How much South Africa’s richest man got paid in 2017
Compagnie Financière Richemont SA has released its annual report, revealing how much the company paid its directors and executives, including founder and chairman, Johann Rupert.
The Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company was founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert by the spin-off of the international assets owned by Rembrandt Group (now Remgro).
According to Bloomberg’s billionaire list, as of May 30, 2017, Rupert is the world’s 184st richest person, and the richest in South Africa, boasting a fortune of $7.80 billion, up $1.37 billion (R18 billion) so far in 2017.
Rupert sits as chair of the Richmemont board and draws a fairly consistent salary each year of around 3.2 million Swiss francs (CHF).
Due to fluctuations in the rand, Rupert’s 2017 salary equates to R43.3 million for the year.
The top three executives – including CEO, Richard Lepeu, CFO, Gary Saage, and CEO of Cartier, Cyrille Vigneron – totalled CHF 18,742,404 (R250 million).
Senior Executive Committee Pay
| Name | Role | Salary/benefits (CHF) | Total (CHF) | Total (ZAR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Lepeu | CEO | 3 961 567 | 8 896 886 | R118.6 million |
| Gary Saage | CFO | 2 487 049 | 6 861 496 | R91.5 million |
| Cyrille Vigneron | CEO of Cartier | 1 793 571 | 2 984 022 | R39.8 million |
| Johann Rupert | Chairman | 1 624 425 | 3 248 850 | R43.3 million |
The total remuneration for the Board of Directors – a total of 16 people, including Absa CEO, Maria Ramos, amounted to CHF 10,686,125 (R142.5 million), taking total compensation for the executive committee to CHF 29,428,529 (R392.4 million).
Compensation for the prior year ended March 2016 amounted to CHF 36,850,516 (R491.3 million), while the salaries of the three top executives for 2016 amounted to CHF 27,878,464 (R371.7 million) .
The large discrepancy between 2016 and 2017’s totals is the retirement of former joint CEO, Bernard Fornas who drew a R150 million salary that year.
The Swiss Franc equals R13.33 based on current exchange rates.
Read: South Africa’s richest man has already made a staggering amount of money in 2017
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