South African businessman Rob Hersov built a private jet business called Marquis Jet Europe and later sold it to NetJets, a company controlled by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. He shared the story in an interview with Newsday.
Hersov said he started the business when private jets were still a young industry. At the time, most rich people either owned a jet or chartered one.
“There was a huge opportunity in between: the jet card to buy 25 or 50 hours a year on a very reputable fleet,” he said.
He teamed up with two partners in the United States. Together they made a deal with NetJets, which was then the largest private jet company in the world.
The partners told NetJets that many people, such as athletes and entertainers, would want to buy 25 hours of flying a year.
“These people didn’t have long-term visibility of income, but had money now and wanted the reliability, availability, and high quality of the NetJets fleet,” Hersov said.
He said he ran the European side while his partners ran the American side. The two businesses were built separately.
“I built Europe to where it was almost the tail wagging the dog. I owned so many fractions in the NetJets fleet that I was more important to them than anyone else,” he said.
NetJets then decided to buy Marquis Jet Europe. “After the sale, I took a position at NetJets as vice chairman for the next few years,” he told Newsday.
Hersov described himself as an entrepreneur and investor. “I start and invest in businesses, take them to a certain level, and then hand them to people better suited than me to take them to the next level,” he said.
He is the grandson of Bob Hersov, who founded the mining and industrial group Anglovaal. His father, Basil Hersov, ran the company from 1973 to 2001. The family sold Anglovaal in the 1990s.
Rob Hersov chose not to join the family business. He started his career at Goldman Sachs in New York. He later led the European media investment banking team at Morgan Stanley in London.
From 1989 to 1991, he worked as business development manager for Rupert Murdoch at News Corporation in New York. He also sat on the board of luxury goods group Richemont, founded by Johann Rupert.
He served as chief executive of Telepiu, Italy’s largest pay TV company, which belonged to the Mediaset group. He also started Invest Africa, a network that links international investors with business chances in Africa.
Hersov returned to South Africa after three decades overseas. His local investments include the Cape Winelands Airport, Africa Padel, a crypto mining project that uses excess Eskom power and a development on the West Coast.
Source: this article is based on reporting by newsday.co.za. Image: newsday.co.za. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.