South Africa’s richest man Johann Rupert rakes in $286 million in just 24 hours

Johann Rupert, the richest man in South Africa and Africa’s second-wealthiest, has experienced a massive increase in his net worth in the past 24 hours due to a surge in the share price of Swiss luxury goods conglomerate Richemont.

According to Billionaires.Africa, Rupert’s net worth risen by $286 million in just one day.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the wealth of the world’s top 500 billionaires, reported that Rupert’s net worth increased by $286 million in the past 24 hours, reaching $13.7 billion as of the time of writing.

This increase in his net worth can be linked to the recent surge in Richemont’s shares on the SIX Swiss Exchange, pushing the group’s market capitalization closer to the $100 billion mark.

The surge in Richemont’s shares came after the group posted a profit of €3.91 billion ($4.25 billion) at the end of its 2023 fiscal year, up 60 percent from €2.45 billion ($2.67 billion) recorded in 2022 when its earnings surged above $18 billion.

This achievement was driven by a 19-percent increase in the group’s revenue from €16.75 billion ($18.2 billion) in 2022 to €19.95 billion ($21.7 billion), propelled by the strong rebound in the group’s sales in Asia Pacific, and supported by double-digit increases in sales in all other regions, led by Japan and Europe.

As part of the move to further create value for investors, Richemont has announced plans to buy back as many as 10 million A shares, representing 1.7 percent of the company’s capital.

The shares, which will be held in treasury to hedge awards to executives and employees under the company’s long-term incentive plan, are worth CHF1.5 billion ($1.68 billion) at the time of writing.

Rupert, who is the chairman of Richemont, holds a 9.4-percent stake in the luxury goods conglomerate. The surge in Richemont’s share price is a testament to the group’s ability to weather the storm of the pandemic and come out stronger.