Cape Town – The two richest South Africans who made the latest Forbes 400 list of the world’s wealthiest people have dropped down in earnings since the last ranking.
South Africa’s richest man Johann Rupert (64) slipped to 201 with $6.9bn (about R78bn), down 2% ($135.6m) from last year’s position of 179. His luxury goods company, Compagnie Financiere Richemont, owns brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Montblanc.
“In September the avid golfer spent $4m on a buffalo bull, used for breeding buffalo for private game reserves,” Forbes said in its assessment of the Forbes 400. “It’s an investment that he hopes will pay for itself through sales of its offspring.”
Former De Beers head Nicky Oppenheimer came in second at 210 with $6.6bn (about R75bn), down 0.1% ($8.2m) since last year when he was ranked 182.
“For the first time in decades, there is no longer an Oppenheimer at the head of diamond company De Beers,” Forbes said. “Analysts say that De Beers was sold, after 85 years of Oppenheimer family control, because there was no clear successor to Nicky Oppenheimer in the family.”