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South Africa’s richest man Johann Rupert saw his net worth fall by more than a billion dollars in September, as his stake in Richemont continues to fall precipitously, closely mirroring the shares of the leading group on the Swiss Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Richemont is the dual-listed Swiss luxury goods holdings company.
According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index data, Rupert’s net worth fell by $1.05 billion between Sept. 1 and 30, falling from $9.37 billion to $8.32 billion.
The billion-dollar drop in his net worth follows a $610-million decrease in August, bringing his year-to-date wealth loss to $3.55 billion, making him the only African billionaire to have lost more than $3 billion since the beginning of the year.
In comparison, the year-to-date wealth loss is greater than the annual GDP of 11 African countries, including Liberia, Lesotho, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Seychelles, and South Sudan.
Despite his $3.55-billion net worth drop, Rupert remains Africa’s second-richest man, trailing only Nigerian billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote. He is still South Africa’s richest man, ahead of Nicky Oppenheimer, who has a net worth of $8.32 billion.
As one of the richest businessmen in Africa, Rupert derives the majority of his $8.3-billion wealth from his 9.14-percent stake in Richemont, a luxury goods company that owns a diverse portfolio of premium brands including Chloe, Dunhill, Alaa, Cartier, and Delvaux.
Richemont shares have fallen by more than 27 percent since the year began, falling from CHF139.6 ($11.7) to CHF100.05 ($101.4).
Meanwhile, the market value of Rupert’s 9.14-percent stake in the luxury goods group has dropped from more than $6.5 billion to $5.84 billion at the time of writing.
