Top 15 richest men in South Africa: To the world Africa is seen as a broken economy because there are a lot of untapped resources, both human and natural, but South Africa still boasts as one of the strongest economies in the continent and has rich and affluent people.
In fact, the second richest man in Africa is a South African. If you want to be like some of this men you have to work really hard and learn about money, how to handle it, and invest it for greater returns.
This list comprises of those who live in South Africa and not in diaspora. Let’s dig in.
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Top 15 Richest/Wealthiest Men in South Africa 2024
1. Johann Rupert:
Overview: He is the richest person in South Africa with a networth of 9.11 billion. The chairman of Swiss luxury good firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont.
Business background: Rupert served as a business apprentice in New York City where he worked for Chase Manhattan for two years and for Lazard Freres for three years. In 1979 his return to South Africa prompted the Rand Merchant Bank, and he occupied the position of CEO.
History/ background: Johann Rupert grew up in Stellenbosch and attended Paul Roos Gymnasium and the University of Stellenbosch. The eldest son of businessman, conservationist and philanthropist Anton Rupert. Initially studying company law and economics he dropped out to pursue a career in business.
Origin of wealth and industry: Johann Rupert is the chairman of Swiss luxury goods firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont, known for the brands Cartier and Montblanc and the South Africa-based company Remgro. The company was formed in 1988 through a spin-off of assets owned by Rembrandt Group Limited (now Remgro Limited). This company was formed by his father, Anton Rupert in 1940. His main office is located at Groot Paardevlei in Somerset Wes.
Extent of wealth: Johann Rupert is the richest person is South Africa and the second richest in the continent. According to 2022 estimates he has a total of 9.4 billion USD. Rupert’s networth has been reported to have jumped from 9 billion to 11 billion in 2021, due to an increase in share price of his companies. According to Forbes magazine, this made him the biggest dollar gainer on the list.
Age: 1 June 1950 (age 71 years).
Place of residence: Cape Town Citizenship: South African
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2. Nicholas F. Oppenheimer:
Overview: is a South African Billionare business man. He was the former chairman of De Beers diamond minning company and its subsidiary, the diamond trading company. With a networth of 8.7 billion he ranks as the second richest person in South Africa in 2022. He is the grandson of Ernest Oppenheimer, the founder of Anglo American.
History/ background: Nicholas Frank Oppenheimer was born June 8, 1945, in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was born to Bridget and Harry Oppenheimer, and his father was of German Jewish decent. He was enrolled in Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, earning an Oxford MA.
Business background: Nicholas has served as chair and board numerous times throughout his business career, let’s take a look at some of his positions:
a. On joining Anglo-american in 1968 Nicholas was appointed director in 1974, then deputy chairman in 1983.
b. In 1984 he was appointed deputy chairman of the Central Selling Organization.
c. In 1985 deputy chairman of De Beers Consolidated Mines.
d. He also served as Chairman of Diamond Trading Company in 1985 and chairman of De Beers Group. (1998–2012.).
He hit the top spots after selling a 40% stake in De Beers to Anglo American for $5.1 billion in cash in 2012.
Origin of wealth and industry: He is a rough diamond merchant who now owns Fireblade Aviation in Johannesburg. He is the third generation family member to own De Beers, and in 2012 he sold 40% stake to the Anglo American company for $5.1 billion in cash, in 2014 it was announced that he owned Fireblade Aviation that offers chartered flights.
Extent of wealth: At a networth of $8.7 billion which he has amassed from his business and positions in De Beers he stands at the second richest person in South Africa.
Age: 8 June 1945 (age 76 years).
Place of residence: Johannesburg.
Citizenship: South Africa.
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3. Christoffel Wiese:
Overview: Christoffel Wiese is a South African business man and billionare whose source of wealth is consumer retail.
History/ Background: Christoffel Wiese was born in Upington, South Africa. He attended Paarl boys school in Western cape region of south Africa. He then proceeded to Stellenbosch university to obtain a BA and LLB degree.
Business background: After graduation, Wiese practiced law for some years, then worked as a Director at Pepkor, a retail chain his parents founded in 1965. Pepkor has branches in Africa, United Kingdom, Australia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and New Zealand.
He is the founder of ShopRite which started out as a chain of eight supermarkets in Cape Town that was purchased for 1 million Rand. Over the years Wieses wealth has increased out of proportion. This is largely due to his investment in the retail business he started, ShopRite. Currently ShopRite operates more than 2,943 stores across Africa and employs more than 140,000 people. It’s arguably the largest retail chain in Africa. His 10.67% stake is valued at R 14bn ($910m).
He is also PEP stores company chairman, owning 44% share of the company. Wiese has been known to make some smart moves to improve his networth, holdings and expand his businesses. In no particular order let’s take a look at some of them:
A. Christoffel is the owner of ShopRite who grew the outlet from eight supermarkets to a business spread across Africa due to various aquisitions. This same method he used to acquire Senta and expand the business through franchising.
B. Wiese is a wise enterprenure. Despite claiming to make money from retail business only, he actually makes wealth from purchasing struggling retail stores. He purchased Bazaars from South African Breweries for one Rand in 1997, inserting furniture and supermarkets to it that made it grow and provide a lot of jobs to the area.
C. He has heavily invested in seven companies listed on the stock exchange market, making him a major shareholder in all of them.
D. He owns other companies: Lanzerac Manor & Winery and wine producer Lourensford Estate.
Origin of wealth and industry: His main source of wealth is consumer retail but he gains also from acquiring retail companies that are underperforming and expanding them through franchising.
Extent of wealth: His networth stands at $5.4 billion, making him the richest man in South Africa.
Age: Born 10 September, 1941 Christopher is 80 years old.
Place of residence: Cape Town
Citizenship: South Africa.
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4. Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe:
Overview: Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe is the founder and executive chairman of African rainbow minerals and at $3.6 billion USD he is the fourth richest person in South Africa.
History/Background: Was born in Pretoria, South Africa to a father who was a school teacher and small business owner. His small business has the name Sapaza shop, which was popular with blackmine workers. This is where he had first hand knowledge of mining and business. He earned a BA in Arts and Law from University of Swaziland and the University of the Witwatersrand respectively, specializing in mining and business law.
Business background: In 1994 he became the first black African in the law firm Bowman Gilfillan, that was the same year that Nelson Mandela became president. This brought about a combined effort for the government to begin promoting black empowerment and enterprenurship.
Motsepe later made his fortune through his various mining companies that expanded in 2004. It provides contract minning services with a very good payment system that combines a lowbase salary with profit sharing bonus. The group of companies is now known as African Rainbow Minerals (ARM)
Origin of wealth and industry: Motsepes business interests started from hanging around his father and watching him do business, but then he expanded this out of control. He purchased marginal gold mines from AngloGold when it was the most favourable time of the year.
AngloGold sold six gold mine shafts for $7.7 million. AngloGold sold the mine shafts with an agreement that he would pay his depts from future earnings of the company. That was only the beginning.
Extent of wealth: Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe is wealthy, with a networth of 3.6 billion USD he is the fourth wealthiest South African in the world.
Age: 28 January 1962 (age 60 years)
Place of residence: Johannesburg
Citizenship: South Africa.
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5. Koos Bekker:
Overview: Is a South African Billionare and businessman who is renouned for his vast background in education.
History/Background: Koos Beeker is renouned for not just being an adroit business man but for his vast educational background. He attended Hoer Volkskool in Heidelberg, South Africa for his secondary school Education. He then earned a BA in Literature (1972) and BA in law from Stellenbosch University (1975). He went for his LLB in Witwatersrand (1978), then an MBA degree from the Columbia Administration, in 1984.
Business background: His business life started when he founded multichoice, he is also founding director of the mobile communication company MTN. In 1997 Bekker also became CEO of Naspers.
Origin of wealth and industry: Bekker is the chairman of the media group Naspers.
He founded Multichoice and is the director of MTN.
Extent of wealth: 2.3 billion USD (2022)
Age: Born: 14 December 1952 (age 69 years).
Place of residence: Cape Town.
Citizenship: South Africa.
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6. Michiel Le Rou:
Overview: Michiel Le Rou is a South African business man known for finding Capitech bank in 2011.
History/Background: Michiel Le Rou grew up in South Africa and resides in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Business background: Michiel started his business career at Boland Bank in Cape Town. He then held a position as managing Director of Distillers Corporation from 1979 to 1993, and from 1995 to 1998. He was also a Managing Director of Boland PKS, NBS Boland and BoE Bank. He then went on to find Capitech bank in 2011 that focuses on the middle class in South Africa and he owns 11% shares in the company.
Origin of wealth and industry: He is the founder of Capitech Bank and has served in many managerial and directorship positions in companies. His industry is the banking industry.
Extent of wealth: His wealth is estimated at 2 billion USD.
Age: 75
Place of residence: Stellenbosch
Citizenship: South Africa.
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7. Stephen Saad:
Overview: Stephen Saad is the chief executive officer of Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd, the leading drug manufacturer in the country.
History / background: Born to Lebanese immigrant parents and raised in Durban, South Africa and attended the Durban high school in South Africa. He proceeded to the University of Natal where he received a Bachelor of Commerce, then to Ireland to become an accountant.
Business background: He worked in a black township for Quickmed, a drug disturtion company in a blacktownship during arpatheid. He went on to sell his share in Covan Zurich for US$3 million, he then went on to co-found Aspen Pharmacare together with Gus Attridge in 1997. Aspen Pharmacare care has grown to have 26 manufacturing facilities at 18 sites on six continents and has more than 10,000 staff. He is the Chief executive and his partner is the deputy Chief executive.
Origin of wealth and industry: His wealthy life started when he sold his shares $3 million to Covan Zurich and his wealth is gotten from the Pharmacitical industry.
Extent of wealth: $1.4 billion.
Age: June 1964 (age 57).
Place of residence: Durban, South Africa.
Citizenship: South Africa.
8. Allan Grey:
Overview: was a South African Billionare business man and philanthropist.
History/Background: The particular birthplace of Allan Grey remains hidden, but his country of birth is known to be South Africa.
Business background: He founded the Cape-Town based investment management firm Allan Grey Limited in 1973. He founded Orbis Investment Management, an asset manager in 1989.
Origin of wealth: His wealth steems from the money he has made through investment management companies.
Extent of wealth: At the time of his death he had an estimated $1.5 billion net.
Age: (8 April 1938 – 10 November 2019).
Place of residence: South Africa.
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9. Ivan and Lynette Saltzman:
Overview: Ivan and Lynette Saltzman are a Billionare couple that own the Pharmacitical conglomerate Dis-Chem Pharmacitical.
History/background: Ivan and Lynette Saltzman are married with children.
Business background: Dis-chem is a Billionare Pharmacitical company that was started in 1978 by Ivan and Lynette Saltzman. Their first location was opened in Johannesburg. They introduced the concept of discount pharmacies in South Africa.
Origin of wealth: they are the owners of Ds-chem Pharmacitical company worldwide.
Extent of wealth: Their combined networth is estimated to be over a Billion dollars.
Age: Ivan is 71 years old.
Place of residence: Johannesburg, South Africa.
10. Jannie Mouton:
Overview/background: Jannie was born in 1946 at Carnarvon, South Africa. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Stellenbosch University where he studied accounting.
Business background: Mouton, at 22, started his career as a clerk at PwC. He became a chattered accountant in 1973. In 1995 Mouton was fired from Senekal, Mouton & Kitshoff a firm he Co founded. This was before he founded PSG Group.
Origin of wealth: Earnings from PSG Group.
Extent of wealth: His networth fluctuates between $1 billion and $1.1 billion.
Age: 1946 (age 75–76).
Place of residence: Stellenbosch, South Africa.
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11. Gerrit Thomas (GT) Ferreira – $420 million
Age: 73 residence: Stellenbosch beginning of wealth/ industry: Banking and insurance.
Gerrit Thomas (GT) Ferreira is the co-founder of taken into consideration one of the maximum critical financial offerings corporations in South Africa, and his net worth is $420 million. Most of his riches come from his stocks in RMI Holdings for insurance and RMB Holdings that offers with banking, wherein he is the non-government chairman.
The 2 corporations are subsidiaries of FirstRand organization, which he co-founded together with his brothers.
12. Cyril Ramaphosa – $450 million
Age: 69 residence: South Africa basis of wealth/ employer: Mining, financial offerings, and meals enterprise (stakes in Coca-Cola and McDonald’s South African subsidiaries) Cyril Ramaphosa, the reigning president of South Africa, is one of the richest human beings in South Africa. He has a internet worth of $450 million.
The president have grow to be rich earlier than securing his modern-day-day political seat. He was the chairman of Shanduka employer, a role he stepped down from while he changed into appointed vp in 2014. In may additionally 2015, he offered his 30% stake in Shanduka institution.
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13. Adrian Gore – $480 million
Age: 57 residence: Johannesburg starting place of riches/ enterprise: monetary services Adrian Gore founded Discovery Holdings, one of South Africa’s leading medical insurers. His business enterprise is indexed on the Johannesburg stock alternate, and he is worth approximately $480 million.
Except South Africa, it has operations in the united states and the United Kingdom. He has an eight% stake inside the commercial enterprise and is the leader government officer.
14. Raymond Ackerman – $500 million
Age: 91 house: Cape town beginning of wealth/ industry: Retailing
Raymond Ackerman is a reputable retailer with a net worth of $500 million.
He based pick N Pay institution, a grocery store chain with at least 870 shops in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia. Because of age, he no holds executive responsibilities on the commercial enterprise, however his own family owns forty eight% of the establishment.
15. Douw Steyn: Douw Steyn is many of the wealthiest South African with an predicted net well worth of $seven hundred million. He is the founding father of BGL agency, a uk-based insurance and economic offerings organization, and the discern of Comparethemarket.Com. Douw Steyn internet truly really worth: $seven hundred million.
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If I was a Billionare I would sale the Atlantic and Pacific ocean, go to the moon, marry hundred thousand wife’s. I would give to the less privilege in Asia, treat every kid with malaria in rural Africa and travel the world, while making sure I eat my breakfast, lunch and dinner in my different houses in the world. What would you do if you have a billion dollars? You can do well to comment below.
Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.