For a lot of 2024, the race on the high of Africa’s wealthy listing was a two-man contest marked by sharp swings and shut calls. South African billionaire Johann Rupert and Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote traded places as market values shifted and main property got here into clearer view.
That contest ended decisively in October 2024, when Dangote’s long-awaited $20 billion refinery was factored into his wealth, pushing his internet price nicely previous $25 billion and later in 2025 past $30 billion, and locking in his place as Africa’s richest particular person. Since then, the story has modified. The highlight has shifted from rivalry to pursuit. Rupert’s climb has been quieter, steadier, and anchored within the public markets reasonably than a single transformative undertaking.
At present, the South African luxurious items magnate is edging nearer to a landmark few on the continent have reached—with Aliko Dangote being the one one—closing in on a $20 billion fortune that will make him solely the second African billionaire to cross that threshold.
Richemont shares elevate Rupert close to milestone
In line with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the fortunes of the world’s 500 wealthiest people, Rupert’s internet price has elevated by $161 million for the reason that begin of 2026.
That elevate takes his fortune to $19.6 billion on the time of writing, leaving him roughly $400 million wanting the $20 billion mark. It’s a slim hole by billionaire requirements, and one which displays the underlying power of the asset on the middle of his wealth: Richemont.
Rupert sits on the helm of the Switzerland-based luxurious items group, one of many world’s largest gamers in high-end jewellery and vogue. By his household pursuits, he owns 10.18 p.c of Richemont’s shares and controls 51 p.c of the voting rights, giving him efficient management of a portfolio that features Cartier, Montblanc and Chloé.
Market good points propel Rupert towards $20 billion
Over the previous 12 months, Richemont’s shares have risen by nearly 27 percent, lifting its market capitalization to CHF95.5 billion ($119 billion). For Rupert, that rally has been decisive. The market worth of his stake has climbed from beneath $9 billion a 12 months in the past to $13.8 billion at present.
That progress explains a lot of the current $161 million enhance in Rupert’s wealth, however it sits inside a broader run that reshaped his fortune in 2025. Final 12 months proved to be one of many strongest durations of wealth creation in his profession, together with his internet price rising by $5.8 billion over the course of the 12 months. He entered 2025 with an estimated fortune of $13.7 billion and closed it at $19.5 billion, setting the stage for his present method towards the $20 billion line.
Cartier, Van Cleef increase jewellery gross sales
Buyers’ confidence in Richemont has been underpinned by working outcomes that counsel the group is holding its floor in a unstable world luxurious market. Within the first six months of its 2026 financial year, Richemont reported a ten p.c enhance in gross sales at fixed alternate charges and a 5 p.c rise at precise charges.
Income grew from €10.08 billion, or $11.71 billion, to €10.62 billion, or $12.33 billion. These numbers have strengthened expectations that the group might ship better-than-anticipated outcomes by year-end. Retail has been the principle engine of that progress. Boutique gross sales rose throughout most areas, pushing retail to account for 70 p.c of group income within the first half. Jewellery remained the strongest division by far.
Manufacturers together with Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccellati and Vhernier lifted mixed jewellery gross sales to €7.7 billion ($8.95 billion), up 9 p.c at precise alternate charges and 14 p.c at fixed charges. The figures underline a long-standing method that has outlined Richemont beneath Rupert’s watch: concentrate on maisons with deep heritage, put money into craftsmanship, and anchor the enterprise round high-value jewellery reasonably than chasing quantity.
Market reassessment boosts luxurious group
For Rupert, that self-discipline is now translating into milestones. Whereas Dangote’s wealth surge was pushed by the popularity of a large industrial asset, Rupert’s good points have come by the market’s reassessment of a worldwide luxurious group navigating shifting client demand and foreign money pressures highlighting two paths to wealth on the continent, one rooted in heavy trade and infrastructure, the opposite in manufacturers, pricing energy and long-term stewardship.
At $19.6 billion, Rupert is nearer than ever to becoming a member of Dangote in a membership that, till lately, had no African members in any respect. Whether or not or not he crosses the $20 billion mark within the close to time period, his regular rise underscores how world fairness markets, reasonably than headline-grabbing tasks, are reshaping the higher finish of Africa’s wealth rankings. For now, the numbers inform a easy story: the hole is narrowing, the shares are holding, and a historic milestone is close by.
