, and conservationist. He was born and raised in the small town of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape. He studied in Pretoria and ultimat ...

who oversaw its eventual transition to the industrial and luxury branded goods sectors. Rembrandt was split into Remgro (an

investment company An investment company is a financial institution principally engaged in holding, managing and investing securities. These companies in the United States are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must be registered under t ...

with financial, mining and industrial interests) and

Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells j ...

(a Swiss-based luxury goods group).

History

Dr Rupert originally established the tobacco company "Voorbrand" in the 1940s. He soon renamed it Rembrandt Ltd. The first Rembrandt cigarettes were manufactured in an old flour mill in

Paarl Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...

. Four years later Rupert introduced the world to the first king-sized cigarette filter. It was a wild success and it was on the back of this and a R1,5 million loan from Sanlam that Rembrandt's vast overseas empire was built. In 1968, it incorporated Remgro as an investment holding company with interests in financial, mining and industrial interests. In 1972, Rembrandt's overseas tobacco interests were consolidated into

Rothmans International Rothmans International plc was a British tobacco manufacturer. Its brands included Rothmans, Player's and Dunhill. Its international headquarters were in Hill Street, London and its international operations were run from Denham Place in Denham ...

. In 1988, the Rembrandt group founded the Swiss luxury goods company,

, which in turn acquired Rembrandt's shares in Rothmans. Richemont also owns such luxury brands as

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australi ...

(jewellery);

Alfred Dunhill Alfred Dunhill (30 September 1872 – 2 January 1959) was an English tobacconist, entrepreneur and inventor. He is the progenitor of Alfred Dunhill, Ltd. a London-based luxury goods company owned by Swiss company Richemont and the Dunhill t ...

and Sulka (designer clothing); Seeger (leather bags); Piaget, Baume & Mercier and

Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin SA () is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded in 1755. Since 1996, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group. Vacheron Constantin is the second oldest Swiss manufacturer and one of the oldest watch ...

(Swiss watches) and Montblanc (pens). In 1995 Rembrandt and Richemont consolidated their respective tobacco interests into Rothmans International, which was at the time the world's fourth largest cigarette manufacturer. In 1999, Rothmans International was acquired by

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the larg ...

References

Richemont brands Manufacturing companies based in Johannesburg {{SouthAfrica-company-stub