According to Forbes, the wealth of six South African billionaires climbed this year, despite the shaky start to 2024.
According to data from the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list, the wealth of these South African billionaires has increased by $4.6 billion (R83 billion), or R461 million per day, since January.
Johann Rupert is the richest South African on both the Forbes Real-Time Billionaire List and the Forbes Billionaire List 2024.
Nicky Oppenheimer and his family are the second wealthiest on both the Forbes Billionaire List 2024 and the Forbes Real-Time Billionaire List.
The four remaining billionaires are Koos Bekker, Christoffel Wiese, Patrice Motsepe, and Michiel le Roux.
According to Forbes, Johann Rupert is the chairman of Compagnie Financiere Richemont, a luxury goods company notable for brands such as Cartier and Montblanc.
He also owns 7% of Remgro, serves as chairman, and has a 27% stake in Reinet.
Nicky Oppenheimer is the heir to De Beers. In 2012, Oppenheimer sold 40% of the company to mining conglomerate Anglo American for $5.1 billion in cash.
In 2014, Oppenheimer founded Fireblade Aviation, a charter aviation company.
Christoffel Wiese founded Pepkor by offering discounted prices in the country and later expanded into other African countries.
In 2015, furniture retailer Steinhoff International paid $5.7 billion in cash and equity for Pepkor.
Wiese stepped down as chairman of Steinhoff in 2017 after the company revealed wrongdoing. This caused the share price to fall, and Wiese lost his billionaire status.
Wiese recovered his billionaire status in 2022, when his battle with Steinhoff was resolved for cash and stock, including a 5% stake in Pepkor.
Patrice Motsepe, founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, achieved billionaire status in 2008. He’s the first black African on the list.
Motsepe founded African Rainbow Capital in 2016, which focuses on investing. He owns a share in Sanlam and serves as the president and owner of Mamelodi Sundown Football Club.
Koos Bekker is the head of media conglomerate Naspers. In 2001, he led the $34 million acquisition of one-third of Tencent Holdings, a Chinese internet business.
In 2019, Naspers invested in MultiChoice and Prosus, both of which have Tencent stakes. Naspers currently owns 25% of Tencent after selling a portion of their investment.
Michiel le Roux is the creator of Capitec, which he established in 2001. He holds 11% of the shares.
Capitec Bank trades on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Le Roux served as chairman of the board from 2007 to 2016. He continues to be a board member.
