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{{Show badges| tobaccowiki}}'''Anton Anthony Edward Rupert''' (Rothman was the founder of cigarette maker [[Rothmans Tobacco]] International)and [[WWF South Africa]].

An obituary on Rupert, who died in 2006, states: <blockquote>"Anton Rupert, a South African industrialist and philanthropist who opposed apartheid's inhumanities and used his wealth to fund environmental and educational projects, died at the age of 89 last week. Rupert rose from humble beginnings to become one of South Africa's most successful industrialists, playing a leading role in the country's mining, tobacco, banking, media, beverage, food and health care industries. His family features in the Forbes list of the world's 500 wealthiest families with assets estimated at US$1,7 billion (about N$10,5 billion)." <ref>[http://www.namibian.com.na/2006/January/world/0693003C.html Anton Rupert, South African industrialist, philanthropist], World News, accessed November 27, 2007.</ref></blockquote> ==Affiliations==*Founder, [[Economic Development Bank for Equatorial and Southern Africa]] <ref>W.P. Esterhuyse, ''Anton Rupert: Advocate of Hope'' (Tafelberg, 1986), p.60.</ref>*Cofounder, [[Urban Foundation]] <ref>W.P. Esterhuyse, ''Anton Rupert: Advocate of Hope'' (Tafelberg, 1986), p.69.</ref>*Founding Patron, [[Peace Parks Foundation]] <ref>[http://www.peaceparks.org/story.php?mid=9&pid=6 The Origins of Peace Parks Foundation], Peace Parks Foundation, accessed November 26, 2007.</ref>*Patron, [[Nedbank Green Trust]] <ref>Nedbank [http://www.nedbank.co.za/website/content/QAndA/indexgreen.asp??subcatid=352&subsubcatid=1091 Green Trust], organizational web page, accessed January 10, 2013.</ref>*Winner of the 2004 [[Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute: Four Freedoms Award]]*Recipient of the 2003 [[Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal]] <ref>[http://www.panda.org/who_we_are/history/duke_of_edinburgh_conservation_medal/ Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal], WWF, accessed April 28, 2009.</ref> ==Anton Rupert and tobacco==Rupert started out as a chemistry lecturer who made cigarettes in his garage. He eventually built this endeavor in the 1940s into a tobacco company called Verband (short for [[Verband der Cigaretten Industry|Verband der CigarettenIndustrie]]), which became a tobacco and industrial conglomerate called the [[Rembrandt Group]], which, by 1980, was the third largest corporation in South Africa.<ref>Peter Taylor [http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/byi55d00 A Dying Industry] Script/transcript. April 14, 1980. 25 pp. Bates No. 504848672/8696, and Page --8677</ref> Eventually Rembrandt split into two separate companies: Remgro, an investment company with financial, mining and industrial interests, and Richemont, a Swiss-based luxury goods group. In 1995 Rembrandt and Richemont consolidated their respective tobacco interests to create [[Rothmans Tobacco]] International, which at the time was the world's fourth largest cigarette company.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/2006/01/19/anton-rupert-obit-cx_po_0119autofacescan05.html South African Magnate Anton Rupert Dies], Olson P, Forbes Magazine, January 19, 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3072774 Tycoon Anton Rupert dies in his sleep]. Business Report online edition, January 19, 2006</ref> By all accounts Rupert was a billionaire and a philanthropist. Around 1976 Rupert was involved with the [[Liggett & Myers]] Tobacco Company in its [[Project XA]] to create a palladium catalyst cigarette. Rupert apparently was a consultant on the project. Liggett discovered that by incorporating palladium into tobacco as a burn catalyst, a cigarette could be produced that burned more cleanly and produced, using experiments with mice, a far safer, less carcinogenic cigarette. Despite 25 years of research, development and market planning, the palladium cigarette was never commercially produced.<ref>[http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/biu57a00 Meeting in London with Mr Mulligan and Dr Anton Rupert to Discuss Project Tame], Memo by Mold J., June 16, 1976, Liggett & Myers collection, Bates No. lg0390834/0835</ref> ==Resources and articles====Related Sourcewatch articles==*[[Rothmans Tobacco]]*[[Project XA]]*[[Project Tame]]*[[Gaynor Rupert]]*[[Frans Stroebel]] - personal assistant ===References===<references/>

[[Category:Tobacco documents biographies|Rupert, Anton]] [[category:Africa]]