Published: October 2, 2026 | Last updated: October 2, 2026
Key Facts
- South Africa's seven billionaires on Forbes' 2026 Africa list are worth a combined $43 billion, and the country leads the continent with seven of Africa's 23 billionaires (Forbes Africa, April 7, 2026; our calculation).
- Johann Rupert is South Africa's richest person at $16.1 billion and Africa's second-richest individual, ahead of Nicky Oppenheimer ($10.6 billion) and Patrice Motsepe ($4.3 billion) (Forbes Africa, April 7, 2026).
- Michiel Le Roux was the biggest gainer among South Africans, with his fortune up 73% (+$1.6 billion) to $3.8 billion on Capitec Bank's 57% share rally, lifting him from 12th to 10th in Africa (Forbes Africa, April 7, 2026).
- Dis-Chem founder Ivan Saltzman's family joined the dollar-billionaire club in 2026, valued at $1.3 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in its first-ever ranking of the family on June 29, 2026 (Bloomberg via Billionaires.Africa, June 29, 2026).
- No woman appears in South Africa's top 10 — the cutoff sits at about $1 billion — and all ten are over 55 (Forbes Africa, April 7, 2026; company filings).
| Rank | Name | Net Worth (US$) | Source of Wealth | Valuation basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johann Rupert & family | $16.1 billion | Luxury goods | Forbes Africa, March 1, 2026 |
| 2 | Nicky Oppenheimer & family | $10.6 billion | Diamonds | Forbes Africa, March 1, 2026 |
| 3 | Patrice Motsepe | $4.3 billion | Mining | Forbes Africa, March 1, 2026 |
| 4 | Michiel Le Roux | $3.8 billion | Banking | Forbes Africa, March 1, 2026 |
| 5 | Koos Bekker | $3.6 billion | Media & investments | Forbes Africa, March 1, 2026 |
| 6 | Jannie Mouton & family | $2.7 billion | Financial services | Forbes Africa, March 1, 2026 |
| 7 | Christoffel Wiese | $1.9 billion | Retail | Forbes Africa, March 1, 2026 |
| 8 | Ivan Saltzman & family | $1.3 billion | Pharmacy retail | Bloomberg Billionaires Index, June 29, 2026 |
| 9 | Stephen Saad | about $1.2 billion | Pharmaceuticals | Forbes estimate, 2026 |
| 10 | Zak Calisto | about $1 billion | Technology | Karooooo stake valuation, July 2026 |
South African-born billionaires based abroad are not counted here: Nathan Kirsh (London, about $15.2 billion on Bloomberg), Ivan Glasenberg (Switzerland) and Patrick Soon-Shiong (United States).
Selected Details About Each Person
1. Johann Rupert & family
Worth $16.1 billion, up from $14 billion a year earlier. Chairs Richemont, the Swiss luxury group behind Cartier, Montblanc and Van Cleef & Arpels; also owns 7% of Remgro and 26% of Reinet Investments. Briefly overtook Aliko Dangote as Africa's richest person on Bloomberg's index in August 2024; Bloomberg valued him at $18.9 billion in September 2026.
2. Nicky Oppenheimer & family
Worth $10.6 billion, up from $10.4 billion. Third generation of the family that controlled De Beers for nearly a century; sold the family's 40% De Beers stake to Anglo American for $5.1 billion cash in 2012. Founded Fireblade Aviation in 2014 and owns at least 720 square miles of conservation land across four African countries.
3. Patrice Motsepe
Worth $4.3 billion, up from $3 billion. Founded African Rainbow Minerals (gold, platinum, iron ore, coal) and became the first Black African on the Forbes billionaires list in 2008. Owns Mamelodi Sundowns and is president of the Confederation of African Football; also runs African Rainbow Capital and holds a stake in Sanlam.
4. Michiel Le Roux
Worth $3.8 billion, up from $2.2 billion, climbing from 12th to 10th in Africa. Founded Capitec Bank in 2001 with a simple brief — make banking simple, affordable and accessible — and retains about an 11% stake. The bank's shares jumped 57% as gold and platinum hit new highs, beating the JSE's 45% rise; Capitec is now South Africa's third-largest retail bank.
5. Koos Bekker
Worth $3.6 billion, up from $3.4 billion. As CEO of Naspers from 1997 to 2014, he transformed a newspaper publisher into a global tech investor; the 2001 bet on Tencent is one of the most profitable venture investments ever made. Chairman of Naspers since 2015; Naspers spun off MultiChoice and Prosus in 2019. Based in Cape Town.
6. Jannie Mouton & family
Worth $2.7 billion. Founded PSG Group, the Stellenbosch financial services giant, and was an early investor in Capitec Bank alongside Le Roux. His son Piet Mouton is PSG's chief executive. Keeps one of the lowest public profiles of anyone on this list.
7. Christoffel Wiese
Worth $1.9 billion, up 26.7% (+$0.4 billion). Built the Pepkor retail empire; Steinhoff bought Pepkor for $5.7 billion in 2015, and its 2017 accounting scandal cost Wiese his billionaire status. He regained it through the 2022 Steinhoff settlement; his most valuable asset is now an 11.44% stake in Shoprite, alongside stakes in Brait, Invicta Holdings and Collins Property Group. Age 83, based in Cape Town.
8. Ivan Saltzman & family
Worth $1.3 billion (Bloomberg, June 29, 2026). Co-founded Dis-Chem with his wife Lynette in 1978 from a single Mondeor pharmacy opened with R10,000 of capital; listed on the JSE in 2016 and grew to 358 stores — 316 pharmacies and 42 baby stores — by 2026. Stepped down as chairman in June 2026 after 48 years, having transferred roughly a quarter of the company to sons Dan and Mark in June 2025. Bloomberg's first-ever ranking of the family.
9. Stephen Saad
Worth about $1.2 billion (Forbes estimate). Founded Aspen Pharmacare in 1997 with Gus Attridge and owns 13.02% — about 58 million shares — making him its largest individual shareholder. Aspen is Africa's largest generic-drugs producer, selling in more than 150 countries. Saad became a millionaire at 29 selling his first business for $3 million and used the proceeds to start Aspen; its R27 billion sale of the Asia-Pacific business to BGH Capital closed on May 30, 2026.
10. Zak Calisto
Worth about $1 billion (Karooooo stake, July 2026). Founded Cartrack in 2001 as a stolen-vehicle recovery service; it became Karooooo, a Nasdaq-listed mobility software company now headquartered in Singapore, where Calisto has lived since 2020. He owns roughly 58% of Karooooo; the stake crossed $1 billion in July 2026 after a 25.65% share rally on record full-year results — R5.48 billion in revenue, up 20%. Dropped out of actuarial science at Wits before working in banking and starting his own company.
Quick Answers to Commonly Asked Questions About this Topic
Who is the richest person in South Africa?
Johann Rupert, at $16.1 billion on Forbes' 2026 list (valuations as of March 1, 2026). Bloomberg's real-time index had him at $18.9 billion in September 2026, still comfortably ahead of Nicky Oppenheimer.
Why do Forbes and Bloomberg give different figures?
Forbes takes a snapshot at a fixed date — March 1, 2026 for this list — while Bloomberg updates daily with market moves. Between March and September 2026, Rupert's Richemont-linked fortune rose with luxury shares, which is why Bloomberg's figure is higher.
Are there any women on the list?
No. South Africa's wealthiest women sit well below the roughly $1 billion cutoff for this top 10, so the list is entirely male — a pattern it shares with the continent-wide ranking.
Which industries created the most South African wealth?
Luxury goods, diamonds and mining built the oldest fortunes; banking, media and technology built the newer ones. Pharmacy retail (Dis-Chem) and pharmaceuticals (Aspen) are the two healthcare routes into the top 10.
Who is left out of this list?
South African-born billionaires who live and do most of their business abroad: Nathan Kirsh (London, about $15.2 billion on Bloomberg), Ivan Glasenberg (Switzerland) and Patrick Soon-Shiong (United States). Note also that the Rupert, Oppenheimer, Mouton and Saltzman fortunes include family members, following Forbes' convention.
Data Sources
- Forbes Africa, "Africa's Billionaires 2026" (April 7, 2026; valuations as of March 1, 2026)
- Forbes Africa, Koos Bekker profile (2026)
- Forbes Africa, Christoffel Wiese profile (2026)
- Billionaires.Africa, "Ivan Saltzman joins South Africa's dollar billionaire club" (June 29, 2026)
- Shore.Africa, "Zak Calisto Karooooo stake tops $1 billion" (July 8, 2026)
- Daily Investor, "South Africa has a new billionaire" (2026)
- AnswersAfrica, "20 Richest People in South Africa" (Stephen Saad at $1.2 billion, Forbes estimate)
Methodology
Ranked primarily on Forbes Africa's 2026 Africa's Billionaires list, with stock prices and exchange rates taken at the close of business on March 1, 2026; private businesses are valued on price-to-sales, price-to-earnings or similar ratios of comparable public companies. The ranking is extended with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (the Saltzman family, first ranked on June 29, 2026) and public stake valuations (Calisto's Karooooo holding, July 2026). It covers South African citizens and residents whose primary business is in South Africa, and excludes South African-born billionaires based abroad — Nathan Kirsh, Ivan Glasenberg and Patrick Soon-Shiong. Families are counted together where Forbes does (Rupert, Oppenheimer, Mouton, Saltzman). All figures are in US dollars; fortunes move daily with markets.
