The 16 Richest People In South Africa Right Now

Forbes has ranked the 50 richest people in Africa in 2015 – and 16 South Africans have made the list, supplanting Nigeria which dominated in 2014.

According to Forbes, one-third of Africa’s richest business leaders live in South Africa, including six of Africa’s 23 billionaires.

However, a tough economic market, as well as the weakness of the rand versus the US dollar, means that the fortunes of the country’s richest have shrunk over the past year.

The 16 South Africans ranked by Forbes have a combined net worth of $28.45 billion (R402.7 billion), led by Nicky Oppenheimer, with $6.66 billion (R94.3 billion).

Johann Rupert and Family – $11.6 billion

Much of Johann Rupert’s wealth has been built off the success of his father, Anton, who started the Voorbrand Tobacco Company in the 1940s.

This company soon became known as the Rembrandt Group, following a period of strong growth.

Johann revolutionised Rembrandt, leading the spin-off of its international assets into Compagnie Financiere Richement.

Remgro was formed in the early 2000s following a merger of two of Rupert’s businesses – Rembrandt and VenFin. Johann is still the chairman of Remgro.

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

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

Nicky Oppenheimer and family – $9.5 billion

Nicky Oppenheimer decided to sell 40% of DeBeers to Anglo in 2012, which raised $5.2 billion in cash. He started Fireblade Aviation in 2014, which operates chartered flights.

Nicky’s father, Harry, was the chairman of De Beers and the mining giant Anglo-American.

The Oppenheimer family contribute to conservation efforts in Southern Africa and owns 720 square miles of land across South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.

Patrice Motsepe – $3.1 billion

Patrice Motsepe made most of his money through his mining company, African Rainbow Minerals, which he launched in 1997.

African Rainbow Minerals was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2002. It merged with Harmony Gold and acquired Anglovaal Mining’s unproductive mines in 2003.

After this merger, Motsepe took up the role of executive chairman of ARM – a position he holds to this day.

Ubuntu-Botho Investments (UBI), Motsepe’s investment vehicle, acquired a significant stake in Sanlam as the insurer’s black empowerment partner in 2004.

As of 2022, UBI owns 17.8% of Africa’s largest non-banking financial services group, and Motsepe is currently deputy chairman of Sanlam. 

Koos Bekker – $2.8 billion

Koos Bekker is the chairman and former chief executive of the global technology powerhouse Naspers.

Bekker steered the company away from traditional media and into pay television, mobile communication, and internet services.

Bekker’s visionary investment in Tencent, a nascent Chinese tech company in 2001, cemented his financial success.

This gamble proved remarkably successful, as Tencent’s subsequent rise drove Naspers’ own growth trajectory.

Bekker’s wealth, tied to stock options within Naspers, benefited immensely from this strategic decision.

In addition to his stake in Naspers, Bekker owns several wine estates in South Africa, including the well-known Babylonstoren in Stellenbosch.

He also owns other properties across the country and abroad, including a multi-million-pound estate, The Newt, in Somerset in the United Kingdom.

Michiel le Roux – $1.4 billion

Koos Bekker is the chairman and former chief executive of the global technology powerhouse Naspers.

Bekker steered the company away from traditional media and into pay television, mobile communication, and internet services.

Bekker’s visionary investment in Tencent, a nascent Chinese tech company in 2001, cemented his financial success.

This gamble proved remarkably successful, as Tencent’s subsequent rise drove Naspers’ own growth trajectory.

Bekker’s wealth, tied to stock options within Naspers, benefited immensely from this strategic decision.

In addition to his stake in Naspers, Bekker owns several wine estates in South Africa, including the well-known Babylonstoren in Stellenbosch.

He also owns other properties across the country and abroad, including a multi-million-pound estate, The Newt, in Somerset in the United Kingdom.

Christo Wiese – $1.3 billion

Christo Wiese was born in Upington in 1941 and went on to matriculate from Paarl Boys High and graduate with an LLB from Stellenbosch University.

Wiese joined Pep as a director under Renier van Rooyen. Wiese’s father was one of the first investors in Pep, which began in small towns in rural Karoo.

He oversaw its expansion from a group of eight supermarkets into a company that employs over 150,000 workers and has a market value of R132 billion.

Wiese remains the largest individual shareholder in Shoprite, with 10.67%, second only to the Government Employees Pension Fund.

These are South Africa’s richest people

About The Author

Sophie Rosemont

Independent journalist, writes culture section for Vogue since 2015. She studied at the Sorbonne where teaches literature, the history of music and cinema. Based in Paris, France.

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