There are 16 African billionaires on Forbes’ list of billionaires – an increase of three – and it includes South Africans, Moroccans, Nigerians and Egyptians.
Below is the 15 Richest People In South Africa:
No.1 Nicky Oppenheimer & family
Net Worth:
$6.8 billion – As of March 2012
Source of wealth: De Beers, inherited
South Africa’s Richest Person: #1
Age:66 , Citizenship : South Africa , Residence: Johannesburg, South Africa
Marital Status: Married, Children:1
Nicky Oppenheimer is worth $6.8 billion. He is the richest person in South Africa and is the 139th richest person in the world. How did he get rich? He is the chairman of De Beers diamonds, of course, and also has a significant interest in Anglo-American plc, the gold mining company. He also owns Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, the largest private game reserve in South Africa.
No.2 Johann Rupert & family
Net Worth:$5.1 billion - As of March 2012
Source: Luxury goods, inherited and growing
Age: 61 , Citizenship: South Africa, Residence: Stellenbosch, South Africa
Marital Status: Married, Children:3
Johann Rupert is the second-richest person in South Africa, being worth $5.1 billion. He is the 199th richest person in the world, and made his money from Richemont, the Swiss luxury group that owns Cartier, Dunhill, Chloe bags and MontBlanc pens. The company purchased online fashion portal Net-a-Porter. Remgro, his South African holding company purchased VenFin earlier in 2010. He also owns Rupert & Rothschild and L’Ormarins wine estates, and one of South Africa’s most exclusive golf clubs.
No.3 Christoffel Wiese
Net Worth: $2.7 billion – As of March 2012
Source: Consumer retail, self-made
Age:70 , Citizenship: South Africa
Marital Status: Married, Children: 3
Christoffel, or Christo as he’s more commonly known, is the fourth-richest person in South Africa. He is worth $2.7 billion and made his money as CEO of Shoprite. He also owns a stake in Pepkor, a discount clothes, shoes and textiles store in South Africa, and is known for restoring a South African farm estate and remodelling it into a five-star hotel. Other assets include Lourensford Estate, the wine producer, and a private game reserve in the Kalahari. He is the 782nd richest person in the world.
No.4 Patrice Motsepe
Net Worth:$2.7 Billion – As of March 2012
Source: Mining, self-made
Age:50 ,Citizenship: South Africa , Residence: Johannesburg, South Africa
Marital Status: Married, Children:3
Patrice Motsepe is South Africa’s third-richest person, worth $2.7 billion. He made his money in mining and is the 442nd richest person in the world. His money is the result of the purchasing of low-producing gold mine shafts in 1994, which he made profitable. Since then, he has built African Rainbow Minerals, benefiting as a result of South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws. He also owns a stake in Sanlam.
South Africa’s Millionaires as of 2011 according to Forbes:
#5 Lauritz (Laurie) Dippenaar
Net Worth: $750 Million, Source: Banking, Insurance
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 63
#6 Stephen Saad
Net Worth: $640 Million, Source: Pharmaceuticals
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 47
#7 Raymond Ackerman
Net Worth: $545 Million, Source: Retailing
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 80
#8 Gerrit Thomas (GT) Ferreira
Net Worth: $460 Million, Source: Banking, Insurance
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 63
#9 Jannie Mouton
Net Worth: $300 Million, Source: Financial services
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 64
#10 Michiel Le Roux
Net Worth: $290 Million, Source: Banking
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 62
#11 Adrian Gore
Net Worth: $280 Million, Source: Financial services
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 47
#12 Cyril Ramaphosa
Net Worth: $275 Million, Source: Investments
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 59
#13 Giovanni Ravazzotti
Net Worth: $275 Million, Source: Ceramics, Tile
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 68
#14 Markus Jooste
Net Worth: $260 Million, Source: Furniture retailing
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 50
#15 Paul Harris
Net Worth: $250 Million, Source: Banking
Citizenship: South Africa , Age: 61
[See full list on Forbes.com]
