According to a recent list released by Forbes Magazine, South African Business Mogul, John Rupert has dethroned Nigerian Aliko Dangote to emerge as the richest man in Africa.
In the ranking, Johann Rupert & family’s wealth went from $10.7 billion to $10.3 billion to emerge as Africa’s richest man.
This saw Aliko Dangote move down to second position after his wealth declined from $13.5 billion in 2023 to $9.5 billion at the start of 2024.
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The decline in Dangote’s wealth was attributed to several factors which include unfriendly economic policies, and naira devaluation, amongst others.
The Forbes Daily billionaires ranking platform, which monitors daily changes in the net worth of high-net-worth individuals globally, highlighting additional shifts in the billionaire rankings.
On the list, South Africa’s Nicky Oppenheimer experienced a marginal decrease, maintaining their third position with a wealth of $8,400,000,000.
While Nassif Sawiris moved up to the fourth position, displacing Rabiu Abdulsamad, whose wealth decreased.
A newcomer to the list, Nathan Kirsh from Eswatini, entered the sixth position with a net worth of $5,800,000,000, and Mike Adenuga, who held a prominent position in 2023, moved down four positions to become the tenth richest man in Africa.
Here is an updated list of Africa’s richest men for 2024
1. Johann Rupert & Family $10.3 billion
2. Aliko Dangote $9.5 billion
3. Nicky Oppenheimer & Family $8.3 billion
4. Nassef Sawiris $7.4 billion
5. Abdulsamad Rabiu $5.9 billion
6. Nathan Kirsh $5.8 billion
7. Issad Rebrab & Family $4.6 billion
8. Mohamed Mansour $3.6 billion
9. Naguib Sawiris $3.3 billion
10. Mike Adenuga $3.1 billion
Profile of Johann Rupert, Africa’s current richest man
Johann Peter Rupert (born 1 June 1950) is a South African billionaire businessman, who is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte. He is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury goods company Richemont and the South Africa-based company Remgro.
Credited with having spearheaded Richemont’s prominence within the luxury sector since joining in 1984, Rupert holds the majority shareholding of parent company Compagnie Financière Richemont and also administers the activities of the investment company division Remgro.
The South African businessman founded Richemont in 1988 as a spin-off of Rembrandt Group Limited, a company established by his father Anton Rupert in the early ‘40s. In 1993 Rupert split the group’s tobacco and luxury goods activities between two subsidiary companies, with Vendôme Luxury Group overseeing the operations of the group’s watch, leather goods, and apparel interests.
In 1998 Rupert realigned Vendôme into the Richemont group with a buyout of the minority interest shareholders and set it on a steady growth strategy that saw the acquisition of brands such as Azzedine Alaïa, Roger Dubuis and Van Cleef & Arpels. In 2007 Rupert also entered into a 50/50 joint venture with Polo Ralph Lauren to form the Ralph Lauren Watch and Jewelry Company.
Since April 2010, he has been the CEO of Compagnie Financiere Richemont. He alsoowns part of the Saracens English rugby team and Anthonij Rupert Wines, named after his deceased brother.