Health Is Wealth

Lynette and Ivan Saltzman met in a university lecture room, got married and together made a fortune delivering health.

- Ancillar Mangena

This husband and wife duo founded Dis-Chem, one of South Africa’s fastest growing pharmacies. It is a specialist in beauty, health food, sport supplements and health and wellbeing. The company reported an impressive R17.4 billion ($1.46 billion) turnover in its full financial year results for the year ending February 2017, giving it a R30.43 billion ($2.56 billion) market capitalization. 

It is big money. 

As we meet, it is a clear summer’s day in Greenside, Johannesburg. Clarity has played a big part of Lynette and Ivan’s life. On this day, they feel the warmth of success born of a strong family bond.

“You know Ivan used to stay upstairs when he first moved to Johannesburg to study,” says Lynette as the pair walk into the studio for this interview and photoshoot.

Inside, the fan moves sluggishly through the stifling air as the power couple sit for a rare interview.

“I had an inclination towards retail from early age and I’m happy we now employ 15,000 people,” says Ivan with utmost humility.

It is an empire built through passion and love. Four decades later, you can still see it in their eyes whenever they look at each other.

It all started in a pharmacy class in 1972. 

“We were doing a science experiment and he lent me an eraser or something like that and that’s basically how we met. We started dating quite soon thereafter and we got engaged in our final year,” says Lynette.

Once married and working as pharmacists, Ivan says he was frustrated about how things were done at his workplace in Mondeor, south of Johannesburg. He had many ideas of how to make the business more profitable so he made an offer to buy out the owner.