South African billionaire businessman Michiel Le Roux, who founded Capitec Bank in 2001, has gained R3.9 billion ($274.8 million) in 47 days from his stake in the bank.
Capitec Bank is a leading South African bank and one of the largest lenders in the country by number of customers.
Since it was founded 20 years ago, the bank has grown into one of the most reputable banking brands globally, offering transactional banking services and loan products such as term loans, credit facilities and credit cards.
Data retrieved from Google Finance revealed that Capitec shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange have increased from a price of R1,541.8 ($107.7) on July 20 to R1,840.0 ($128.6) as of the closing of the market Fri., Sept. 3.
The appreciation in the bank’s stock price can be linked to investor and analyst expectations for a stellar rise in its half-year earnings, as operations bounced back from a difficult 2020.
This bullish bias, which caused the price to surge by 19.3 percent in 47 days, led to the R3.9-billion ($274.8 million) increase in the market value of Le Roux’s stake in Capitec.
Research conducted by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the market value of his stake since July 20 has increased from R20.3 billion ($1.4 billion) to R24.3 billion ($1.7 billion) as of press time, 2:55 PM (UTC), Sept. 4.
The recent increase in the value of his stake extends his total gains since the start of the year to R5.5 billion ($381.2 million).
This translates to a 29-percent gain over the market value of his stake at the opening of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Jan. 4, 243 days ago.
With the majority of Le Roux’s wealth coming from his stake in Capitec, Forbes estimated the billionaire businessman’s net worth at $1.6 billion.
