South African billionaire Johann Rupert’s net worth nears $11 billion

South African billionaire Johann Rupert’s net worth is set to exceed $11 billion for the first time in eight months, less than three weeks after surpassing the $10-billion mark.

At the time of writing, Rupert, who is South Africa’s richest man and one of Africa’s richest men, was worth $10.8 billion, ranking him 170th in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The performance of his 9.14-percent stake in Richemont, a Swiss luxury goods company that owns a diverse portfolio of premium brands such as Chloe, Dunhill, Alaa, Cartier, and Delvaux, is responsible for the recent surge in his billion-dollar fortune, which pushed his wealth figures to nearly $11 billion.

Rupert’s net worth has risen from $8.5 billion on Nov. 3 to $10.8 billion at the time of writing, owing to an increase in the market value of his Richemont stake from $5.9 billion to $7.91 billion.

Despite widespread macroeconomic volatility and political tensions, Richemont reported a double-digit increase in profit during the first half of its fiscal year 2023, owing to higher sales in the watch and luxury goods segments.

According to the group’s recently published interim financial statement, profit at the end of the first six months of its 2022 fiscal period rose by more than 40 percent, from €1.5 billion ($1.55 billion) in the same period in 2022 to €2.1 billion ($2.17 billion).

The group’s strong financial performance in the first half of 2023 builds on previous results, particularly in 2022, when profit increased by 61 percent from €1.289 billion ($1.36 billion) in 2021 to €2.08 billion ($2.2 billion).

Aside from his stake in Richemont, the leading businessman also has an $883-million stake in Reinet Investment and a $360-million stake in Remgro.