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Africa’s largest stock exchange and the most overvalued bourse on the continent, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is home to over 473 listed entities that are jointly valued at R17.90 trillion ($1.20 trillion).
The 20 richest investors on the exchange jointly control 1.05 percent of the bourse’s $1.2 market capitalization, which amounts to $12.6 billion.
This is higher than the market capitalization of all the listed companies on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange and Uganda Stock Exchange.
Based on figures derived from investment agencies, the latest annual reports and confirmations from capital market registrars, these are the 20 richest people who own stocks listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
The value of their shares is based on prices at the end of trading on Aug. 20, and valuations are converted to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates.
#1 Patrice Motsepe
Net worth on the JSE: $2.5 billion
Holdings: African Rainbow Minerals, Sanlam, African Rainbow Capital Investments
South Africa’s first black billionaire is the founder of African Rainbow Minerals, a diversified mining and minerals company with long-life, low unit cost operations. ARM mines iron ore, manganese ore, chrome ore, platinum group metals (PGMs), nickel and coal. Motsepe owns 46 percent of the company – a shareholding worth $1.7 billion. He has a 7.8-percent stake in financial services giant Sanlam and 27 percent of African Rainbow Capital Investments.
#2 Michiel le Roux
Net worth on the JSE: 1.3 billion
Holdings: Capitec
South African billionaire banker Michiel le Roux founded Capitec Bank in 2001 and owns a 10.84-percent stake. Roux served as chairman of the board of Capitec from 2007 to 2016 and continues to serve as a board member.
#3 Johann Rupert
Net worth on the JSE: $1.2 billion
Holdings: Remgro, Reinet Investments S.C.A
Johann Rupert owns 1 percent of Remgro’s publicly traded ordinary shares and controls all of Remgro’s class-B shares through Rembrandt Trust. He also owns 24.9 percent of Reinet Investments S.C.A, an investment vehicle that is listed on the Luxembourg and Johannesburg stock exchanges.
#4 Ivan Saltzman & family
Net worth on the JSE: $1.005 billion
Holdings: Dis-Chem
Through his Saltzman Family Trust, Ivan Saltzman owns 54.41 percent of Dis-Chem Pharmacies – the second-largest retail pharmacy chain in South Africa, with 165 stores, plus operations in Namibia and Botswana. His stake is worth $1,005,089,100.
#5 & 6 Najib & Taha Mikati
Net worth on the JSE: $871,670,150
Holdings: MTN
Najib Mikati, a former prime minister of Lebanon, and his brother Taha Mikati, own a combined 6.74-percent stake in MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile telecoms company. They hold the stake through their M1 Limited, their private investment company. The Mikati brothers are both billionaires.
#7 Giovanni Ravazzotti
Net worth on the JSE: $850.9 million
Holdings: Italtile
Giovanni Ravazzotti is the founder of Italtile, South Africa’s biggest leading franchisor, retailer and manufacturer of tiles, bathroom ware and related products. He owns 33.88 percent of Italtile through Rallen Proprietary Limited. His stake is worth $850,975,438.
#8 Christoffel Wiese
Net worth on the JSE: $ 762.7 million
Holdings: Shoprite, Brait, Invicta
Christoffel Wiese owns 11.44-percent of Shoprite Holdings, which has supermarkets and furniture stores across various African countries. His other assets include an 18.23-percent stake in investment company Brait and 20 percent of Invicta.
#9 Stephen Saad
Net worth on the JSE: $710.7 million
Holdings: Aspen Pharmacare
Stephen Saad owns a 12.55-percent stake in Aspen Pharmacare Holdings, the pharmaceutical company he founded.
#10 Isaias Jose Calisto
Net worth on the JSE: $694.3 million
Holdings: Karooooo
Isaias Jose Calisto is the founder and controlling shareholder of Karooooo Investment – a leading global mobility SaaS platform. Karooooo owns Cartrack, a South African Software-as-a-Service “SaaS” platform provider for small, medium and large businesses and consumers requiring a software platform for data analytics to optimize fleets, driver behavior, insurance risk, safety and asset recovery. Calisto owns a 65.97-percent stake in Karooooo. Karooooo Investment is primarily listed on the Nasdaq, but was listed on the JSE in April via secondary listing.
#11 Laurie Dippenaar
Net worth on the JSE: $556.4 million
Holdings: Firstrand, Rand Merchant Investment
Laurie Dippenaar and his family trust own 1.76 percent of Firstrand. That stake is valued at $395.6 million. In 1977, Dippenaar founded FirstRand’s predecessor, Rand Consolidated Investing, along with Paul Harris and Gerrit Ferreira. Dippenaar also owns 4.81 percent of Rand Merchant Investment.
#12 Adrian Gore
Net worth on the JSE: $455,950,540
Holdings: Discovery
Adrian Gore is the founder and CEO of South Africa’s leading medical insurer, Discovery Holdings. He owns 7.98 percent of the company.
#13 Raymond Ackerman & Family
Net worth on the JSE: $482,442,768
Holdings: Pick N Pay
Ninety-year-old Raymond Ackerman and his family own a 26.07-percent stake in Pick n Pay Group.
#14 Johannes Mouton
Net worth on the JSE: $316,976,162
Holdings: PSG Group
Johannes Mouton and his family own a 29.35-percent stake in financial services giant PSG Group. His son, Petrus, is PSG’s CEO.
#15 Michael “Gus” Attridge
Net worth on the JSE: $194,449,495
Holdings: Aspen Pharmacare
Michael Attridge co-founded Aspen Pharmacare with Stephen Saad in 1997 and currently owns a 3.41-percent stake in the company. He serves as deputy CEO and finance director of the company.
#16 Jonathan Jawno
Net worth on the JSE: $180,916,038
Holdings: 10.27-percent stake in Transaction Capital
#17 Steven Herring
Net worth on the JSE: $174,215,444
Holdings: 87.23 percent of Heriot REIT
#18 Gerhardus Fourie
Net worth on the JSE: $117,531,829
Holdings: 0.86-percent stake in Capitec Holdings.
#19 J. Le Roux
Net worth on the JSE: $100,577,325
Holdings: 1.64-percent stake in Shoprite Holdings
#20 Stanley Richard Goetsch
Net worth on the JSE: $100,508,910
Holdings: 5.41-percent stake in Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited
Mfonobong Nsehe contributed to this report. Send comments to news@billionaires.africa.
