This amount was nearly halved on Tuesday as shares in the company dropped to R17.56, a loss of R28.09 or 61.53%, shortly after the JSE opened.<\/p>\n
According to Forbes’ real-time tracker<\/a><\/strong>, Wiese lost $2.1 billion (R28.3 billion)<\/strong> by 11:40AM on Wednesday. This equates to a loss of 54.2% of his total net worth since 5PM EST on Tuesday (midnight local time).<\/p>\n Bloomberg’s billionaire data<\/a><\/strong> shows that the Wiese’s wealth has taken a nosedive in the past week – with the billionaire losing $1.6 billion year-to-date. Bloomberg’s data has not been updated to reflect the events of the past 24 hours, reflecting changes to 5 December 2016.<\/p>\n Steinhoff was due to publish financial results on Wednesday, however that has been postponed because of accounting irregularities. Fund manager at Ashburton Investments, Wayne McCurrie said in a note on social media: \u201cThe effect must be material and can be a serious drag on the company and its reputation for years\u201d.<\/p>\n Chief executive officer Marcus Jooste resigned with immediate effect on Tuesday after the global furniture and clothing retailer reported irregularities in its accounts that require further investigation.<\/p>\n The owner of the France-based Conforama furniture store chain and Pep clothing stores in Africa has appointed auditor PwC to probe the matter, it said in a statement on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cSteinhoff will update the market as the aforesaid investigation proceeds. The Company will publish the audited 2017 consolidated financial statements when it is in a position to do so. In addition, the Company will determine whether any prior years\u2019 financial statements will need to be restated,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Bloomberg reported that the findings mark a striking turnabout for Wiese, who\u2019s taking over the CEO role on an interim basis.<\/p>\n Since he bought into the company in 2014, he\u2019s accelerated an acquisition drive alongside long-term ally Jooste, who has been with the retailer since 1988.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trust between Wiese and Jooste is broken, that is why Jooste is out,\u201d Syd Vianello, an independent retail analyst in Johannesburg, told Bloomberg by phone. \u201cWiese has got a huge amount of money at stake and it\u2019s in his best interest to ensure trust in the company is restored.\u201d<\/p>\n The turmoil has implications for Steinhoff Africa Retail, which was spun off from its parent in September, and Shoprite, in which Wiese is also the biggest shareholder.<\/p>\n Steinhoff Africa slumped as much as 29% in Johannesburg, while Shoprite plunged as much as 6.3%, the biggest fall in almost a year. Steinhoff Africa said CEO Ben la Grange, who\u2019s also chief financial officer of Steinhoff International, resigned.<\/p>\n \u201cI doubt Steinhoff will collapse,\u201d Owen Nkomo, CEO of Johannesburg-based money manager Inkunzi Wealth Group, told Bloomberg by phone. \u201cI would much rather take a chance and buy Steinhoff than Bitcoin.\u201d<\/p>\n You can find the real-time tracker here<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Rich-list.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n