The list, which tracks the world’s richest people, includes Capitec Bank founder, mining giants, Cartier Luxury jewellery founder, and now Le Creuset owner.
Another South African has entered the dollar-billionaire chat, making him the eighth from SA on Forbes’ real-time list of billionaires.
The list, which tracks the world’s richest people, includes the founder of Capitec Bank, mining giants, the founder of Cartier Luxury jewellery, and now the owner of Le Creuset. Le Creuset, founded in 1925, is a premium French cookware brand best known for its colourful, enamel-coated cast iron pots and pans.
The Forbes real-time list of billionaires provides ongoing updates on the net worth and ranking of each individual Forbes confirms as a dollar-billionaire.
New to Forbes List
The latest South African addition to the Forbes real-time list of billionaires is Paul van Zuydam, the man who bought Le Creuset when it was in financial trouble.
The 87-year-old also serves as Le Creuset’s president. He also happens to be the oldest richest South African.
He is number 2 210 on the list, making him the eighth-richest person in SA. Van Zuydam has a net worth of $1.7 billion (over R28 billion). Under his leadership, Le Creuset has been able to expand without taking on debt since 2001.
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How Forbes ranks the richest
A person’s net worth is calculated by subtracting their liabilities (debts and obligations) from their assets (everything they own of value).
Assets include cash, investments, real estate, businesses, and luxury items. Liabilities include mortgages, loans, and other debts.
For billionaires, their business holdings (like shares in a company) often make up the most significant part of their net worth. Since stock values fluctuate, their net worth changes frequently, so Forbes tracks it in real time.
Forbes says, “The value of individuals’ public holdings is updated every five minutes when respective stock markets are open. Individuals whose fortunes are significantly tied to private companies will have their net worths updated once a day.”
The richest South African
Johann Rupert has maintained his number one spot as South Africa’s richest person. On the list, he sits in the 160th spot.
The 75-year-old is known for founding the Swiss-based luxury goods company Richemont in 1988. The company makes brands such as Cartier and Montblanc.
Rupert has a net worth of $16.3 billion (over R270 billion). Apart from Richemont, he has a significant stake in Remgro, which has a presence in FirstRand and Medi Clinic, among others.
Other South African billionaires
Nicky Oppenheimer
The second richest South African is 80-year-old Nicky Oppenheimer. He is an heir to the De Beers diamond fortune. He sold his 40% of the firm to mining group Anglo American for $5.1 billion in cash in 2012.
On the Forbes list, he sits at 291, with a net worth of $10.5 billion (over R175 billion). Oppenheimer was the third generation of his family to run De Beers and took the company private in 2001.
For 85 years, until 2012, the family occupied a controlling spot in the world’s diamond trade.
Koos Bekker
Koos Bekker is sitting at 1048 spot on the list, making him the third richest South African. The 73-year-old is known for his leadership at newspaper publisher Naspers, where he transformed the company into an e-commerce investor and cable TV provider.
Forbes says that in 2019, Naspers put some assets into two publicly traded companies: entertainment firm MultiChoice Group and Prosus, which contains the Tencent stake.
Bekker has a net worth of $3.8 billion (over R63 billion). He is also known for developing luxury hospitality estates such as Babylonstoren (SA), The Newt in Somerset (UK), and Vignamaggio (Italy), with a focus on food, wine, gardens, and history.
Patrice Motsepe
The fourth-richest South African is mining magnate Patrice Motsepe. On the list, he sits in 1 073rd place, with a net worth of $3.7 billion (over R61 billion).
Forbes maintains that Motsepe is the first black African on the list. He is the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, and he became a billionaire in 2008.
The 63-year-old also has a stake in Sanlam, and is the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club.
In March 2021, he was elected president of the Confederation of African Football.
Michiel Le Roux
Capitec Bank founder Michiel Le Roux is the fifth dollar billionaire in SA, ranked at 1 253 on the list.
The 76-year-old has a net worth of $3.2 billion (over R53 billion). He founded Capitec Bank in 2001 and owns about 11% of the bank’s shares.
He served as chairman of Capitec’s board of directors from 2007 to 2016 and remains a board member. Le Roux previously ran Boland Bank, a small regional bank in Cape Town’s hinterland.
Jannie Mouton
PSG group founder, Jannie Mouton, previously the seventh-richest South African, is now the sixth. On the Forbes list, he is ranked at 1710.
The 78-year-old also serves as the group’s chairman and has a net worth of $2.3 billion (over R38 billion).
PSG has interests in financial services, banking, private equity, agriculture and education. His sons serve on PSG Group’s board, and the other son, Piet Mouton, is the CEO.
The 2011 book, And Then They Fired Me, details how Mouton started PSG Group after getting fired at age 48. His fellow partners had fired him from Senekal, Mouton & Kitshoff, a stockbroking firm he cofounded.
Christo Wiese
Christo Wiese is now the seventh-richest South African, down from sixth. The 84-year-old ranks 2 081st on the Forbes overall list.
He is the founder of Pepkor and Shoprite’s chairman, with a net worth of $1.8 billion (over R30 billion).
He stepped down as Steinhoff chairman in December 2017 after the company disclosed accounting irregularities. Its share price plummeted, and Wiese lost his billionaire status.
“Wiese regained his nine-figure fortune in 2022 when he settled his dispute with Steinhoff for cash and stock, including a 5% stake in Pepkor.
“His most valuable asset is Shoprite, but he also holds stakes in real estate firm Collins Property Group, investment holding company Brait, and industrial products distributor Invicta Holdings.”
Here is how South Africans ranked on the Forbes list earlier this year.
The richest in the world
The top five richest people in the world are Elon Musk (net worth of $744.6 billion), followed by Larry Page (net worth of $257.6 billion), Larry Ellison (net worth of $249.4 billion), Jeff Bezos (net worth of $243.9 billion), and Sergey Brin (net worth of $237.7 billion).
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