South African billionaire Laurie Dippenaar gains $16.8 million from FirstRand shares

South African billionaire Laurie Dippenaar has seen the market value of his stake in FirstRand Limited, a Gauteng-based financial services conglomerate increase by more than $16.8 million since the start of the year.

Dippenaar, who cofounded Rand Consolidated Investing in 1977 with partners GT Ferreira and Paul Harris and grew it into a leading financial services group not only in South Africa but throughout Africa, owns 1.76 percent of FirstRand, or 98,726,988 shares.

Since the start of the year, the market value of his stake in FirstRand has increased by R300.13 million ($16.82 million), from R6.167 billion ($345.53 million) on Jan. 1 to R6.466 billion ($362.34 million) at the time of drafting this report.

The $16.8-million bump in the market value of Dippenaar’s stake can be linked to the recent increase in FirstRand shares from R62.46 ($3.5) to R65.5 ($3.67).

The surge in the bank’s shares solidifies his position as one of the richest investors on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and one of the country’s richest businessmen.

FirstRand is Africa’s largest financial services group in terms of market capitalization. Its integrated financial services portfolio comprises FNB, RMB, WesBank, and Aldermore, as it maintains active operations in South Africa, the UK, and regional markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to its recently published annual report, the group’s profit at the end of its 2022 fiscal year rose by 22.3 percent to R34.64 billion ($1.97 billion), up from R28.31 billion ($1.61 billion) the previous year.

Dippenaar, who owns a significant stake in the leading financial services group, received a dividend payout of R461 million ($25.83 million) from the group’s total dividend distribution of R26.2 billion ($1.49 billion) to its shareholders.