#31 Lauritz (Laurie) Dippenaar Previous Next Lauritz (Laurie) Dippenaar Laurie Dippenaar is non-executive chairman of FirstRand, a financial services group active in banking and insurance. In 1977 he cofounded FirstRand's predecessor, Rand Consolidated Investing, with GT Ferreira and Paul Harris. After a series of mergers and acquisitions, FirstRand was formed in the 1990s. First Rand Group has operations in South Africa, five neighboring countries and India, and more than $80 billion in assets. In 2010, FirstRand's RMB Holdings spun off insurance division RMI. In December 2011 South Africa's Royal Bafokeng Holdings upped its share in both Rand Merchant Bank and RMI to 15% from 5%, shelling out roughly $650 million to do so. That shrunk Dippenaar's stakes in those companies, and South Africa's capital gains tax bit off a healthy chunk of Dippenaar's fortune in the transaction. Dippenaar's hobbies include cycling, canoeing and watching rugby.