Nicky Oppenheimer, the second-richest person in South Africa, saw a significant increase in his net worth over the past 19 days thanks to the recent rise in the value of publicly traded companies following last week’s new bear market lows.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the fortunes of the world’s 500 wealthiest people, revealed that Oppenheimer’s net worth has increased by $100 million, from $7.83 billion on Oct. 1 to $7.93 billion at the time of writing this report.
The multimillion-dollar increase in his net worth above $7.9 billion scaled back his year-to-date wealth loss to just $25 million, down from more than $100 million 19 days earlier, amid a recent boost in the valuation of publicly traded companies after their shares fell to record lows.
The majority of Oppenheimer’s fortune is derived from private equity investments in Africa, Asia, the United States, and Europe through Stockdale Street in London and Tana Africa Capital in Johannesburg.
He has been involved in private equity for decades, though many of his investments were made after his family’s 40-percent stake in De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, was sold to mining conglomerate Anglo-American in 2012.
Aside from his investments in Stockdale and Tana Africa Capital, a private equity joint venture he established with Singapore-based investment fund Temasek Holdings, Oppenheimer continues to hold investments in 4Di Capital, a South African-focused venture capital firm.
4Di Capital, along with other investors such as Serena Williams’ venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, recently invested $12.3 million in Numida, a Ugandan fintech startup founded by Kampala-based entrepreneur Mina Shahid.
Aside from his private equity investments, Oppenheimer, a supporter of wilderness conservation, owns South Africa’s largest private game reserve, Tswalu Kalahari, with his son Jonathan.
He is also the owner of the Shangani Ranch, a 65,000-hectare property that employs 400 people and keeps at least 8,000 cattle for beef export to the United Kingdom since 1937. It is known as a wildlife sanctuary because it serves as a corridor for migrating animals.
