EFF protesters involve Billionaire Johann Rupert in a controversy surrounding his offshore account. This article covers everything we know about the chairman of Richemont.
Johann Rupert is a South African entrepreneur.
He is the chairman of Richemont and Remgro. The businessman is also a former cricketer who founded the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.
Eff Johann Rupert Businesses & Net Worth 2022, Tycoon’s Billions Exposed
Johann Rupert is a billionaire with a net worth of $9.4 billion in 2022.
Forbes ranks him 228th among the World Billionaires and second among Africa’s Billionaires. The American business magazine reports that his source of wealth is luxury goods.
Johann is the chairman of the Swiss firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont. As for his salary, Wallmine reports it to be about $3 million.
In addition to that, he also owns 7% of the diversified investment firm Remgro, where he is the chairman, and 25% of Reinet, a Luxembourg-based investment holding company.
In 2013, Johann’s net worth was $6.6 billion. And in the course of nine years, from that time to 2022, the amount has fluctuated quite a bit. This year marks the highest in his career, while 2020 was the lowest with $4.6 billion.
In recent years, he has vocally opposed the plans to allow fracking in the Karoo region of South Africa. He owns land there.
Today, on 6 April 2022, The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the second-largest South African opposition party, picketed outside Johann’s wine farms in Western Cape province.
The protest is to mark the day the Dutchman Jan van Riebeeck, the first European colonizer of South Africa, first arrived in the country. They also protested on his other properties located in the northern Mpumalanga province.
Inequality along racial lines persists even after almost three decades of the end of White-minority rule in the nation. Moreover, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index reports that the three richest South African are White men.
The EFF wants to know all of Johann’s offshore bank accounts, which they accuse of tax evasion. Similarly, they say they want to confront him and ask for their land back.
Johann Rupert Controversies
Billionaire Johann Rupert has been in several controversies the recent years.
The famous one came in 2018 during an interview with PowerFM. He faced criticism for denying the existence of white monopoly capital. Likewise, his comments on the saving habits of black South Africans also insinuated some heat.
Johann later apologized for his actions. However, Andile Mngxitama (leader of the Black First Land First party) stated his comments were the reason to commit violence against white South Africans.