South African businessman Johann Rupert has displaced Nigerian billionaire and founder of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote as Africa’s richest man as a result of the depreciation of the Naira.
Rupert currently boasts a $12 billion net worth according to Forbes Magazine in its Real-time global Billionaires Ranking while Dangote net worth is put at $10.8 billion.
73-year-old billionaire, Rupert is currently ranked 157 on the list of Forbes real-time billionaires list while Aliko Dangote trudges behind at 172.
He is the chairman of Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and South Africa-based company Remgro.
Rupert’s wealth primarily emanates from his ownership in Cie Financiere Richemont, a prominent luxury goods manufacturer and retailer, along with strategic investments in Remgro and Reinet.
Rupert, who initially followed Dangote closely, took over the number one spot following the Central Bank of Nigeria decision to loosen its grip on the official exchange market, which saw the Nigerian billionaire’s worth drop by $4.12 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index (BBI).
Other Nigerian billionaires including the founder of BUA cement, Abdul Samad Rabiu and the Chairman of Globacom Limited, Mike Adenuga were also affected as Forbes and Bloomberg had to recalculate their fortunes. Rabiu lost $2.73 billion from his wealth as a result of the floating of the Naira by the CBN.
