Cape Town — Forbes has released the 2023 edition of its World’s Billionaire List and two South Africans rank in the top 250 wealthiest people in the world, with the richest man in the country having an estimated net worth of $11.1billion, an increase of 25% from last year.
The list also revealed that nearly half of all billionaires are poorer than a year ago with all of the world’s billionaires now worth $12.2 trillion which translated to a drop of $500 billion from $12.7 trillion in March 2022.
Johann Rupert was the highest-ranking South African on the list, coming in at 157 with a net worth of $11.1 billion. The 72-year-old is the son of business tycoon Anton Rupert. He is the chairperson of the Swiss-based luxury goods company Richemont and the South Africa-based company Remgro.
Nicky Oppenheimer — heir to the DeBeers diamond fortune — ranked 242 with a net worth of $8.4 billion. Oppenheimer saw a $2 million decrease in his net worth from last year.
Outside of the top 250 are South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe, Koos Bekker, and Michiel Le Roux.
Motsepe is the founder and chairperson of African Rainbow Minerals who became the first black African on the Forbes list when he became a billionaire in 2008. His net worth for 2023 stands at $2.7 billion.
Bekker who is revered for transforming South African newspaper publisher Naspers into an e-commerce investor and cable TV powerhouse has a net worth of $2.4 billion.
Meanwhile, Le Roux carries a fortune of $1B. He founded Capitec Bank in 2001 and owns roughly a 9% stake.
The top 10 richest people in the world:
- Bernard Arnault & family ($211B)
- Elon Musk ($180B)
- Jeff Bezos ($114)
-
Larry Ellison ($107B)
- Warren Buffett ($106B)
- Bill Gates ($104B)
- Michael Bloomberg ($94.5B)
- Carlos Slim Helu & family ($93B)
- Mukesh Ambani ($83.4B)
- Steve Ballmer ($80.7B)
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Pixabay
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
