Mzansi's favorite son (sorry, Siya) believes investing in the arts could give the big jump in GDP the country needs. And he learned that by owning and driving a minibus taxi – the jury is still out on whether it was a Quantum, Hiace or Sprinter.
“I was a taxi driver for about a year and a half of my life in Johannesburg… I was lucky enough to have my own taxi, so being a taxi driver/owner was a rare privilege,” Trevor Noah told a silent audience at the opening cocktail evening at the Standard Bank African Markets Conference 2026.
The Emmy-winning host, comedian and chief executive officer of Microsoft said: “One of the amazing things about being a taxi driver is that you learned very quickly what you were investing in and where your money was coming from.”
He explained the direct market effects of the capital expenditure: “I knew that if I bought the right sound system, schoolchildren would come in my taxi.”
“The amount of money you make after school will change dramatically depending on how many subwoofers you have behind your back.”
large scale taxonomics
It was a lot to take in, especially when the supreme clown had only one short and pointed quip in response to the power outage as soon as he took the stage: “I'm sorry, I travel with load shedding so I always feel at home wherever I go.”
In…