On Friday, June 16, Forbes Magazine declared South African billionaire, Johann Rupert, ”Africa’s richest man,” toppling the Nigeria’s richest person, Aliko Dangote, who has held that title consecutively for 10 years.
Forbes real-time Global Billionaires Ranking pegged Rupert’s net worth at $12 billion and Dangote’s at $10.8 billion. Dangote’s net worth took a massive dip due to the naira depreciation caused by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to auction the dollar at a relatively lower rate than the official market price.
The central bank sold the dollar almost 30 per cent cheaper.
With Johanna’s new status as Africa’s richest man, here are important things to know about him.
1, 73 years old Rupert was born in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on June 1, 1950 to business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife, Hurberte. He is the eldest of his parent’s children.
2, Rupert studied economics and company law at the University of Stellenbosch but dropped out to pursue a business career.
3, In 2004, the same university honoured Rupert with an honorary degree in economics. In 2008, he received another honorary doctorate from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. (The PUNCH)