SA’s richest men in 2020: Rupert fortune grows, as Oppenheimer’s shrinks

Between them, Johann Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer have a combined net worth of over $15 billion – or R222 billion. However, the pair have endured some contrasting fortunes in 2020. The two wealthiest men in South Africa are on different trajectories this year, and there’s been a shift in the traditional balance of power.

Who are the richest men in South Africa?

Earlier this year, Johann Rupert overtook Nicky Oppenheimer to become the richest person in the country. That’s a trend that looks likely to be in place for 2021. Although both multi-billionaires are amongst the top 350 richest people in the world, the watchmaker is currently outperforming the mining magnate:

• Johann Rupert’s net worth: $7.93 billion / R117.7 billion
• Nicky Oppenheimer’s net worth: $7.03 billion / R104.2 billion
• Johann Rupert’s place on the global rich list: #296
• Nicky Oppenheimer’s place on the global rich list: #341

Johann Rupert net worth

The Stellenbosch-based businessman started the year with just over $7.35 billion in the bank. However, like the rest of us, the pandemic caused problems for his personal finances. In March, approximately $1 billion was wiped from his net worth. But in the nine months that followed, the brains behind Remgro clawed back his losses – and then some.

Johann Rupert is now $556 million better off than he was in December 2019. He has sampled the highs and lows 2020 had to offer, and Rupert emerges successful in a year that is truly incomparable to any other.

Nicky Oppenheimer net worth

In January 2020, Oppenheimer was slightly behind Rupert with $7.33 billion to his name. But that near-parity has slipped dramatically in the second half of the year. He lost much less money than his compatriot did in March, but he couldn’t ride that wave of good fortune, and he’s now $325 million worse-off than he was 12 months ago.

Still, it must be nice to lose billions of rand within the space of a year – and remain as one of the richest men on the planet. We won’t be losing too much sleep over Oppenheimer’s financial status, put it that way…

• All financial figures sourced from Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.