SA billionaire Johann Rupert gains $1.81 billion; net worth nears $13 billion

South African billionaire Johann Rupert has retained his position as one of the wealthiest businessmen on the continent, with his net worth moving closer to the $13-billion mark thanks to the recent exceptional performance of his stake in Richemont, a Swiss-based luxury goods group.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks and compares the wealth of the world’s top 500 billionaires, ranks Rupert as the richest man in South Africa and the second-richest on the African continent.

Rupert’s net worth has surged by $1.81 billion since the start of the year, climbing from $10.9 billion to $12.7 billion at present.

The rise can primarily be attributed to his 9.14-percent stake in Richemont, which owns premium brands such as Cartier, Chloe, Dunhill, Alaa, and Delvaux, and represents the bulk of Rupert’s fortune.

Richemont’s shares on the SIX Swiss Exchange have surged by nearly 10 percent since the beginning of this year, buoyed by positive investor sentiment sparked by the company’s impressive sales figures in the third quarter of its 2023 fiscal year.

During the reporting period, the luxury goods group’s sales figures skyrocketed to over €15 billion ($16.3 billion), surpassing its first nine-month sales figure of €12.77 billion ($13.9 billion) in the 2022 fiscal year.

The sales boost was primarily fueled by a surge in Japan’s sales from just under €855 million ($929 million) in 2022 to almost €1.29 billion ($1.4 billion).

As luxury watch consumers may be reevaluating wearing watches for safety reasons, Richemont has rolled out a digital platform called Enquirus to shield its revenue and aid global law enforcement agencies in their efforts to combat the rampant theft of luxury watches and jewelry.

Enquirus offers a gamut of features that enable owners of exquisite timepieces and jewelry to report theft or loss with ease. Customers can now verify the authenticity of the items they intend to purchase by checking whether the product has been flagged as stolen on the platform.

The digital platform, already boasting 175 leading luxury watchmakers and multiple jewelers preloaded, is now accessible to the entire luxury industry. Owners can now register their collections seamlessly on the platform using brand and serial numbers.