South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s net worth slumps by $500 million to $2.6 billion

Patrice Motsepe, a South African billionaire and mining tycoon, has seen his net worth plummet by half a billion dollars since the year began due to the depreciation of the rand and a decline in the market value of his positions in Ubuntu-Botho Investments, a top investment holding company.

According to data obtained from Forbes, a leading U.S. business magazine, Motsepe’s net worth has dropped by $500 million since the start of this year, from $3.1 billion to $2.6 billion at the time of writing this report.

The news comes after a report revealed that the billionaire’s net worth had dropped by $400 million between Jan. 1 and Aug. 10 due to recent stock sell-offs and a decline in the value of the South African rand against the U.S. dollar.

The recent drop in his net worth places him among the African billionaires who have seen a significant drop in their wealth since the beginning of the year, as their companies continue to face a double whammy of valuation challenges and a difficult operating environment, while implementing strategies to improve earnings and asset quality.

The performance of his equity interests in a number of private companies through his investment holding company, Ubuntu-Botho Investments, can be linked to the sustained decline in his net worth.

In addition, the rand’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar has had a significant impact on the valuation of African Rainbow Minerals, a leading South African mining and minerals company that he founded in 1997 as the country’s first Black-owned mining firm.

According to ARM’s recently published financial statements, the company’s profit at the end of its 2022 fiscal year fell by more than seven percent, from R15.47 billion ($895 million) in 2021 to R14.36 billion ($830.5 million) in 2022, due to a drop in iron ore prices.