South Africa has quite a number of billionaires, with many of them even ranking substantially among the richest people in the world. Rooting from a variety of industry backgrounds, South African billionaires have significantly contributed to building the country’s economy.
Despite the devastating impacts the global pandemic had on businesses around the world, almost all South African billionaires accumulated their wealth over the last year except for one whose fortune declined by almost 23% compared to the previous year.
Five of South Africa’s richest people were featured on Forbes World’s richest list, with two local billionaires ranked among the richest 250 people in the world. We are fortunate to have some of the richest people in South Africa ranked amongst the best internationally.
Here is a list of 5 wealthiest people and their net-worth in South Africa according to Forbes list 2022
https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/
On top of the list is luxury goods magnate Johann Rupert.
Ranked at #230 on World Billionaires (2022) and #2 Africa’s Billionaires (2022) with an estimated net worth of $11.0 billion, Rupert maintains his position as South Africa’s richest man with shareholding in a large number of South African and international companies.
According to forbes, Rupert owns 7% of diversified investment firm Remgro, which he chairs, as well as 25% of Reinet Investments SCA an investment holding company that is listed on the Luxembourg and Johannesburg stock exchanges. He is also the Chairman of the world’s largest Swiss luxury goods firm, Cie Financiere Richemont a Switzerland-based company best known for the brands like Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Montblanc.
Nicky Oppenheimer
Ranked at 241 amongst the world’s wealthiest people and at ranked 3rd in Africa’s richest people list, is mining magnate Nicky Oppenheimer.
The former chairman of De Beers diamond mining company and Diamond Trading Company, and former deputy chairman of Anglo American is in second place with an estimated fortune of $8.7 billion.
According to billionaires.africa his net worth has increased by over $225 million, thanks to the revaluation of his private equity assets held through private equity investments in Africa, Asia, the United States, and Europe through London-based Stockdale Street and Johannesburg-based Tana Africa Capital. Tana Africa recently exited Regina, Egypt’s second-largest pasta manufacturer and the leading producer of durum wheat flour.
Oppenheimer is the chairman of Fireblade Aviation in Johannesburg, which operates chartered flights. He also owns at least 720 square miles of conservation land across South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.
Patrice Motsepe
Ranked #913 on the world’s richest list and # 9 on Africa’s Billionaires (2022) is South Africa’s 1st black billionaire on the Forbes list, businessman and mining tycoon Patrice Motsepe.
Founder and CEO of a private equity firm, African Rainbow Capital, that focused on investing in Africa and owner of the South African soccer team Mamelodi Sundowns. Motsepe has also served `as President of Sport’s governing body on the continent the Confederation of African Football, since March 2021.
He also owns a stake Investmentsa According to Billionares.Africa report, Motsepe owns 46 percent of the ARM company – a shareholding worth $1.7bn. He has a 7.8 percent stake in financial services giant Sanlam and 27 percent of African Rainbow Capital Investments and earns an estimated net worth of $3.3 billion.
Koos Bekker
Media mogul Koos Bekker, whose wealth declined by 23% over the last year to $2.3 billion from $3 billion. Ranked #1341 on the world’s wealthiest list and the 10th richest man in Africa with an estimated Net worth: of $2.3 billion.
Bekker is the chairman of media group Naspers, the largest market capitalization of any media company outside the U.S. and China. The company operates in 130 countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Michael Le Roux
Ranked at #14 on Africa and 1645 on the world’s richest people list is South Africa’s billionaire banker Michael Le Roux.
The founder of Capitec Bank which trades on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange targets South Africa’s emerging middle class. Micheal owns about an 11% stake according to Forbes, He also served as chairman of the board of Capitec from 2007 to 2016 and has continued as a board member.
Apart from these billionaires in South Africa, here are other business moguls listed in the JSE with massive investments in different sectors across the globe.
Ivan Saltzman & Family
Ivan and Lynette Saltzman are the founders of Dis-Chem, the second-largest retail pharmacy chain in South Africa, with a net-worth of $1.005 billion. According to billionaires.africa report published in December 2021 the pair hold a joint 45.2-percent stake in the group.
Christoffel Wiese
Christoffel was last featured on Forbes in 2018 with a net worth of $1.1billion. However, his net worth has dropped following a scandal involving one of his companies. He recently regained his billionaire status according to biznews.com published Feb 2002 and his net worth is valued at R14bn ($910m).
A share of Wiese’s wealth is derived from his position as the executive director and major shareholder in the South African retail giant Shoprite. He’s also a major shareholder in Pepko Brait, which owns Premier Foods, Virgin Active, and UK clothing group New Look and serves as the chairman of Invicta Holdings Limited.