Johann Rupert, the wealthiest person in South Africa and the second richest in Africa after Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, has experienced a significant drop in his fortune over the past 72 hours.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which monitors and compares the wealth of the world’s top 500 billionaires, the decline in his net worth which amounts to $200 million, mirrors the recent global equity market retreat due to concerns about a possible recession.
Over the past three days, data tracked by Billionaires.Africa revealed that Rupert’s net worth has declined by $200 million from $12.7 billion on March 6 to $12.5 billion at the time of drafting this report.
According to Bloomberg, the recent decline in his net worth can be attributed to the performance of his 9.14-percent stake in Richemont, a Swiss luxury goods company that owns premium brands such as Chloe, Dunhill, Alaa, Cartier, and Delvaux. The stake represents the majority of Rupert’s $12.5-billion fortune.
Specifically, since the start of this week, Richemont shares on the Swiss and Johannesburg stock exchanges have decreased by more than 2.5 percent, falling from CHF149.2 ($159.1) to CHF145.5 ($155.15) at the time of writing this report.
The decline in Richemont’s shares has caused its market capitalization to fall below the CHF76 billion ($81 billion) threshold, resulting in Rupert’s 9.14-percent stake dropping in value to under $9.4 billion.
This follows rumors that LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, a leading luxury goods conglomerate headed by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, is pursuing an acquisition of the Swiss-based luxury goods holding company.
According to insiders cited in the Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft, LVMH is seeking to expand its jewelry segment by acquiring Richemont’s luxury jewelry brand, Cartier.
Although LVMH is pursuing Cartier, it may not achieve the desired result due to Johann Rupert’s history of resistance towards takeover attempts.
