South African business magnate Johann Rupert has been named Africa’s richest man for 2024, succeeding Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote.
Forbes Real-Time Billionaires revealed this in a ranking platform that tracks day-to-day alterations to the net worth of the most high-net-worth individuals in the world.
Dangote, the founder of the Dangote Group conglomerate, dropped to second place after his wealth dropped from $13.5 billion in 2023 to $9.7 billion as of Thursday, January 4, 2024, a $3.8 billion loss.
Rupert’s net worth also decreased from $10.7 billion in 2023 to $9.9 billion in the same period in 2024.
Johann Rupert is the chairman of Compagnie Financière Richemont, a Swiss luxury goods company.
Cartier and Montblanc are two of the company’s most well-known brands.
It was founded in 1998 as a spinoff of Rembrandt Group Limited (now Remgro Limited), which his father Anton founded in the 1940s.
He owns 7% of the diversified investment firm Remgro, which he chairs, as well as 26% of Reinet, a Luxembourg-based investment holding company.
Rupert has been a vocal opponent of plans to allow fracking in the Karoo, a region of South Africa where he owns land.
Also, Abdul Samad Rabiu, the chairman of BUA Group, and Mike Adenuga, the chairperson of Globacom, lost their positions on the billionaire list.
According to Forbes’ ranking, Adenuga’s wealth dropped from $6.3 billion in 2023 to $3.1 billion on Thursday, while Rabiu’s decreased from $7.6 billion to $5.7 billion.
Consequently, Adenuga moved to the 10th position from the 6th, while Rabiu moved from the 4th position to the 6th.