White rhinos for sale, one careful owner: tycoon looks for a billionaire to buy his conservation ranch
Wanted: an animal-loving billionaire who might consider buying 1,993 threatened white rhinos instead of a new superyacht or a Picasso, or a Picasso onboard a superyacht.
John Hume, a South African multimillionaire who started a rhino breeding project with about 200 animals 30 years ago, is selling all the rhinos and the 8,500-hectare (21,000 acres) conservation ranch where they live in what must rank as one of the most unusual ever online auctions.
Bids for the farm, 100 miles south-east of Johannesburg, start at $10m (£8m) and close at 5pm on Monday 1 May – international save the rhino day. Also included alongside the rhinos – which make up about 10% of the world’s total rhino population – are 213 buffaloes, five hippos, seven zebras and 11 giraffes.
Hume, 81, who made his fortune building timeshare resorts, said he was selling up after spending $150m on the project and he could no longer continue to support the rhinos.
“I’ve used all my life savings spending on that population of rhinos for 30 years. And I finally ran out of money,” he said. “I’m hoping that there is a billionaire that would rather save the population of rhinos from extinction than own a superyacht.”
His daughter-in-law Tammy Hume said Hume called an emergency family meeting last year when he realised he would soon no longer be able to meet the £8,000-a-day cost of securing and feeding the rhinos. The farm employs about 100 people, including vets, rangers and security guards to protect the animals from poachers. There is also a helicopter for air patrols.
Hume said selling the Platinum Rhino Project was the only option, after failing to overturn a global ban on selling rhino horn to fund the farm. The horn, which is used as an ingredient in traditional
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