Table of Contents
Key Points
- Motsepe’s net worth slipped from $3.5 billion to $3.3 billion amid a decline in African Rainbow Minerals’ market value.
- African Rainbow Minerals reported sharply lower earnings due to falling prices for iron ore and platinum group metals.
- Motsepe’s indirect 40% stake in Tyme Group gained value after the digital bank raised $250 million in late 2024.
South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, who has served as president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since March 2021, has seen his wealth fall by $200 million in just over two weeks. The drop reflects ongoing pressure on his flagship mining company, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), where he holds a controlling stake.
Motsepe’s net worth slips $200 million
According to real-time data from Forbes, Motsepe — Southern Africa’s richest Black individual and the first Black African billionaire to appear on Forbes’ global list — has watched his net worth slip from $3.5 billion on July 18 to $3.3 billion at the time of drafting this report. The $200 million decline is tied to a dip in the market value of his 45.9 percent interest in ARM.
Even with this recent setback, Motsepe remains among the African billionaires whose fortunes have grown overall in 2025. Year-to-date, his wealth is still up by $300 million, thanks to earlier gains in ARM’s share price and the rising value of other holdings.
ARM profits hit by commodity slump
ARM, which holds interests in iron ore, manganese, platinum group metals (PGMs), coal, and base metals, posted a 49 percent drop in headline earnings to R1.52 billion ($83 million) for the first half of 2025. Lower prices for iron ore and PGMs have been a major drag on profits. While ARM stock had climbed earlier in the year, its share price has slipped nearly 8 percent in the past 11 days, pushing the company’s market cap below $2.3 billion on the JSE.
Adding to the pressure, ARM is now facing environmental challenges, including a lawsuit filed by WWF South Africa over its $160 million Elandsfontein phosphate project near Langebaan Lagoon. To maintain financial flexibility, ARM recently hedged 18 million shares in Harmony Gold—raising cash while keeping some exposure to the gold market’s potential upside.
Motsepe diversifies beyond mining sector
Motsepe’s mining portfolio also includes an 11.8 percent indirect stake in Harmony Gold, which has mining operations in South Africa, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. But his business interests extend well beyond mining. Through African Rainbow Capital (ARC), his investment firm, he has been steadily branching into financial services, technology, and renewable energy.
One of his most notable ventures is Tyme Group, a digital banking platform headquartered in Singapore with active operations in Africa and Southeast Asia. A report by Billionaires.Africa earlier this year estimated that Patrice Motsepe’s 40 percent indirect stake in Tyme is now worth around $600 million. That valuation followed Tyme’s successful $250 million Series D funding round in December 2024, which lifted the company’s worth to $1.5 billion.
