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!
How they made their money
According to Forbes’ real-time tracking of billionaires, Johann Rupert and his family are the richest in South Africa, with a net worth of $14.1 billion.
The Ruperts are followed by diamond magnateNicky Oppenheimer, who boasts a net worth of $10.5 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.
Rupert added a whopping $700 million (R12.8 billion) to his net worth in the last week alone, while Koos Bekker and Michiel Le Roux each added $100 million (R1.83 billion).
In terms of the overall world list, South Africa-born Elon Musk remains the world’s richest person with a reported $395.6 billion.
Below, the list of the top seven richest South Africans in the world as of 12 May 2025.
Rank
Name
Last week
This week
Source
167
Johann Rupert & family
$13.4bn
$14.1bn
Luxury goods
260
Nicky Oppenheimer & family
$10.5bn
$10.5bn
Diamonds
1 071
Koos Bekker
$3.4bn
$3.5bn
Media, investments
1 207
Patrice Motsepe
$3.1bn
$3.1bn
Mining
1 496
Michiel Le Roux
$2.4bn
$2.5bn
Banking
2 048
Jannie Mouton & family
$1.7bn
$1.7bn
Retail
2 160
Christo Wiese
$1.6bn
$1.6bn
Financial services
TOTAL
$36.1bn
$37bn
How far off are YOU from joining this list of SA dollar billionaires?
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