South billionaire Koos Bekker gains $50 million as JSE hits all-time high

Frenzy buying activities in South African technology and mining stocks on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) have led to a significant increase in the net worth of many investors, including South African billionaire Koos Bekker, who ranks as one of Africa’s richest businessmen.

Data from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange shows that the market value of Bekker’s stake in Naspers, a global internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world, has increased by $50.1 million since the start of the year thanks to a recent surge in its share price. This contributed to the recent bump in the JSE all-share index to an all-time high.

Naspers, a South African multinational holding company headquartered in Cape Town, has interests in publishing, online retail, and venture capital investing in the consumer Internet sector.

Since the start of the year twelve days ago, the company has seen its share price rose by nearly 18 percent, going from R2,824.34 ($166.84) at the opening of the JSE this year to R3,326.5 ($196.5) at the time of drafting this report, thus pushing the group’s market capitalization above the R1.45 trillion ($85 billion) mark.

As a result of the recent price gains, Bekker, a leading South African billionaire and major shareholder in Naspers, who controls 0.96 percent of the multinational technology group, or 1,687,887 shares in the company, has seen the market value of his stake rose by R847.6 million ($50.1 million) in the past 12 days, going from R4.76 billion ($281.6 million) to R5.61 billion ($331.7 million).

The recent bump in Naspers’ shares, which has led to the recent bump in the shares owned by the South African billionaire, comes as the JSE hits an all-time high on Monday as South African technology and mining stocks gained on enthusiasm about China reopening its borders and hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve may slow the pace of interest rate hikes.

On Mon., Jan. 9, 2023, the JSE all-share index rose to an all-time high of 78,624 points before closing at 78,342.7 points, about 1.93-percent higher than the previous close. The blue-chip index of the top 40 companies also reached an all-time high, at 72,514.6 points, and ended up two percent higher at 72,223 points.