The South African economy is known for being one of the most vibrant in Africa. The country is home to numerous companies operating in wide-ranging industries. As one might expect in such an economy, various individuals and families have amassed huge fortunes and become pretty influential as a result. Which are the wealthiest and most powerful families in South Africa today?
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Most powerful families in South Africa own a conglomerate and have diversified their investments in different sectors locally and internationally. Some have tapped into the lucrative mining industry, while others own stakes in financial institutions. Their rankings change over time, depending on their business moves. Nonetheless, the one constant thing is their ability to take risks.
The most powerful families in South Africa
Which is the richest family in South Africa in 2023? Here is a look at the wealthiest and most powerful South African countries today.
12. Raymond Ackerman and family
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- Net worth: $500 million
- Company: Pick n Pay Group
- Industry: Retail
Raymond Ackerman is a South African businessman best known for buying the Pick n Pay supermarket chain from its founders in the 1960s. The business chain is now run as a family enterprise with the billionaire's wife and his four children.
The family also has a presence in various other industries, including food, clothing, general merchandise, and financial services. The family's company operates throughout South Africa, various southern African countries, and Australia.
11. Lauritz Dippenaar and family
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- Net worth: $610 million
- Company: FirstRand
- Industry: Financial services
Lauritz Dippenaar is a South African millionaire businessman, banker, and investor. He was the chairman of FirstRand Financial Group and is also well known for his philanthropic works.
He co-founded Rand Consolidated Investing in 1977 alongside Paul Harris, and in the 1990s, he founded FirstRand. Currently, he is a non-executive chairman of FirstRand, whose focus is on banking and insurance. Lauritz Dippenaar's net worth is currently estimated to be $610 million.
10. Jannie Mouton and family
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- Net worth: $1 billion
- Company: PSG Group
- Industry: Financial services
Jannie is popularly known as 'Buddha Buffett' and is the founder and chairman of PSG Group, a listed investment holding firm. PSG has interests in financial services, banking, private equity, agriculture and education. Both of his sons serve on PSG Group's board, and his son Piet Mouton is the CEO.
9. Christoffel Wiese and family
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- Net worth: $1.1 billion
- Company: Steinhoff International, Shoprite, Brait
- Industry: Retail, mining, and industrial products
Christoffel Wiese is a South African billionaire businessman whose primary source of wealth is consumer retail. The businessman's consistent investment in the retail business has been instrumental in increasing his wealth. The billionaire owns an 18% stake in Shoprite, currently valued at $910 million. Wiese is also the chairman of PEP, where he owns 44% of the company's shares.
His other assets include stakes at Invicta Holdings, a manufacturing conglomerate known as Brait, a private equity firm, and Pallinghurst, which invests in mining. Christoffel Wiesel's net worth is approximately $1.1 billion.
8. Stephen Bradley Saad and family
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- Net worth: $1.2 billion
- Company: Aspen Pharmacare
- Industry: Pharmaceuticals
Stephen Bradley Saad is a South African billionaire and the founder and CEO of Aspen Pharmacare. Aspen Pharmacare is the continent's largest producer of generic medicine. Stephen Bradley Saad also owns a private game reserve and Sharks, a rugby union club.
Aspen Pharmacare trades on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and currently markets generic medicines in more than 150 countries. Seven years ago, Saad won the Entrepreneur of the Year award at the All-Africa Business Leaders Awards gala.
7. Michiel Le Roux and family
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- Net worth: $1.2 billion
- Company: Capitec Bank
- Industry: Banking
Michiel accumulated his wealth by venturing into the banking industry. He founded Capitec Bank in 2001 and currently owns an 11% stake in the company. Capitec bank trades in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and targets the country's emerging middle class.
He is also a member of the bank's board and previously ran Boland bank, among other smaller banks. Michiel Le Roux and his family are currently valued at $1.2 billion.
6. The Allan Gray family
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- Net worth: $1.8 billion
- Company: Allan Gray Limited
- Industry: Financial services
Allan Gray was the founder of Allan Gray Limited, an investment management and financial services company. He founded the company in 1973 after working at Fidelity for eight years. Before then, he had studied and graduated from Harvard.
Allan Gray died in 2019. Today, his family is among the richest and most powerful ones in the entire country.
5. Douw Steyn and family
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- Net worth: $2.48 billion
- Company: BGL Group
- Industry: Insurance and financial services
Douw Gerbrand Steyn is a South African billionaire businessman best known as the founder of BGL Group, an England-based insurance and financial services company. BGL Group is also the parent company of the incredibly popular Comparethemarket.com website.
Besides business, Douw also has deep links to South African politics, having housed the former South African president Nelson Mandela at some point.
4. The Bekker Family
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- Net worth: $2.6 billion
- Company: Naspers
- Industry: Media and publishing
The Bekkers are among the wealthiest families in South Africa today. The family has holdings in diversified economic sectors, most notably in media and publishing. Jacobus Bekker, the family's patriarch, is one of South Africa's richest men, thanks to his stake in companies such as Prosus, Naspers and Tencent, the Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate.
Tencent was part of the founding members of MultiChoice and M-Net in 1985. Currently, the Bekker family is worth $2.6 billion.
3. Patrice Motsepe and family
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- Net worth: $3.2 billion
- Company: African Rainbow Minerals
- Industry: Mining, financial services, sports
Patrice is a renowned South African billionaire businessman best known for founding African Rainbow Minerals. The company has interests in the mining and processing of ferrous metals, gold, base metals, and platinum.
Additionally, Patrice sits on several companies' boards, among them Harmony Gold, the world's 12th largest gold mining company, where he is the non-executive chairman. He is also the deputy chairman of Sanlam. In 2003, Motsepe gained full ownership of Mamelodi Sundown. Currently, the Patrice Motsepe family has a net worth of $3.2 billion.
2. Nicky Oppenheimer and family
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- Net worth: $8.5 billion
- Company: DeBeers
- Industry: Diamond Mining
Nicky Oppenheimer is a South African business magnate renowned for his role as the former chairman of De Beers, one of the biggest diamond mining companies in South Africa. Nicky has also been among Africa's wealthiest men for several years now.
Nicky hails from a wealthy family and was born an heir to the Oppenheimer family's companies, most dealing with the mining and trading of industrial and cosmetic diamonds. For 85 years, the Oppenheimer family has occupied one of the top spots in the world's diamond trade.
In 2012, the family sold some of its stake in DeBeers to the firm mining group Anglo American for $1.5 billion in cash. In 2014, Nicky started Fireblade Aviation in Johannesburg, which operates chartered flights. He also owns at least 720 square miles of conservation land across Mzansi, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
1. Johann Rupert and family
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- Net worth: $10.7 billion
- Company: Compagnie Financiere Richemont, Rembrandt, Remgro
- Industry: Watches, mining, and financial services
The Rupert family is the wealthiest and most influential family in South Africa. The Ruperts have businesses both locally and internationally. It currently controls Compagnie Financiere Richemont, the world's largest luxury watchmaker, through a trust. The Swiss-based company's brands include Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Johann Rupert was born to a business-oriented family. His father, Anton Rupert, amassed the family's wealth through a chain of businesses. He started by selling cigarettes and later transitioned to imported cigars which were hard to come by in the country. He later diversified to imported luxury goods.
Anton later became one of the wealthiest people on the continent, and after his death in 2006, his son Johann Rupert took over the family's business. The family has one major company Rembrandt, which has two leading conglomerates, Richemont and Remgro. The Rupert family's net worth is currently estimated to be $10.7 billion.
Richemont is based in Switzerland and deals with luxury goods, while Remgro is an investment company focusing on finance and mining. Remgro has stakes in more than 30 companies. The family's patriarch, Johann Rupert, is the richest man in South Africa.
What is Johann Rupert's net worth?
The renowned South African businessman is worth $10.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Who are the richest couples in South Africa?
Patrice Motsepe and Precious Moloi-Motsepe are widely regarded as the richest South African couple. They are valued at about $3.2 billion and are actively involved in the mining business.
What is Tshepo Mahloele's net worth?
Tshepo is a founding CEO of Harith and one of the originators of the Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF). Still, not much is known about Tshepo Mahloele's family or his current net worth.
Is Nicky Oppenheimer the richest person in South Africa in 2023?
No, he is not. The richest person in South Africa is Johann Rupert.
There are numerous powerful families in South Africa with interests in wide-ranging industries. These families have invested heavily in the country's goods and services sectors, with the most common ones being mining, financial services, and retail.
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