South Africa’s richest man Johann Rupert loses $1 billion in Q1 2022

Johann Rupert, South Africa’s richest businessman, saw his net worth fall by a billion in the first quarter of 2021, as the market value of his stake in Swiss luxury goods holdings, Compagnie Financiere Richemont S.A (Richemont), fell by a double-digit percentage.

Research conducted by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the billionaire’s net worth has dropped by $999 million, equating to an average loss of $11.1 million per day since the start of the year.

Data retrieved from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index revealed that his net worth since the start of the year has dropped from $11.9 billion on Jan. 1 to $10.9 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2022.

Despite a $999-million plunge in his net worth, the South African billionaire remains South Africa’s richest man and one of Africa’s richest billionaires.

The decline in his net worth can be attributed to a slump in the market value of his Richemont stake as investors sold off stakes in the Swiss Luxury goods holdings owing to China’s recent COVID-19 lockdown, which threatens to derail the country’s economy.

The prolonged lockdown in Shenzhen adds to the company’s growing concerns about its sales and earnings, and it may further diminish the company’s earnings power after it ceased commercial operations in Russia.

Richemont’s operations in China generated €2.79 billion ($3.1 billion) in revenue in the first half of its 2022 fiscal year, compared to a total of €8.91 billion 9 ($9.81 billion) generated by its operations on four continents.

With luxury demand remaining at projected levels in January and February, analysts predict that the coming months will be difficult in terms of sales and earnings for the luxury goods firm if lockdowns in larger luxury hubs such as Shanghai persist into the second quarter of 2022.