The South African economic elite and ownership changes in foreign multinationals’ assets during and after Apartheid-era sanctions

Abstract

Using a historical lens to investigate sanctions against Apartheid South Africa, we found foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) lost out repeatedly during sanctions, almost always to the local economic elite. When MNEs departed, they often sold their assets to the local economic elite to salvage some value. To ensure continued operations (and thus payments to them), MNE continued supporting buyers during the sanctions era. If MNEs repurchased their assets once sanctions ended, the local elite again benefited. Personal ties matter in institutionally weak contexts, and we make a contribution by using elite theory to interrogate with whom such ties are forged.