Table of Contents
South African billionaire Johann Rupert has seen his net worth increase by nearly half a billion dollars in the past five days, as shares in his luxury goods holding company Richemont sustained a recent surge in their market value.
Rupert is the richest man in South Africa with a fortune worth more than $12.1 billion, 50-percent higher than his $8.16-billion wealth valuation at the beginning of 2021.
The $400-million surge in his net worth in recent times takes his wealth gain since the year began to $4.04 billion, making him the only African billionaire with such a staggering wealth gain in 2021.
The billionaire amassed the majority of these wealth gains from his stake in Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods holding that he founded in 1988. Rupert holds a substantial stake in the behemoth through a family trust.
Data gathered by Billionaires.Africa revealed that his wealth at the opening of business and trading activities on Dec. 6, five days ago, was estimated at $11.7 billion.
Sustained buying interest in the shares of the luxury goods company, which saw the share price rise by 4.3 percent, caused Rupert’s net worth to surge to $12.1 billion, accruing gains of $400 million for the billionaire in five days.
So far in 2021, his net worth has increased by $4.04 billion, driven by an 83-percent price surge in Richemont’s shares for the year. The strong share performance was delivered off the back of resilient financial results in the current accounting period.
The luxury goods holding in the first six months of its 2022 financial year, which ended on Sept. 30, recorded strong double-digit increases in Maisons, businesses and channels, causing its sales to rise by 63 percent from €5.48 billion ($6.18 billion) last year to €8.91 billion ($10.05 billion).
The strong double-digit growth across its business segments, coupled with lower operating costs and improved profit margins, led earnings to surge by 686 percent from €159 million ($179.4 million) to €1.25 billion ($1.41 billion) during the half-year period under review.
