South African billionaire Christo Wiese makes $122 million from Shoprite shares

South African billionaire Christo Wiese has witnessed a remarkable upswing in the market value of his stake in Shoprite Holdings Limited, following a substantial surge in the company’s share price on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, Wiese — widely acknowledged as one of South Africa’s most influential business figures — has experienced a notable R2.26 billion ($121.92 million) surge in the market value of his stake in Shoprite over the past 55 days.

The recent multimillion-dollar increase in the market value of his stake can be attributed to sustained investors’ interest in the retail behemoth, which resulted in the surge in the share price of the leading group on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in recent times.

Shoprite shares on JSE surge by 14.2 percent, returning impressive gains to shareholders

Shoprite Holdings — renowned as South Africa’s leading food retailer and Africa’s largest retail conglomerate — operates with a workforce of more than 142,000 employees spanning the continent. It serves customers through an extensive network of 2,989 stores.

In its recently published financial results, Shoprite Holdings achieved a 2.8-percent increase in profit for the fiscal year 2023, from R5.74 billion ($300.17 million) in the prior year to R5.9 billion ($308.55 million) — this comes amid challenging operating conditions and a notable uptick in energy costs, which elevated operating expenses, impacted profit margins.

Despite the recent challenges in its operating environment characterized by shaky consumer confidence, rising living costs, and fierce competition, the group’s share price has risen from R233.42 ($12.613) on Oct.20, to R266.57 ($14.4) as of the time of writing this report — resulting in a total gain of 14.20 percent for shareholders.

Christo Wiese’s Shoprite stake soars above $980 million

Wiese — who played a key role in Shoprite’s growth into its current position as Africa’s largest retailer — owns an 11.5-percent stake in the leading supermarket chain, this stake translates to a total of 68,083,200 ordinary shares in the group.

As a result of the recent surge in its share price, the market value of Wiese’s stake in Shoprite has increased by R2.26 billion ($121.92 million) over the past 55 days, rising from R15.89 billion ($852.50 million) on Oct. 20 to R18.15 billion ($980.42 million) at the time of drafting this report.