For the Motsepe household, there was a lot of cheer this Christmas season; South Africa’s first Black billionaire, Patrice Motsepe and his wife, Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, recently purchased a sprawling luxury retreat in the super prestigious residential suburb of Bishopscourt in Cape Town for a record price of 68-million Rands (USD $6 million).
Describing the billionaire’s new purchase, property consultant and estate agent Ingrid McFarlane of Seeff Property Services said “neighbors in the area include famous author Wilbur Smith and the Spanish and German Embassy are situated directly opposite this property.” According to a news report by the Sunday Times, the super-luxury home first hit the market in 2011 for 98-million Rands (USD $8 million). McFarlane said the mansion was built in 2008.
Nestled against the backdrop of Table Mountain, the luxury estate reportedly includes a main bedroom suite with ‘his and hers’ dressing rooms and bathrooms coupled with a separate lounge with a fireplace; there are five additional en-suite bedrooms with dressing rooms and all the rooms in the main house lead to a terrace / balcony with spectacular views of the surrounding terrain.
The upscale Bishopscourt home, which has a lift between floors, also features an opulent lounge, a formal 24-seat dining room with a spacious open floor plan gourmet kitchen with separate scullery; a cigar lounge; a climate-controlled wine cellar; state-of-the-art theater, a music room, a billiard room, a gym and a 10-bay garage with a separate bay to have cars washed.
Sitting atop 12,000 square meters of land, the baronial-style mansion also has a flood-lit tennis court, pavilion, swimming pool with a multi-million rand landscaped garden that consists of “predominantly” indigenous flora. Additionally, there is a house for an estate manager; the property requires approximately R30,000-a-month for upkeep and maintenance.
“I think Mr. Motsepe wished to purchase this property as it is extraordinary and designed and built to the highest quality finishes,” said McFarlane. According to the brochure provided by Seeff Property Services, in addition to the spectacular views from the Table Mountain skyline, the world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and Constantia Wine Valley are just down the road from the Bishopscourt mansion.
Motsepe’s upscale Bishopscourt mansion is just one on a growing list of super-luxury homes in Cape Town owned by a number of foreign buyers from the United Kingdom, Germany and the U.S, celebrities, industry captains and, according to McFarlane, “late President Mandela also owns a property in this prestigious area.”
Read more at Forbes
