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Eswatini’s richest man, Natie Kirsh, has seen a sharp drop in his fortune after hitting a personal high earlier this year. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Kirsh’s net worth slipped by $730 million over the past four months, falling from $10.4 billion on June 1 to $9.67 billion.
Kirsh net worth slips after asset revaluation
The decline marks a reversal from a strong run earlier in the year. Between April and early June, Kirsh added more than $1.1 billion to his fortune as investor confidence in his holdings strengthened. Since then, asset revaluations—particularly at Jetro and other portfolio companies—have trimmed those gains.
Even with the recent pullback, Kirsh remains one of Africa’s richest individuals, though he is not included on the Forbes Africa billionaires list because his companies are primarily based in the United States and other markets outside the African continent. His net worth is still up by about $338 million since January, underscoring the resilience of his long-established businesses.
Kirsh-led consortium seeks $1.42 billion storage acquisition
Beyond the numbers, Kirsh’s investment office, Ki Corporation, has been active on the global stage. In partnership with U.S.-based Public Storage, he has been pursuing the acquisition of Australian self-storage operator Abacus Storage King. The consortium’s first offer was rejected in April, but it returned in July with a higher proposal valuing the company at $1.42 billion. Abacus confirmed the revised bid on July 14, which sent its shares up more than 7 percent.
For Kirsh, the Abacus deal reflects a strategy of expanding into stable, cash-generating businesses that can complement his existing portfolio. While market revaluations have weighed on his fortune in recent months his pursuit of new opportunities shows he is still actively shaping the direction of his empire well into his nineties.
