South African billionaire Johann Rupert is now the richest man in Africa – BusinessTech

Johann Rubert has overtaken Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote to claim the title as Africa’s richest person.

This is according to recent data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

As of 29 August 2024, Rupert’s estimated net worth was $14.1 billion (R250.53 billion), an increase of $1.7 billion (R30.21 billion) year-to-date (YTD).

This net worth makes him and his family the richest on the continent and the 147th richest globally.

Rupert built a business empire on a wide range of products and services in the luxury goods, food, media and broadcasting, private healthcare, tobacco, and telecoms industries.

The businessman attended the University of Stellenbosch to study economics but dropped his studies to join his father’s business in 1984.

He inherited the family business from his father, Anton Rupert, and has expanded it from mostly tobacco to become a multi-billion-dollar luxury goods venture.

After joining his father’s company, Johann spun off Rembrandt’s international assets to create Compagnie Financiere Richemont, a Swiss luxury goods holding company. This new company includes brands such as Cartier and Montblanc.

He acquired a significant portion of his wealth primarily through significant holdings in Richemont, as well as stakes in Remgro, a South African investment firm with stakes in more than 30 companies, and Reinet Investments.

In 2000, Rembrandt underwent a restructuring, which resulted in the formation of two publicly traded holding companies—Remgro and Venfin.

Remgro managed Rembrandt’s traditional assets, while Venfin acquired the technology-oriented assets.

Rupert was appointed chairman and CEO of Richemont in 2000. In 2008, the company’s non-luxury-related activities were spun off into Reinet Investments.

Today, Rupert is the chairman of Remgro, Richemont and Reinet. The family owns a controlling stake in all three companies.

According to Bloomberg, the rise in Rupert’s net worth this year was largely buoyed by strong performances in the luxury goods sector.

While the abovementioned ventures have contributed significantly to his wealth, an analysis by Daily Investor seen below shows just how diverse Rupert’s business ventures are.

The companies that he has a stake in include:

Other billionaires

Nigerian industrial tycoon Dangote was listed by Forbes magazine in January as Africa’s richest man for the 13th year in a row.

However, economic woes in Nigeria have meant that he has seen his net worth decrease by $1.71 billion (R30.37 billion) this year, bringing his net worth to $13.4 billion (R237.94 billion), making him the second richest person in Africa and 158th globally.

South Africa’s Nicky Oppenheimer is ranked as the third richest person in Africa. His estimated net worth is $11.3 billion (R200.5 billion), up $1.45 billion (R25.77 billion) this year. This makes him the 214th richest person in the world.

Nassef Sawiris, from Egypt, is the continent’s fourth richest person, with an estimated net worth of $9.53 billion (R169.26 billion).

This is followed by South African investor Natie Kirsh, who completes Africa’s ‘big-five’ of billionaires with a net worth of $9.15 billion (R162.51 billion).

Looking at the 10 richest people globally, the Bloomberg index ranks them as:

Read: The number of jobs Johann Rupert’s empire has created in South Africa