The world believes Africa to be a broken child in need of fixing, development and an imminent threat to the world’s survival because of the way the continent has been portrayed. They believe Africa to be a hotbed of poverty, disease and hunger.
Each African country has had its own fair share of the targeted stereotypes. South Africa is not left out as Americans and Europeans perceive the country to be one devoid of food, high ranking in poverty and filled with illiterates.
Unlike what the country is being portrayed as, south Africa has distinguished itself as Africa’s second largest economy. South Africa is very rich in mineral resources and recognized to be the leading country in the world with highest mineral resources as a result of about 90% of the world’s Platinum metal deposit and 41% of world’s gold it has.
Top 10 Richest People in South Africa
Located on the southern tip of the African continent, South Africa is bordered by Namibia on the northwest, Zimbabwe and Botswana on the north and Swaziland to the northeast. South Africa is also the most industrialized and diversified economy in Africa.
The economy is based on a private enterprise, which is why entrepreneurs in the country keep ranking high in the list of richest men. Based on research on statistical earnings, here is the list of richest people in south Africa.
10. Lauritz Dippenaar – $730 Million
Lauritz Dippenaar also known as Laurie is a businessman, investor and chairman of FirstRand group. He was born on the 25th of October 1948. Lauritz Dippenaar is also a qualified chartered accountant. He is well known for his philanthropic activities and runs a scholarship programme for postgraduate students with south African citizenship to study in any international University outside south Africa. He currently has a net worth of $730 million.
9. Christofel Wiese – $1 Billion
Christoffel Hendrik Wiese is a south African billionaire and owner of ShopRite Holding Limited, the largest retailer shop in Africa with tentacles spread within 15 countries in Africa and Indian ocean island. Christoffel Weiss first started his career as a lawyer before his parents helped him to found Pepkor, a discount clothing chain. It was here he started out with ShopRite. He was worth about $6.8 billion before he dropped in rank with a net worth of $742 million. Currently he is valued at $1 billion.
8. Jannie Mouton – $1.06 Billion
Born in 1946, Jannie Mouton is the founder and present chairman of PSG group, an investment holding company and co-founder of Capitec Bank, one of the largest retail banks in south Africa. He first started his career at the age of 22 as a clerk. He began a stockbroking firm with his friends, but he got fired. He began to buy assets, one of which was PAG which he later changed its name to PSG. His current net worth is $1.06 billion.
7. Ivan and Lynette Saltzman – $1.1 Billion
Ivan and Lynette Saltzman are the co-founders of Dis-chem pharmacies Limited, a leading pharmacy retail and healthcare group in South Africa. Ivan and Saltzman first met in a university lecture room and has made a fortune in the pharmacy business ever since they both got married. The family’s combined net worth is estimated to be around $1.1 billion
6. Stephen Saad – $1.9 Billion
Born in June 1964, Stephen Saad first became a millionaire at the age of 29. He first started a prescription drug distribution company during the apartheid regime. Later, he become a cofounder of Aspen pharmacare, which has risen to be the largest producer of generic medicines in Africa. He is also the chairman of sharks, a rugby union club. His current net worth is estimated at $1.9 billion.
5. Michael Le Roux – $2.05 Billion
Michael Le Roux is a self-made billionaire, entrepreneur and co-founded Capitec bank with his friend Jannie Mouton. He worked at Distillers Corp, a Scottish drinks and pharmaceutical company with headquarters in south Africa before starting his own banking enterprise. Although he is a trained lawyer, he never practiced law. His net worth is currently estimated to be $2.05 billion.
4. Koos Bekker – $2.4 Billion
Born on December 14th,1952, Jacobus Petrus Koos Bekker is the current chairman of a media group named Naspers. The company has branches in about 130 countries of the world. Koo’s Bekker has a degree in law and literature, an MBA from Columbia Business School and a doctorate degree from Stellenbosch University. Koos Becker is also the founder of Mnet, which was later divided into two, one of which is Multichoice, a pay television with tentacles spread in 48 countries in Africa. He is married to Karen Roos and has a net worth of $2.4 billion.
3. Patrice Motsepe – $3.6 Billion
Born on the 28th of January 1962, Patrice Motsepe has made a name for himself by being not only South Africa’s 3rd richest billionaire, but also the first black billionaire in the country. He made his fortune from mining through his multifaceted mining company named African Rainbow Minerals. As a trained lawyer, Motsepe joined a law firm in 1988 and left later to start his mining company. He is the chairman of several boards and also the president of the Confederation of African football. He also owns Mamelodi Sundowns, a premier soccer league club. In 2012, he was named South Africa’s richest man but dropped in rank in later years. He is currently the country’s third richest man and richest black man with a net worth valued at $3.6 billion.
2. Nicholas Oppenheimer – $8.7 Billion
Nicholas Oppenheimer is the second richest man in South Africa and third richest in Africa. He is from a family recognized for controlling a spot in the trade of the world’s diamond. He first started out in his grandfather’s company, Anglo American and later resigned. He later became the chairman of De Beers company, the world’s leading diamond company and a subsidiary of Anglo American. In 2014, he began Fireblade aviation, an aviation company that specializes in operating chartered flights. His current net worth is estimated to be about $8.7 billion.
1. Johann Rupert – $11.3 Billion
Johann Rupert was born on June 1st, 1950, to a business tycoon, Anton Rupert. He is the richest man in South Africa and the second richest in Africa. In 1979, he founded Rand merchant bank, a leading corporate and investment bank in Africa. He is the chairman of a Swiss based luxury-goods company, Richemont. He also owns the South African based Remgro and the CEO of compagnie Financiers, Richmont. He was studying economics and company law before he dropped out to begin his career in business. The University, Stellenbosch later awarded him an honorary degree in economics. Johann Rupert is currently valued at $11.3 billion, placing him on the 183rd rank of world’s richest men after a downturn.