A Profile of Peet Viljoen

lawyer, businessman, philanthropist

Peet Viljoen is a qualified lawyer, a well-known and respected businessman in the beauty industry, and a philanthropist who believes in giving back to communities wherever he can.

Growing up in the farming town of Hendrina in Mpumalanga, Peet quickly realised that in order to make a life for himself beyond a poor upbringing and a small town, he would have to grasp every opportunity to rise above his circumstances. Sent to boarding school at the age of 5, he quickly learned how to fend for himself, and it was here that both his keen sense of justice, and his entrepreneurial mindset, were born.

“I witnessed many injustices at boarding school, and it sparked in me the desire to become a lawyer, which would give me the tools to help set right injustices in the future,” says Peet. “I also learned very quickly that everything is for sale, and the best way to get ahead was to learn how to do business. I had to pay people to help me do things I was too little to do, and I learned early on the value of money and earning a living.”

Peet chose his passion for the law and the justice system as his first career, enrolling at the University of Pretoria for a B.Proc. after his compulsory four years of military service. “I was only 16 when I started Matric, having started school so young, but even as a teenager I was resolute in my decision to one day practice law,” he says. “I finished studying in 1994, and the following year I was admitted as an attorney after completing my articles.

I put my heart and soul into being a lawyer, growing my practice to the point where I was representing the top people in the country. Part of me wanted to prove to my family that I could be the first one in our family to successfully graduate from university and pursue a professional career, and the other part was driven by my personal ambition and my passion for the law.”

Peet chose his passion for the law and the justice system as his first career, enrolling at the University of Pretoria for a B.Proc. after his compulsory four years of military service. “I was only 16 when I started Matric, having started school so young, but even as a teenager I was resolute in my decision to one day practice law,” he says. “I finished studying in 1994, and the following year I was admitted as an attorney after completing my articles.

I put my heart and soul into being a lawyer, growing my practice to the point where I was representing the top people in the country. Part of me wanted to prove to my family that I could be the first one in our family to successfully graduate from university and pursue a professional career, and the other part was driven by my personal ambition and my passion for the law.”

Peet chose his passion for the law and the justice system as his first career, enrolling at the University of Pretoria for a B.Proc. after his compulsory four years of military service. “I was only 16 when I started Matric, having started school so young, but even as a teenager I was resolute in my decision to one day practice law,” he says. “I finished studying in 1994, and the following year I was admitted as an attorney after completing my articles.

I put my heart and soul into being a lawyer, growing my practice to the point where I was representing the top people in the country. Part of me wanted to prove to my family that I could be the first one in our family to successfully graduate from university and pursue a professional career, and the other part was driven by my personal ambition and my passion for the law.”