Johann Rupert & family Biography – Early Life Net Worth Education Awards

Johann Peter Rupert, born on June 1, 1950, is a distinguished South African billionaire entrepreneur. He is the eldest offspring of the renowned tycoon Anton Rupert and his spouse, Huberte. At present, Johann Rupert serves as the chairman of two prominent corporations—Switzerland-based luxury goods firm Richemont and South Africa-based enterprise Remgro. Since April 2010, he has also assumed the position of CEO at Compagnie Financiere Richemont. Notably, in the 2023 Forbes list, Johann Rupert and his family were acknowledged as the wealthiest individuals in South Africa, with an estimated net worth of US$10.7 billion.

Personal Life:

Johann Rupert’s formative years were spent in Stellenbosch. He attended Paul Roos Gymnasium and later pursued higher education at the University of Stellenbosch, majoring in economics and company law. Although he initially withdrew from the university to pursue a business career, he was later granted an honorary doctorate in Economics by the University of Stellenbosch in 2004. In 2008, he received another honorary doctorate from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Johann Rupert is often described as “reclusive” by publications like the Financial Times and Barron’s. He is known colloquially as “Rupert the Bear.”

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Business Career:

Johann Rupert embarked on his business journey in New York City, where he gained valuable experience working for Chase Manhattan for two years and Lazard Freres for three years. In 1979, he returned to South Africa and founded Rand Merchant Bank, eventually becoming its CEO.

Key milestones in his business career include:

• 1984: Merging RMB and Rand Consolidated Investments to create RMB Holdings and transitioning to his father’s company, the Rembrandt Group.
• 1988: Founding Compagnie Financiere Richemont in 1988 and being appointed Non-Executive Director of Rothmans International plc in the same year. He was recognized as the “Businessman of the Year” by the Sunday Times.
• 1989: Appointed Vice Chairman of the Rembrandt Group.
• 1990: Named business leader of the year by Die Burger newspaper and the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce. Established the Richemont subsidiary Vendôme Luxury Group SA.
• 1991: Appointed Chairman of Rembrandt Group Limited and selected as one of 200 “Global Leaders of Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
• 1993: Received the M.S. Louw Award from the A.H.I. (Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut).
• 1996: Named Sunday Times Business Times’s Businessman of the Year for the second time.
• 1997: Appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Gold Fields South Africa Ltd.
• 1999: Awarded the 1999 Free Market Award by The Free Market Foundation of South Africa.
• 2000: Restructured Rembrandt Group Limited, forming Remgro Limited and VenFin Limited. Became Chairman and Chief Executive of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA and was voted “Most Influential Business Leader” in South Africa by CEOs of the top 100 Listed Companies.
• 2004: Honored with an Honorary Doctorate in Economics by the University of Stellenbosch.
• 2008: Voted South Africa’s Business Leader of the Year by the CEOs of the Top 100 Companies for the third time.
• 2009: Appointed “Officier” of the French “Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur” by the President of the French Republic. Recognized as the 2009 International Wine Entrepreneur of the Year at the Meininger “Excellence in Wine and Spirit” awards ceremony in Düsseldorf, Germany.
• 2009: Appointed Chancellor of Stellenbosch University.
• 2010: Named Honorary Vice President of the European Golf Tour and awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of St Andrews, Scotland.

Other Interests:

Johann Rupert is a former cricketer and a co-founder of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in 1990. The foundation supports 65 projects globally, focusing on using sports to address social issues, particularly among underprivileged children. Rupert also played a pivotal role in establishing the Sports Science Institute alongside his friends Morne du Plessis and Tim Noakes. He is known for developing the Leopard Creek Golf Club in Mpumalanga, South Africa, designed by Gary Player, which is ranked among the top three golf courses in South Africa and 25th outside the United States of America according to Golf Digest. Additionally, he has participated in the annual Gary Player Invitational golf tournament, helping raise funds for various children’s charities. Johann Rupert serves as the Chairman of the South African PGA Tour and the Chairman of the South African Golf Development Board. He was elected into the South African Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and inducted into the South African Golf Hall of Fame in 2009.

Following the tragic death of his younger brother, Anthonij, in a car accident in 2001, Johann Rupert took over the L’Ormarins wine estate. Anthonij had been the head of Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons. In memory of his late brother, Johann initiated a project to enhance the farm.

Johann Rupert has been a council member of The South Africa Foundation and a trustee of the Southern African Nature Foundation, The Institute of Directors in Southern Africa, Business South Africa, and Die Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns. He has also served as the Managing Trustee and a member of the investment committee for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. Additionally, he sat on the Daimler Chrysler International Advisory Board.

In line with his father Anton Rupert’s legacy, Johann Rupert is a committed conservationist. He has conserved approximately 25,000 hectares in the Graaff Reinet area and serves as the Chairman of the Peace Parks Foundation.

Controversies:

Johann Rupert has been involved in some controversies:

• In response to a design magazine describing the Afrikaans language as one of the ugliest in the world in 2005, he withdrew advertising for his companies’ brands from the magazine.
• In 2016, he terminated the PR agency Bell Pottinger as the agency was accused of running a social media campaign against him to divert attention from allegations of ‘state capture’ by the Gupta family.
• In 2017, Rupert criticized the use of the term “Radical Economic Transformation” by Bell Pottinger as a cover for alleged “State Capture” by the Gupta family.
• In 2018, he faced controversy for his remarks in an interview regarding the alleged existence of white monopoly capital, Afrikaner economic-upliftment, and comments about the saving habits of black South Africans. He later issued an apology for these comments. The leader of the Black First Land First party, Andile Mngxitama, stated that Rupert’s comments were a reason to commit violence against white South Africans.