Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Four South Africans in the world’s richest 500

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index – a ranking of the world’s richest people – was updated today.

At the time of publishing, Elon Musk is still the richest person in the world, with a total net worth of $245 billion, followed by Gautam Adani with $145 billion, and Jeff Bezos with $140 billion.

Elon’s wealth dropped by more than $8 billion. And while Bezos’ wealth shrank by $1.28 billion, Adani’s wealth increased by $1.13 billion.

Bloomberg Billionaires Index

World’s richest billionaires

Mark Zuckerberg, who is 22nd on the list, boosted his wealth by $195 million since the last Index, despite his net worth plummeting by nearly $70 billion in 2022.

The Top 10 list is dominated by the Technology industry (Musk, Bezos, Bill Gates, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Steve Ballmer).

Other top industries include Industrial (Adani), Consumer (Bernard Arnault), and Energy (Mukesh Ambani).

South Africans on richest index

The World’s Richest 500 list has three South African entries beside Musk.

Johann Rupert and Family are listed at 215th with a net worth of $8.57 billion, after their wealth shrank by more than $270 million.

Nicky Oppenheimer is 235th on the list with a total net worth of R8 billion (after losing $50 million), while Natie Kirsh clocks in at $7.53 billion (after losing nearly $69 million).

Johann Rupert

The Rupert family owns nearly 25% of Reinet Investments, but most of their fortune is due to Cie Financiere Richemont holdings, the world’s largest luxury watchmaker.

The family holds investments in more than 30 companies, including RMB Holdings and Unilever South Africa.

On 6 April 2022, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) branded Rupert a ‘land thief’ and picketed at the family’s farms in Stellenbosch and Mpumalanga.

Party leader Julius Malema chose 6 April to coincide with the date Jan Van Riebeeck arrived in South Africa in 1652.

Nicky Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer had stakes in De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, as well as mining company Anglo American.

The EFF also targeted Oppenheimer in April 2022, saying the Ruperts and Oppenheimers “and many of these rich white families in SA are the face of land crime”.

NOW READ: Rupert, Oppenheimers are the faces of SA’s land criminals, says Malema

Natie Kirsh

Kirsh, whose biggest asset is Jetro Holdings, controls the Jetro Cash & Carry and Restaurant Depot stores across more than 30 states in the US.

Kirsh was born in Potchefstroom in 1932, and his family manufactured sorghum-malt. He took over the family business in 1952 after graduating from the University of Witwatersrand.

At the age of 26, he founded his own business in eSwatini, and began a milling and corn malt with his £1 200 (nearly R24 000) inheritance.

Kirsh later acquired a wholesale food operation in 1970 and moved his new business ventures to South Africa.

The biggest movers on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index can be viewed here.