Despite experiencing a substantial surge of $460 million in his fortune between March 12 and May 15, Swazi billionaire Natie Kirsh has recently faced a significant loss, wiping out his gains earlier this year.
The sustained decline in the value of his private investments, particularly his stakes in companies within the consumer goods sector, has led to year-to-date wealth losses surpassing $500 million for Kirsh, one of Africa’s wealthiest men.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the fortunes of the world’s 500 wealthiest billionaires, Kirsh’s net worth has declined by $520 million since the start of 2023, dropping from $7.45 billion on Jan. 1 to $6.93 billion at the time of writing this report.
The majority of Kirsh’s investments are held within his conglomerate, Kirsh Group, where the value of his privately held assets has been on a persistent downtrend, leading to this substantial wealth decline.
While the $520 million loss is significant, it is noteworthy that it is still lower than the $821-million decline he experienced in the preceding year, 2022, when his net worth plummeted from $8.27 billion to $7.45 billion.
Despite this recent setback, Kirsh remains Eswatini’s richest man, having transformed his father’s modest inheritance of £1,200 ($1,630) into a billion-dollar empire through his privately-owned conglomerate, Kirsh Group.
His controlling 75-percent stake in Jetro Holdings, a New York-based consumer goods holding company overseeing two wholesale grocery enterprises in the United States, namely Jetro Cash & Carry and Restaurant Depot, continues to be the primary contributor to his $6.93 billion fortune.
In addition to his investment in Jetro Holdings, the Swazi billionaire owns 54 percent of Sydney-based Abacus Property Group, a publicly-traded real estate investment trust.
Kirsh’s global property holdings include London’s first-ever office skyscraper, Tower 42, and the Jandakot Airport in Perth, Australia.
