
South Africa's 7 dollar billionaires just got even RICHER
It's comparatively 'easy' to make money – when you have money. Compound interest really is the eighth wonder of the world!
As they say, the rich get richer, while the poor stay, well, poor.
Money makes money – and these seven South Africans have made a lot of it over the years.
And by a lot, we mean a LOT !
According to Forbes' real-time tracking of billionaires, Johann Rupert and his family are the richest in South Africa, with a net worth of $14.6 billion.
The Ruperts are followed by diamond magnate Nicky Oppenheimer, who boasts a net worth of $10.4 billion.
They are followed by Koos Bekker, Patrice Motsepe, Michiel Le Roux, Jannie Mouton and Christo Wiese.
South Africa's seven dollar billionaires all made their money in different ways – from luxury goods, diamonds, mining, media, banking and retail.
In the last week alone, Rupert added a whopping $500 million (R9 billion) to his net worth, while Nicky Oppenheimer saw his wealth drop by $100 million (R1.8 billion).
Cumulatively, South Africa's seven dollar billionaires are worth $37.4 billion (R675 billion).
Meanwhile, in terms of the overall world list, South Africa-born Elon Musk remains the world's richest person with a reported $420.2 billion.
Below, the list of the top seven richest South Africans in the world as of 20 May 2025. Rank Name Last week This week Source 165 Johann Rupert & family $14.1bn $14.6bn Luxury goods 264 Nicky Oppenheimer & family $10.5bn $10.4bn Diamonds 1 085 Koos Bekker $3.5bn $3.5bn Media, investments 1 214 Patrice Motsepe $3.1bn $3.1bn Mining 1 506 Michiel Le Roux $2.5bn $2.5bn Banking 2 043 Jannie Mouton & family $1.7bn $1.7bn Retail 2 194 Christo Wiese $1.6bn $1.6bn Financial services TOTAL $37bn $37.4bn
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Meet the new faces of South Africa's Social Development: Netshipale and Matlou
Incoming CEO of Sassa Themba Matlou, left, and recently appointed Director-General of the Department of Social Development Peter Netshipale. Image: Compiled with supplied images Minister of Social Development Sisisi Tolashe extended a warm welcome on Friday to newly appointed Director-General Peter Netshipale and Themba Matlou, the incoming CEO of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa). Tolashe extended best wishes to the new appointees in their roles and expressed deep gratitude to them and their families for their commitment to serving the South African people. Recently appointed Director-General of the Department of Social Development, Peter Netshipale. Image: Supplied Taking up his new role two months ago, Netshipale said South Africa is faced with persistent poverty, joblessness, and inequality that remain a challenge. However, he said the department is hard at work to provide social grants to the sum of R19 million each month to more than 2.9 million people. 'The task which is in front of us is massive, and I've got a responsibility to ensure that the department becomes the best department in South Africa,' he said. Netshipale said with extensive footprints in all 52 districts of the country, the department has good policies and programmes that need to be implemented robustly by its highly skilled staff. 'As the new director-general of the department, I will enhance our coordination and our delivery of services. We are going to optimise our resources and ensure that we live within the austerity that we have, build the capacity of the communities, and promote innovation,' he said. He also highlighted the fact that the department has to modernise systems for efficiency. 'We have a mandate as a department to ensure that we optimise what we are doing; our role is to ensure that every person receives grants at the right time in the right places all the time,' he said. Netshipale added that the Department of Social Development will endeavour to reduce the level of poverty and ensure that people are empowered and communities sustained. He said in the last nine months, since the minister was appointed, she has taken the reins and led the department. 'I want South Africans to watch and see what this department will do.' Matlou, who was appointed as Sassa CEO this week, said it is an honour that comes with enormous responsibility and expectations to lead the organisation of this magnitude. 'This is a responsibility that I've accepted with heartfelt humility, mindful of the steep road I have, but equal to the task at hand to steer Sassa in the right direction, to meet its expectations,' he said. Themba Matlou, the incoming CEO of Sassa. Image: Supplied Having worked as a regional executive manager at Sassa in four provinces for 13 years, Matlou said he has gained the necessary knowledge and expectations of clients. He said Sassa is going to invest in systems that will enable migration from minor business processes to more automation, called a self-application channel, for people in different provinces to improve service delivery and manage fraud. He said different alternative payment and service delivery models will be explored. 'We are going to improve our efficiency, which includes modernising our call centre,' said Matlou, adding that the call centre has a lot of challenges. With regard to some officials linked to fraudulent activities, Matlou said Sassa is working hard to roll out its anti-fraud management strategy with different departments and law enforcement. He announced that engagements with staff have been completed regarding the implementation of the much-awaited biometric enrolment verification system that will assist in fraud prevention. 'We have successfully piloted this system in four provinces, and we are now ready to fully implement this.' He said Sassa must be taken back to where it belongs, 'to the people of South Africa'. 'We've also engaged our staff members in many of our provinces in seeking to understand what the challenges they are facing are, and what new ideas we can bring in to build a better organisation,' said Matlou. [email protected]

The Herald
3 hours ago
- The Herald
Several successful projects unveiled by MDBA
Since it was established in 2003, the MBDA flourished and it did so due to an enabling and stable political environment, an era predating coalition government. It is important to remember that the MBDA is intrinsically linked to its shareholder through several accountability measures, and all of these are founded on two key pieces of legislation, the Municipal Finance Management Act No 56 of 2003, the Municipal Systems Act and various regulations that set the tone for accountability. The legislation gives council the authority to appoint the accountability structures, the board of directors, the members representative committee and equally important, the independent audit committees, and council has the sole means to hold them to account. The establishment of audit committees in municipalities and municipal entities is a critical requirement under the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) to ensure sound financial governance. As part of their responsibility for financial administration, accounting officers (CEOs) must take all reasonable steps to establish and maintain effective, efficient and transparent systems of financial and risk management, internal control and internal audits that adhere to prescribed norms and standards (sections 62 and 95 of the MFMA). Furthermore, Section 166 (1) of the MFMA mandates that every municipality and municipal entity must have an audit committee, which plays a crucial oversight role. It is evident that these structures and accountability measures are at the disposal of the parent municipality to exercise control over the entity. In addition, the Acts also encourage meaningful public participation and stakeholder engagement in the activities of local government, and that is why platforms such as this are necessary, to keep the citizens and ratepayers informed and involved. When I joined the MBDA in June 2023, the entity's plans for the 2023/2024 financial year were already set and in motion. I accepted that I would work with what I inherited while rebuilding and refocusing the entity for the following year, 2024/2025, the financial year we are currently in. Our goals for 2024/2025 are lofty, and that is to achieve record institutional performance in terms of budget expenditure and service delivery focused key performance indicators ( KPIs). We adopted the 95% budget expenditure performance framework as it applies in our sector, and I am happy to report that we are firmly on track. However, there are only two impediments that are now beyond our control, they are the termination of the construction contract related to Moore Dyke due to disputes with the contractor, and the capital funds earmarked for multipurpose centres that are wholly inadequate and cannot be spent fruitlessly. As evidenced this week, on Tuesday we held the official handover of the Helenvale Extension 12 community park developed at a cost of nearly R4m from a co-funding agreement between the municipality and the German Development Bank, KFW. The park is set up to promote safety and peace and planted with indigenous fauna that is self-sustainable. The work included the construction of a seated pavilion area, paved pathways, a five-a-side and netball court, children's play area and outdoor gym facility. This milestone was achieved due to improved focus on project delivery and accountability we introduced, known as the 'war-room' with one main objective, to unblock and troubleshoot project management. On June 11, we will unveil yet another key community development project that has reached completion and is ready for use. The New Brighton community waste drop-off site came from pleadings by the community through the ward councillor and was facilitated with the assistance of the public health directorate. The project is a solution to rampant illegal dumping in the area which creates health hazards. We also recognised this as an opportunity to turn waste into economic potential, so we trained community co-operatives that will be managing the site in partnership with the municipality. Built at a capital cost of R5.5m, the project created much-needed work opportunities in that community and will provide a lasting solution to illegal dumping. On the tourism asset development front, the St Peters Rainbow Village will finally open to receive local, national and international visitors. By securing the property, the MBDA could protect the heritage of the area and restore some dignity for those who called South End home for decades. The remains of the church represent one of the last remaining structures from the 1960s forced removals. Going beyond the restoration of the old church, we have created a unique and must-see tourism offering that will appeal to all markets. The rehabilitated St Peters Rainbow Village now offers a space for outdoor events, educational and community activities, a small amphitheatre, and the opportunity for guided tours celebrating South End's rich history and culture. Also, in June, as part of initiatives to commemorate 22 years of urban redevelopment, we intend to honour a former leader and founding member of the first democratic local government of the Bay. An individual that played a leading role in shaping the vision that enabled the existence of the MBDA, someone who represents a cohort of collective leadership that provided a conducive environment for the MBDA to flourish. The phrase 'Without vision, the people perish' is from Proverbs 29:18 in the Bible. It means that without a clear goal or direction, people become unrestrained, cannot focus and cannot reach their goals. The phrase emphasises the importance of having a clear vision or goal, and currently it is difficult to identify what the current vision is for the Bay. The Herald


The South African
4 hours ago
- The South African
Donald Trump-Elon Musk blow-up: How it unfolded
A timeline in quotes of the public meltdown of Donald Trump and Elon Musk's relationship over several astonishing hours on Thursday. 'Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore. I was surprised,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The US president was responding to comments made by Musk two days earlier in which Musk had called his 'big, beautiful bill' on tax and spending a 'disgusting abomination'. Responding on X to Donald Trump's comments on Thursday, Musk fired back at 12:19 local time: 'ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill… Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.' In the Oval Office, Trump continued: 'I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here… All of a sudden, he had a problem.' To this, South Africa-born Musk responded: 'False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!' (12:25) And then in a fresh post 21 minutes later: 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.' 'Such ingratitude.' Just over an hour later, at 13:57, Musk carried on, with a post that he pinned to the top of his timeline: 'Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?' Donald Trump fired back on Truth Social under an hour later, as the spat got increasingly bitter. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' (14:37) US media have put the value of the contracts at $18 billion. At 15:10 Musk referred to US government documents on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial for sex crimes. 'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.' (Trump, 16:06). 'In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately' (Musk, 16:09). SpaceX's Crew Dragon is currently the only US spacecraft certified to carry crew to the International Space Station under a contract worth more than $4.9 billion. Later in the day, Musk appeared to walk back his earlier comment on this subject, replying to a user on X: 'OK, we won't decommission Dragon,' though his tone was unclear. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news. By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse