5 of the top 10 richest people in South Africa are dollar billionaires constituting 25% of Africa’s total dollar billionaires. Unsurprisingly, all the South African dollar billionaires are 70 years old, but 1, Patrice Motsepe, is 60 years old.
While most South African dollar billionaires made their wealth from scratch, two, Nicky Oppenheimer and Johann Rupert, inherited a significant portion of their fortunes.
Here is a list of the 10 richest people in South Africa in order of richness.
Johann Rupert – $10.7 billion
Johann Rupert stands as the richest man in South Africa. He is the chairman of Compagnie Financiere Richemont, SA, a Swiss luxury products company famous for internationally recognized brands Montblanc and Cartier. In South Africa, the company runs Remgro company.
- Net worth: $10.7 billion
- Rank in 2022: 1
- Net worth in 2022: $11 billion
- Origin of wealth: Luxury goods Inherited and growing
- Age: 72
- Residence: Cape Town
Nicky Oppenheimer – $8.4 billion
Nicky or Nicholas Oppenheimer is the second richest man in South Africa. He was the chairman of De Beers diamond mining company and all its subsidiaries. His grandfather, Ernest Oppenheimer, started Anglo American. He made his wealth partly through inheritance and mining. Currently, the South African dollar billionaire owns Fireblade Aviation.
- Net worth: $8.4 billion
- Rank in 2022: 2
- Net worth in 2022: $8.7 billion
- Origin of wealth: Diamonds Inherited
- Age: 77
- Residence: Johannesburg
Patrice Motsepe – $3.1 billion
Patrice Motsepe founded and chairs the African rainbow minerals. He made his wealth through mining. Unlike the first two South African dollar billionaires, Motsepe is self-made and has built most of what he owns from the ground up.
- Net worth: $3.1 billion
- Rank in 2022: 3
- Net worth in 2022: $3.1 billion
- Origin of wealth: Mining, Self-made
- Age: 60
- Residence: Johannesburg
Koos Bekker – $2.6 billion
Bekker is the brains behind multichoice. He is also a founding director of MTN, a South African mobile communication company.
- Net worth: $2.6 billion
- Rank in 2022: 4
- Net worth in 2022: $2.7 billion
- Origin of wealth: Media, Investments, Self-made
- Age: 70
- Residence: Cape Town
Stephen Saad – $1.4 billion
Saad is the CEO of Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. In 1997, Stephen co-founded Aspen Pharmacare with Gus Attridge. The company has grown over the years to control 26 manufacturing outlets and has a presence in over 6 continents.
- Net worth: $1.4 billion
- Rank in 2022: 5
- Net worth in 2022: _
- Origin of wealth: Pharmaceutical industry
- Age: 59
- Residence: Durban
Michiel Le Roux – $1.2 billion
Michiel is the brains behind Capitech Bank. He has served at the top level in many companies over the years before founding his bank in 2011. He owns 11% of Capitech Bank, which aims at meeting the needs of middle-class South Africans.
- Net worth: $1.2 billion
- Rank in 2022: 6
- Net worth in 2022: $1.7 billion
- Origin of wealth: Banking Self-made
- Age: 73
- Residence: Stellenbosch
Christoffel Wiese – $1.1 billion
Christoffel made billions in consumer retail. He founded Shoprite, a chain store that has since grown to operate in different countries across the African continent.
- Net worth: $1.1 billion
- Rank in 2022: 7
- Net worth in 2022: _
- Origin of wealth: Consumer retail
- Age: 82
- Residence: Cape Town
Ivan and Lynette Saltzman – Over $1 billion
Ivan and Lynette Saltzman are a power couple who rose to wealth through their pharmaceutical conglomerate dubbed Dis-Chem Pharmaceutical.
- Net worth: Over $1 billion
- Rank in 2022: 8
- Net worth in 2022: _
- Origin of wealth: Ds-chem Pharmaceutical company worldwide
- Age: Ivan is 73 years
- Residence: Johannesburg
Jannie Mouton – Over $1 billion
Jannie co-founded Senekal, Mouton & Kitshoff, which he was fired from in 1995. Later, Mouton started PSG Group – an investment company.
- Net worth: Over $1 billion
- Rank in 2022: 9
- Net worth in 2022: _
- Origin of wealth: Earnings from PSG
- Age: 77 years
- Residence: Stellenbosch
Lauritz (Laurie) Dippenaar – $610 million
Laurie made his millions in financial services. He was a co-founder of Rand Consolidated Investing. After several mergers and acquisitions, the multimillionaire started the FirstRand Bank – a leading bank/financial institution in SA.
- Net worth: Over $610 million
- Rank in 2022: 10
- Net worth in 2022: _
- Origin of wealth: Financial Services
- Age: 74 years
- Residence: South Africa
People Also Ask
How many dollar billionaires are there in South Africa?
5, namely Nicky Oppenheimer, Johann Rupert, Patrice Motsepe, Michiel Le Roux, and Koos Becker. According to Forbes Africa, South Africa tops the list of African countries with the most dollar billionaires in 2023. Forbes used currency exchange rates and stock prices of January 2023 to determine the billionaire’s respective net worth.
Who is the richest family in SA?
Johann Rupert and family. He has an estimated net worth of R161 billion.
Who is the richest female in South Africa?
Wendy Appelbaum. She has an estimated net worth of R2.6 billion
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