Ex-pastor turns evangelist of wealth
By Lorna Tan
Pray, what could he do to help the poor? Mr Petrus Carstens wanted to make a difference to the lives of ordinary Africans.
For 15 years until 2002, he worked as a pastor in South Africa but could do nothing more than pray for them.
It was only in 2002 that MrCarstens, now 48, realised he could do more if he became a successful investor and created a wealth foundation.
He started reading feverishly on finance. He did well with property investments when South Africa had a real estate boom between 2002 and 2006.
His financial knowledge was boosted when he signed up for wealth coach Robert Kiyosaki's year-long Rich Dad coaching programme in 2006.
'My aim is to accumulate US$100 million (S$137.9 million) in cash and US$350 million in property and other investments, with a passive and portfolio income of US$2 million to US$3 million per month. I want to use this money for economic empowerment programmes in the developing world,' said Mr Carstens.
He aims to set up his wealth foundation in the next five years.
Among his many businesses are a hotel, an upcoming shopping centre and a licence for an organic waste-water purification system.
He also conducts wealth management programmes, under his firm Ample Wealth, for individuals in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Malaysia.
Mr Carstens studied economics for three years before switching to theology. He obtained a theology degree from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, in 1989.
He became a pastor in 1987 and, while ministering, obtained a masters in theology from the same university in 1994.
He is married to world champion cyclist Cathy Fair, 47, who runs a physiotherapy practice in South Africa. They have a son, Deon, 18, and a daughter, Margi, 16.
Q: Money-wise, what were your growing up years like?
I come from a family of five and I have two younger sisters. My mother was a housewife while my father was a diplomat for the South African government. He never spoke about money or taught us about money. It was a comfortable life and I never had to think about money.
We lived in Nelspruit, close to Krueger Park, in a single-storey brick house with a land area of 19,400 sq ft.
When I started working, I never valued money and never saved. Even as a minister, I could create extra revenue but I either gave it away or lost it. I was trapped in a middle-class mentality. I learnt to respect money only when I realised my life purpose and understood that I could not fulfil that purpose without respecting money.
At that time, I was a minister of 4,500 people but I had a vision of changing the lives of 450,000 people who lived in a culture of poverty.
