Meet South Africa’s millionaire property CEOs – earning R254,000 a day
The five largest property companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) have a combined market capitalisation of a staggering R119.9 billion, resulting in notable CEO paydays—earning a collective R254,247 per day.
As a CEO, you have to deal with a lot of stress and challenges. In South Africa, CEOs face unique circumstances that can make their job even tougher.
The CEOs of companies operating in South Africa have to navigate a complex business environment.
Economic conditions, political instability, and high levels of inequality pose significant obstacles for CEOs trying to lead their companies to success.
In addition, CEOs in South Africa have to deal with operational challenges like fluctuating exchange rates, skills shortages, and unreliable infrastructure.
These factors can hinder growth, increase costs, and put a lot of pressure on the CEO’s role.
This is especially true for property CEOs in South Africa in 2024, as many of them are facing tough conditions.
Growthpoint Properties, in its annual results, noted that South Africa’s property landscape has faced unprecedented challenges, including low domestic growth, volatile global markets caused by interest rates that remain higher for longer and rising geopolitical tension.
Vukile Property CEO Laurence Rapp added that the cost of capital in the country is probably the biggest challenge facing property groups locally at the moment.
He cited the company’s inability to make at least R5 billion of a potential R7 billion in acquisitions in South Africa work because of the cost of capital.
Additionally, until interest rates started falling in South Africa and globally, Rapp said it was going to make more financial sense to invest offshore.
The problem is that although interest rates are high around the world, they are comparatively higher in South Africa, which dilutes potential local acquisitions.
Despite these challenges, these CEOs are still expected to deliver results and face intense scrutiny from various stakeholders, such as shareholders, employees, and government bodies.
CEO pay
Considering the challenges faced by companies operating in South Africa, BusinessTech examined the top five JSE-listed companies by market capitalisation to determine their CEOs’ salaries.
To standardise the salaries in this article, the total remuneration amounts were converted to rand using the applicable exchange rate as of 20 June 2024.
Total remuneration includes:
- Guaranteed pay;
- Benefits;
- Short-term incentives;
- Long-term incentives.
Surprisingly, the CEO of the third largest JSE-listed property company, Vukile Property, is the highest-paid on our list. The group reports a notable market cap of R18.7 billion.
In 2023, Laurence Rapp, the CEO of Vukile Property, received a total compensation package of R23.2 million, which includes base salary, short-term incentives, cash bonuses, benefits, and long-term incentive plans.
This works out to roughly R63,562 every day.
The second highest-paid CEO is Norbert Sasse of Growthpoint Properties, which is the biggest property company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
He earned R22.4 million or R61,370 per day. The third is Andrew König (CEO of Redefine Properties), who earned R18.1 million or R49,589 per day.
The second lowest-paid CEO among the top companies was Resilient Reit’s Des de Beer, who earned R17.6 million or R48,219 per day.
The lowest paid was Hyprop’s Morné Wilken, who still earned a massive earned R11.5 million or R31,507 per day.
The complete list of the top 5 JSE-listed property companies, showing their respective market caps and CEO pay, is given in the table below.
| Company | Market cap | CEO | Annual salary | Average Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vukile Property | R18.7 billion | Laurence Rapp | R23.2 million | R63,562 |
| Growthpoint Properties | R42.9 billion | Norbert Sasse | R22.4 million | R61,370 |
| Redefine Properties | R29.1 billion | Andrew König | R18.1 million | R49,589 |
| Resilient Reit | R16.6 billion | Des de Beer* | R17.6 million | R48,219 |
| Hyprop | R12.6 billion | Morné Wilken | R11.5 million | R31,507 |
| Total | R119.9 billion | R92.8 million | R254,247 |
Read: How much you need to earn to be in the richest 1% in South Africa
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