Elon Musk takes top spot among world’s richest, Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer secure places
Billionaire Elon Musk, the world's richest person, is nearly halfway to becoming the planet's first trillionaire
Image: Allison ROBBERT / AFP
Two South Africans have cracked Forbes' top 500 richest people in the world.
Johann Rupert and family landed at 165, while Nicky Oppenheimer and family claimed spot 258.
But it's another South African-born entrepreneur stealing the spotlight. Elon Musk now sits at number one.
AFP reported that Musk is nearly halfway to becoming the planet's first trillionaire.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO became the first person to hit a net worth of $500 billion (R8.6 trillion in rounded figures), briefly, as shares in his electric vehicle company rebounded from his controversial political involvement.
The 54-year-old's fortune touched $500.1bn Wednesday before slipping back to $499.1bn, according to Forbes' "Real-Time Billionaires" tracker.
Chasing him are Oracle CEO Larry Ellison at $350.7bn (R6trln) and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at $245.8bn.
Rupert is worth $14bn (R240bn), said Forbes. The 74-year-old built his fortune through luxury goods as chairman of Swiss luxury goods firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont, home to Cartier and Montblanc.
South African businessman Johann Rupert, South Africa's richest person, speaks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.
Image: Jim Watson | AFP
The company was formed in 1998 through a spinoff of assets from Rembrandt Group Limited (now Remgro Limited), which his father Anton established in the 1940s, said Forbes.
He owns 7% of diversified investment firm Remgro, which he chairs, plus 27% of Luxembourg-based investment holding company Reinet, said Forbes.
Rupert has fought plans to allow fracking in the Karoo, where he owns land, said Forbes.
Oppenheimer, 79, is worth $10.8bn (R186bn) from diamonds, said Forbes.
The De Beers heir sold his 40% stake to mining group Anglo American for $5.1bn (R87.7bn) in cash in 2012, said Forbes.
He was the third generation to run De Beers, taking it private in 2001.
For 85 years until 2012, the Oppenheimer family controlled the world's diamond trade, said Forbes.
In 2014, Oppenheimer launched Fireblade Aviation in Johannesburg for chartered flights. He owns at least 720 square miles of conservation land across South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, said Forbes.
Next up is Koos Bekker at 1 072 with $3.4bn (R58bn).
The 63-year-old transformed South African newspaper publisher Naspers into an e-commerce investor and cable TV powerhouse.
Patrice Motsepe, founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, made history in 2008 as the first black African billionaire on the Forbes list. Worth $3bn (R58bn), the 63-year-old ranks at 1 219.
Further down: Michiel le Roux at 1 626 with $2.2bn (R27.8bn), and Jannie Mouton and family at 2 233 with $1.5bn (R25.8bn).
The final South African is Christo Wiese, who built the Pepkor retail empire through bargain pricing and African expansion.
The 83-year-old, worth $1.5bn (R25.8bn) at spot 2 233, is best known for building Shoprite and Checkers.
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