Capetonian Ariella Kuper is no stranger to breaking barriers. From steel trading in South America to auctioning assets worth multimillion Dollars, she’s made her mark.
Yet beyond her prowess in commercial asset sales lies a lesser-known but powerful story: her extraordinary impact on the world of charity auctions.
In 2025, the South African Institute of Auctioneers (SAIA) awarded Ariella its coveted “Charity Auction of the Year”, an accolade for the Imibala Trust Auction, founded and run by Gaynor Rupert, which raised an astonishing R13.5 million for underprivileged children in 2024. (An amount exceeded in this year’s auction, when Ariella’s efforts brought in R14.2 million.)
It was a crowning moment in what has become an inspiring legacy: raising close to R200 million in just a few years for charities across South Africa, the UK, and the United States. Her charity auction work includes milestone events such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup charity gala dinner, FW De Klerk’s annual Foundation dinners, and Nelson Mandela’s 83rd birthday celebrations.
And her involvement in the local Jewish community runs deep. She’s served on the Board of ORT SA Cape for well over a decade, and is a lifetime member of WIZO; she is also extensively involved with the UJC. In addition, Ariella has used her auctioneering skills to benefit SAFIM Art Collaboration in its quest to raise funds for SA scholarships and curatorial programmes. Her commitment to the cause is clear from the fact that she’s been involved with the SAFIM auction for the past ten years, and just recently raised R1.3million for the organisation at a dinner at Marble Restaurant.
Her involvement in charity auctions is not a sideline, it is a passion and a calling. Whether commanding the room at Francois Pienaar’s MAD Foundation dinners in New York and London, helping Woolworths raise millions through its gala events, or championing causes like Operation Smile, Ariella has leveraged her unique auctioneering skills to turn generosity into tangible results.
This work has had a marked impact in education, healthcare, and youth development. At the Imibala Trust, her efforts have helped support countless children with school uniforms, tuition, and learning support. Through the MAD Foundation, she’s helped fund academic scholarships for South Africa’s brightest students and, by partnering with causes like Operation Smile, she’s helped bring life-changing surgeries to children around the world.
She brings more than technical skill to these events: she brings energy, connection, and storytelling. Her auctions are not dry affairs; they are performances, enriched by her warmth, humour, and deep knowledge of the cause she supports. As she says, “You can’t fake belief in a cause. If you’re going to ask people to open their wallets, you need to open your heart first.”
Her philanthropic drive runs parallel to a formidable business career. After a decade as an international steel trader at Macsteel, she returned to South Africa and entered the auction sector.
Yet, despite these achievements in the professional arena, it is perhaps in the charity world where her legacy will be most deeply felt. For Ariella, the motivation is simple but profound: “What’s the point of having a platform if you don’t use it to lift others?” In the rarefied air of high-profile auctions, she brings heart to hammer, turning transactions into transformation. ●
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