Johann Rupert – The Richest Man in Africa

Johann Rupert is the richest man in South Africa and the second richest man in Africa. He’s a billionaire businessman and one of the best-known businessmen with investments in many top South African and international companies.

Rupert controls the world’s largest luxury watchmaker, Cie Financiere Richemont, through a family trust. The Bellevue, Switzerland-based company’s brands include Jaeger-LeCoultre and Cartier.

His other holdings include Remgro, a Stellenbosch, South Africa-based investment vehicle with stakes in more than 30 companies.

Johann Rupert Biography

Johann Peter Rupert was born June 1, 1950, in Stellenbosch. The oldest son of billionaire industrialist Anton Rupert and his wife, Huberte. A self-made businessman, Anton Rupert, his father had founded tobacco company Rembrandt Group in 1948. 

After attending school in Stellenbosch. The younger Rupert enrolled at University of Stellenbosch to study economics and corporate law. He didn’t graduate, choosing to move to New York, where he took a trainee position with Chase Manhattan.

After five years in New York working first for Chase, then for Lazard Freres. He returned to South Africa where he founded Rand Merchant Bank. 

A few years later, the bank merged with Rand Consolidated Investments and Rupert joined the family business. Rembrandt diversified into wine and spirits and various South African sectors, including banking, mining, food and packaging.

Rupert becomes chairman

In the late 1980s, Rupert took over from his father as chairman of Rembrandt. One of his first big moves was spinning off Rembrandt’s European assets and forming the Swiss luxury goods conglomerate, Richemont. The company owns stakes in such well-known brands as Van Cleef & Arpels, Azzedine Alaia and Piaget.

Rupert serves as chairman of Richemont, Remgro. A restructured iteration of Rembrandt Group created in 2000 and Reinet Investments, a holding company he founded in 2009 to control Rembrandt’s stake in British American Tobacco.

An avid sportsman, he designed the course at his Leopard Creek Golf Club in Nelspruit, which he bought in 1995 with professional golfer Gary Player.

The billionaire is chairman of the South African PGA Tour, a lifelong member of the European Tour, and the founder of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which aims to help young people overcome poverty, homelessness, AIDS and violence through sports-related community projects.

A conservation enthusiast, he chairs the Peace Parks Foundation, which protects biodiversity in South Africa’s border regions. He lives in Stellenbosch with his wife, Gaynor.

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Johann Rupert Net Worth

Johann Rupert is worth $13.4B according to Bloomberg. While Forbes states that he’s worth $11.7B.

• Cash: $1.98B 
• REM SJ Equity: $418M (Public asset)
• REIN LX Equity: $1.17B (Public asset)
• CFR SW Equity: $9.73B (Public asset)
• FSR SJ Equity: $145M (Public asset)
• GND SJ Equity: $7.83M (Public asset)

The majority of Rupert’s fortune is derived from Cie Financiere Richemont, a publicly traded luxury goods manufacturer and retailer, and the world’s largest luxury watchmaker, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data. 

Parties associated with Johann Rupert and his family investment vehicle, Compagnie Financiere Rupert, own 0.5% of the luxury company’s Class A shares, which are publicly traded, according to its March 2022 annual report.

Through Switzerland-based Compagnie Financiere Rupert, the family also owns all Class B shares, which do not trade and have one-tenth the economic value of Class A shares, according to the same report.

The billionaire serves as chairman of the family’s investment vehicle. And his individual ownership stakes aren’t disclosed and are attributed to Rupert in this analysis.

They also have a stake in Remgro, a holding group with investments in more than 30 companies, including FirstRand, Unilever South Africa and RMB Holdings.

Family shares

The family beneficially owns 1% of Remgro’s publicly traded ordinary shares and controls all of Remgro’s Class B shares through Rembrandt Trust, a trust of which Rupert is a director, according to the company’s June 2022 annual report.

These two share classes carry equal economic value, according to analysts who cover the company and asked not to be identified.

They own almost 25% of Reinet Investments, a company founded in 2008 as a holding entity for Richemont’s stake in British American Tobacco, through beneficial ownership of the South Africa-based Anton Rupert Trust, according to the company’s 2022-2023 semi-annual report.

The value of the family’s cash holdings are calculated based on dividend proceeds as well as taxes, insider transactions and market performance.

Alan Grieve, director of corporate affairs at CFR Richemont, declined to comment on Rupert’s net worth.

How Did Johann Rupert Make His Money

Johann is the eldest son of Anton Rupert, whose ventures in the 1940s are the foundation of the Rupert family’s wealth.

Anton Rupert established Voorbrand, a tobacco company, in the 1940s. Voorbrand was the forerunner of Rembrandt, which entered the South African cigarette and tobacco industry in 1948.

Rembrandt was a runaway success in South Africa, listing on the JSE less than a decade after being founded. In the 1970s, Rembrandt expanded into other industries, like financial services, mining, engineering and food.

During this period, Johann Rupert studied economics at the University of Stellenbosch but dropped out to pursue a career in business.

He worked for Chase Manhattan and Lazard Freres in New York before returning to South Africa in 1979 to start Rand Merchant Bank (RMB). He was CEO of RMB until 1984, when RMB and Rand Consolidated Investments merged to form RMB Holdings. 

Johann left the company to join Rembrandt.

Soon after joining his father’s company, he spun off Rembrandt’s international assets to form Compagnie Financiere Richemont, a Swiss luxury goods holding company that owns brands like Cartier and Montblanc. 

In 1991, he was appointed chairman of Rembrandt. Rembrandt and Richemont consolidated their tobacco interests in Rothmans International In 1995.

A few years later, it merged these interests with those of British American Tobacco. Big changes were made in 2000 when Rembrandt was restructured into two publicly traded holding companies – Remgro and Venfin.

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Remgro oversaw Rembrandt’s traditional assets, while Venfin acquired the technology-oriented assets. Less than a decade later, Remgro and VenFin merged to form Remgro, of which Johann Rupert is still the chairman.

In 2000, Rupert was appointed chairman and CEO of Richemont, and the company’s non-luxuries-related activities were spun off into Reinet Investments in 2008.

Today, Rupert is the chairman of Remgro, Richemont and Reinet.

Richemont is the largest of the three companies, with a market capitalisation of R1.51 trillion. Reinet is second with a market cap of €3.76 billion (R73.63 billion), while Remgro is slightly smaller with a R72.98 billion market cap.

The three companies have shareholdings in various local and international companies that span numerous industries.

Who is Johann Rupert’s wife?

Gaynor Rupert is the wife Johann Rupert. The Drakenstein Stud is run by successful racehorse breeder Gaynor. She is well-known in the equestrian community. They have three kids—Anton, Caroline, and Hanneli—and have been married for a while.

Johann Rupert is married to Gaynor Rupert. Drakenstein Stud is run by successful racehorse breeder Gaynor. She is well-known in the equestrian community. They have three kids- Anton, Caroline, and Hanneli—and have been married for a while.

In 1997, she established the Creative Leadership Academy in Cape Town, which aims to provide educational opportunities and mentorship to talented young individuals.

Through the Rupert Art Foundation, she has facilitated exhibitions, art scholarships, and the preservation of important cultural heritage.

The network of Johann Rupert is made more vibrant and diverse by Gaynor’s involvement in the world of racehorse breeding. It is important to note that Johann and Gaynor have fostered a gifted and accomplished family in addition to building successful individual careers.

In addition to her charitable and artistic pursuits, Gaynor Rupert maintains a private and low-key lifestyle. She has been described as a devoted wife and mother, prioritizing her family’s well-being and privacy.

Milestones

• 1948: Father, Anton, founded cigarette manufacturer Rembrandt.
• 1950: Johann Rupert was born in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
• 1974: Leaves college and moves to New York to work in banking.
• 1979: Returns to South Africa, founded Rand Merchant Bank.
• 1984: Joins Rembrandt, takes over as chairman within a few years.
• 1988: Spins off Rembrandt’s European assets into luxury group Richemont.
• 2000: Establishes The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
• 2012: Steps down as CEO of Richemont; remains chairman.

List of Companies Johann Rupert Has a Share in

Which Companies Does Johann Rupert Own?

Johann Rupert is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and the South Africa-based company Remgro.

Remgro’s diverse portfolio spans various industries, including healthcare, consumer products, media and financial services. More than 70% of the company’s portfolio consists of local shares.

Johann Rupert Richemont

A large part of Richemont’s portfolio consists of jewellery and luxury watch producers, but some of its subsidiaries also produce leather goods, pens, firearms, and luxury clothing. 

References:

• https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/johann-p-rupert/
• https://dailyinvestor.com/business/20645/johann-rupert-now-worth-more-than-r200-billion/
• https://culturecustodian.com/what-to-know-about-africas-richest-man-johann-rupert/
• https://www.forbes.com/profile/johann-rupert/?sh=3c943f5f4922
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Rupert

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