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).
Luxury goods mogul Johann Rupert has historically ranked as the country’s richest man, however in September, Rupert lost his spot at the top to Retail tycoon, Christo Wiese.
Christo Wiese
Wiese, with a net worth of $6.5 billion (down from $6.8 billion in September) has since made way for Oppenheimer, whose wealth is derived largely from the sale of diamond group, De Beers, and other investments.
Oppenheimer, Wiese and Rupert lead the other wealthy individuals by some margin, with Rupert’s $6.3 billion net worth far ahead of number four in the country, Koos Bekker, who boasts a $1.7 billion fortune.
The other two billionaires listed are Aspen Pharma’s CEO, Stephen Saad (worth $1.2 billion) and Africa Rainbow Minerals head, Patrice Motsepe (worth $1.05 billion).
Notably, deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa is also listed, with a net worth of $450 million. Ramaphosa, who is billionaire Motsepe’s brother-in-law, pulled out of many of his business investments when he became deputy president of the ANC.
The sale of shares in investment firm Shanduka, in particular, fetched millions for the politician.
Cyril Ramaphosa
Other rand-billionaires listed are Pick N Pay’s Raymond Ackerman; Discovery Holdings CEO Adrian Gore; Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste; Capitec Bank founder and chairman Michiel Le Roux; and Italtile chairman Giovanni Ravazzotti.
These are South Africa’s richest people
| # | Name | Net worth ($m) | Net worth (Rm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicky Oppenheimer | 6 660 | 94 260 |
| 2 | Christo Wiese | 6 500 | 91 995 |
| 3 | Johann Rupert | 6 300 | 89 165 |
| 4 | Koos Bekker | 1 700 | 24 060 |
| 5 | Stephen Saad | 1 200 | 16 985 |
| 6 | Patrice Motsepe | 1 050 | 14 860 |
| 7 | Jannie Mouton | 970 | 13 730 |
| 8 | Laurie Dippenaar | 610 | 8 630 |
| 9 | Machiel Le Roux | 530 | 7 500 |
| 10 | Raymond Ackerman | 500 | 7 075 |
| 11 | Adrian Gore | 480 | 6 790 |
| 12 | Cyril Ramaphosa | 450 | 6 370 |
| 13 | GT Ferreira | 420 | 5 940 |
| 14 | Gus Attridge | 410 | 5 800 |
| 15 | Markus Jooste | 400 | 5 660 |
| 16 | Giovanni Ravazzotti | 330 | 4 670 |
Conversion done at USD 1 = ZAR 14.15
Although not listed by Forbes, South Africa has another dollar billionaire – Nando’s investor Dick Enthoven. According to Bloomberg, the reclusive executive is worth as much as $1.1 billion (R15.5 billion) thanks to the global chicken franchise.
More on the wealthy
South Africa’s top 10 richest suburbs
What South Africa’s richest 1% are worth
What if South Africa’s richest men gave all their money away?
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