All the companies billionaire Johann Rupert owns
Johann Rupert is one of South Africa’s most renowned businessmen. He is known for his extensive investments both locally and internationally.
With a net worth of around $11.1 billion (R194.69 billion), he is South Africa’s richest person and ranks second on Forbes’ African Billionaires List.
Johann’s business success is rooted in his father, Anton Rupert’s legacy, who founded Voorbrand, a tobacco company, in the 1940s.
This company later became Rembrandt, which dominated the South African tobacco market and was listed on the JSE within a decade.
As Rembrandt thrived, it diversified into other sectors, including mining, financial services, engineering, and food.
In the 1970s, while Rembrandt was expanding, Johann studied economics at the University of Stellenbosch. He left before completing his degree to pursue a business career.
He gained valuable experience working for Chase Manhattan and Lazard Frères in New York.
Upon returning to South Africa in 1979, Rupert founded Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and served as its CEO until 1984, when RMB merged with Rand Consolidated Investments to form RMB Holdings.
Rupert eventually joined his father’s company, Rembrandt, and played a pivotal role in transforming it into a global empire.
He spun off the company’s international assets, creating Compagnie Financière Richemont, a Swiss-based luxury goods company that owns iconic brands like Cartier and Montblanc.
In 1991, Rupert became chairman of Rembrandt, guiding its international expansion.
In 1995, Rembrandt and Richemont consolidated their tobacco assets under Rothmans International, which later merged with British American Tobacco (BAT) – a company the Ruperts have a stake in to this day.
This strategic move helped solidify Rupert’s position in the global business landscape.
The 2000s marked significant changes for the Ruperts, with Rembrandt restructuring into two publicly traded companies: Remgro, which managed its traditional assets, and VenFin, which handled its technology investments.
In 2009, these companies merged back into Remgro. Rupert remains chairman of Remgro and Richemont and oversaw the creation of Reinet Investments in 2008, a company focused on non-luxury assets spun off from Richemont.
Today, Rupert’s leadership spans Remgro, Richemont, and Reinet, cementing his status as one of South Africa’s most influential and enduring business figures.
Below is an overview of all the companies Johann Rupert has a stake in through his involvement with Remgro, Richemont, and Reinet, as well as changes that have taken place in the company’s portfolios over the past year.
Over the past year, Remgro, in particular, has undergone significant changes in some of its key investments.
Mediclinic
Mediclinic is South Africa’s largest private hospital operator, operating in Switzerland, the Middle East, and southern Africa.
While Remgro has been Mediclinic’s largest shareholder for years, it has been publicly listed on the JSE for 37 years. However, in August 2022, Mediclinic and a Remgro-led consortium finalized the terms of a takeover.
Mediclinic’s board accepted a £3.7 billion (R75 billion) buyout offer from Remgro in partnership with Switzerland’s MSC Mediterranean Shipping.
At the time of the takeover deal, Mediclinic was valued at R86 billion on the JSE.
Mediclinic was delisted from the JSE and the London Stock Exchnage in mid-2023, with Remgro now holding 50% effective interest in the company.
Heineken and Distell
Over the past year, big changes have occurred at one of Remgro’s key investments, Distell, centring around a deal between the company and Dutch brewing giant Heineken.
Heineken South Africa entered into an agreement to acquire Distell Group Holdings, a South African beverage company that produces a range of alcoholic beverages, including cider, spirits, and wines.
The deal was valued at approximately €2.2 billion (R38 billion) when it was announced in late 2021.
The acquisition was intended to create a new joint venture comprising Distell, Heineken’s existing South African business, and Namibia Breweries. Heineken would control a majority stake in this entity.
The primary aim was for Heineken to expand its presence in the growing African beverage market, particularly in South Africa.
In 2023, South Africa’s Competition Tribunal approved the transaction but tacked on several conditions to address concerns about job losses, competition, and public interest.
These conditions included job protection, with Heineken committing to limiting layoffs and maintaining a local production focus for key products.
The deal also included commitments towards broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE).
As part of the acquisition, Distell’s wine and spirits division would be spun off into Capevin Holdings, a separate entity that would remain listed on the JSE.
Capevin would focus primarily on Distell’s more premium wine and spirits brands, while Heineken would integrate the cider and ready-to-drink segment, including popular brands like Savanna and Hunter’s Dry.
In April 2023, Heineken announced that the deal had officially closed. Heineken Beverages was formed on 26 April 2023 as a merger of Heineken South Africa, Distell, and Namibia Breweries Limited.
The company’s brand portfolio includes the global flagship brand Heineken as well as many other world-class brands like Savanna, Windhoek Lager and Nederburg.
Capevin, which holds the wine and spirits division, began operating separately from Heineken, with its shares listed on the JSE. Remgro still has a 31.4% effective interest in Capevin following the deal.
Today, Remgro has an 18.8% stake in Heineken.
Following the deal’s completion, Heineken and Distell have been integrating operations, with Heineken expected to leverage Distell’s distribution network across Southern Africa.
While this acquisition has been hailed as a strategic move, there have been concerns about the concentration of market power, especially in the cider and beer market.
In addition, Heineken and, therefore, Remgro have taken a significant beating since the deal was completed.
Since the merger, the business has performed poorly, with Heineken writing down the value of the company by R10 billion in early 2024.
This, combined with a change in the company’s valuation, effectively cut Remgro’s stake in the company in half, from R12.49 billion to R6.6 billion.
However, both companies have announced plans to address this decline and have reaffirmed their belief in the business’s long-term prospects.
RCL Foods and Rainbow Chicken
RCL Foods is a holding company with diversified interests that focuses on two divisions: Food (Groceries, Baking and Sugar) and Rainbow (chicken, including Epol Animal Feed).
Remgro has had a major stake in RCL Foods for years, with it still currently holding an effective interest of over 80%.
In June this year, RCL Foods finalised the unbundling of its Rainbow Chicken division, which was spun off and listed separately on the JSE.
Rainbow Chicken was originally founded in 1960 as a small family-owned business and has become one of South Africa’s largest poultry providers over the past 60 years.
Today, the company is a fully integrated broiler producer and functions at all stages of chicken production, from farm to fork.
It controls and operates 165 farms, 1,288 houses, eight hatcheries, three primary processing plants, and two further processing plants dedicated to added-value chicken products.
The unbundling was implemented through the distribution of 890,296,405 ordinary shares at a ratio of 1 Rainbow Chicken share for every 1 RCL Foods share.
Today, the company is listed on the JSE with a market cap of R3 billion and a share price of R3.50.
Miscellaneous changes
The following smaller changes have also taken place over the past year.
OUTsurance entered the Irish insurance market, establishing a subsidiary called OUTsurance Ireland.
An internal restructuring saw Dark Fibre Africa and Vumatel being held under Maziv, a newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary of CIVH. A proposed deal with Vodacom, which would see the telecoms giant acquire a minority stake in Maziv, has been delayed for months now due to anti-competitive concerns raised by the Competition Commission.
In October, Richemont agreed to sell its loss-making Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) online fashion and accessories business to German luxury fashion platform Mytheresa. Richemont will take a 33% stake in Mytheresa in exchange for 100% of YNAP’s share capital. The deal is not yet finalised but is expected to close in early 2025.
All the companies Johann Rupert has a stake in
Remgro
Remgro’s investment portfolio has evolved substantially since it was established and currently includes investee companies across nine platforms.
Remgro currently has a market cap of R83.26 billion on the JSE.
| Company | Effective interest | Subsidiaries/Brands/ Investments |
| Mediclinic International | 50.00% | Mediclinic |
| Hirslanden | ||
| ER24 | ||
| Medical Innovations | ||
| Intercare | ||
| Medical Human Resources | ||
| Heineken Beverages (Distell) | 18.80% | Heineken 0.0 |
| Hunters Chilled | ||
| JC le Roux Le Domaine | ||
| Savanna | ||
| Vitafit Aday | ||
| Amstel | ||
| Heineken | ||
| Sol | ||
| Tafel Lager | ||
| Windhoek | ||
| Bernini | ||
| Espirit | ||
| Extreme | ||
| Hunter’s | ||
| Vawter | ||
| Amarula | ||
| Bain’s | ||
| Commando | ||
| Count Pushkin | ||
| Cruz Vodka | ||
| Harrier | ||
| James Sedgwick Distillery | ||
| Klipdrift | ||
| Old Buck Dry Gin | ||
| Richelieu | ||
| Three Ships | ||
| Van Ryns | ||
| Viceroy | ||
| 4th Street | ||
| Cape Portrait | ||
| Drostdy Hof | ||
| Durbanville Hills | ||
| Fleur du Cap | ||
| Inception | ||
| JC le Roux | ||
| Nederburg | ||
| Olof Bergh | ||
| Pongracz | ||
| Sedgwick’s | ||
| Two Oceans | ||
| Capevin (CVH Spirits) | 31.40% | Black Bottle |
| Bunnahabhain | ||
| Deanston | ||
| Scottish Leader | ||
| Angostura | ||
| RCL Foods | 80.20% | 5 Star |
| Bobtail | ||
| Bonzo | ||
| Canine Cuisine | ||
| Catmor | ||
| Dogmor | ||
| Driehoek Feeds | ||
| Epol | ||
| Equus | ||
| Farmer Brown | ||
| Feline Cuisine | ||
| RCL Foods | ||
| Mnandi Amahewu | ||
| Molatek | ||
| Monati | ||
| Nola | ||
| Number 1 Mageu | ||
| Optimizor | ||
| Ouma | ||
| Pieman’s | ||
| Safari | ||
| Selati | ||
| Sunbake | ||
| Supreme Flour | ||
| Tafelberg | ||
| Ultra Pet | ||
| Yapper | ||
| Yum Yum | ||
| Siqalo Foods | 100% | Stork |
| Flora | ||
| Rama | ||
| OUTsurance Group | 30.60% | OUTsurance |
| OUTsurance Life | ||
| OUTsurance Ireland | ||
| OUTsurance Shared Services | ||
| Youi | ||
| Business Partners | 44.10% | Business Partners |
| Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH) | 57% | Dark Fibre Africa |
| Vumatel | ||
| SEACOM | 30% | SEACOM |
| Ubiquity | 75.00% | Energy Exchange of Southern Africa |
| Enerweb | ||
| Air Products | 50% | Air Products |
| TotalEnergies | 24.90% | National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (Natref) |
| Wispeco | 100% | Wispeco Aluminum |
| PGSI | 37.70% | PFG |
| Shatterprufe | ||
| PG Building Glass | ||
| PG Glass | ||
| PG Aluminium | ||
| PG Primador | ||
| LLumar Films | ||
| Widney Transport Components | ||
| PG Glass Africa | ||
| KTH | 43.50% | Kagiso Media |
| Servest Group | ||
| Me Cure Healthcare | ||
| Momentum Metropolitan | ||
| Lupo Bakery | ||
| Jacaranda FM | ||
| East Coast Radio | ||
| Urban Brew Studios | ||
| Juta | ||
| Mediamark | ||
| Future Managers | ||
| Kaya FM | ||
| Gagasi FM | ||
| OFM | ||
| Heart FM | ||
| Nozala Investments | ||
| Inca | ||
| Futurewise | ||
| Prescient | 42.4% | Prescient China Equity Fund |
| Milestone Capital | 28.10% | Milestone China Opportunities Fund III |
| Invenfin | 100% | Ad Dynamo |
| ArcAqua | ||
| Bolt | ||
| Blue Robot | ||
| BOS Brands | ||
| DC Foods | ||
| Fieldbar | ||
| Joya Brands | ||
| lelive | ||
| LifeQ | ||
| Money Fellows | ||
| National HealthCare Group | ||
| OfferZen | ||
| Root | ||
| Samarkand | ||
| Wyzetalk | ||
| Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund (PRIF) | 16.20% | Railco Africa |
| Lumos Global | ||
| Solar Saver | ||
| iColo.io | ||
| Gasholdco | ||
| Zim Borders | ||
| GridX Africa | ||
| Medallion Data Centres | ||
| Asia Partners | 6.5% (Fund I) | Carsome |
| 10% (Fund II) | Doctor Anywhere | |
| GudangAda | ||
| RedDoorz | ||
| SCI Ecommerce | ||
| Shopback | ||
| SingleInterface | ||
| Snapask | ||
| eMedia Investments | 32.30% | e.tv |
| Openview | ||
| eNCA | ||
| eVOD | ||
| YFM | ||
| Sasani Studios | ||
| Media Film Service | ||
| CPT Film Studios | ||
| FirstRand | 2.20% | FNB |
| RMB | ||
| WesBank | ||
| Aldermore | ||
| MotoNovo | ||
| Ashburton Investments | ||
| DirectAxis | ||
| MotoVantage | ||
| FirstRand Corporate Centre | ||
| Discovery | 7.80% | Discovery Health |
| Discovery Insure | ||
| Discovery Invest | ||
| Discovery Bank | ||
| VitalityHealth | ||
| VitaliftLife | ||
| Vitality Network | ||
| Vitality Health International | ||
| Momentum Metropolitan Holdings | 8.60% | Momentum Retail |
| Momentum Investments | ||
| Momentum Corporate | ||
| Guardrisk | ||
| Momentum International | ||
| Momentum Health | ||
| Metropolitan Life | ||
| Momentum Insure | ||
| British American Tobacco | 0.10% | Vuse |
| glo | ||
| VELO | ||
| Grizzly | ||
| Dunhill | ||
| Kent | ||
| Lucky Strike | ||
| Pall Mall | ||
| Rothmans | ||
| Camel | ||
| Natural American Spirit | ||
| Newport | ||
| The Blue Bulls Company | 50% | Blue bulls |
| Stelllenbosch Academy of Sport | 100% | Stelllenbosch Academy of Sport |
| Stellenbosch Football Club | 100% | Stellenbosch Football Club |
Richemont
A large part of Richemont’s portfolio consists of jewellery and luxury watch producers, but some of its subsidiaries also produce leather goods, pens, firearms, and luxury clothing.
Richemont is by far the largest company among the three.
| Company | Subsidiaries/Portfolio |
| Richemont | Buccellati |
| Cartier | |
| Van Cleef & Arpels | |
| Vhernier | |
| A. Lange & Söhne | |
| Baume & Mercier | |
| IWC Schaffhausen | |
| Jaeger-LeCoultre | |
| Panerai | |
| Piaget | |
| Roger Dubuis | |
| Vacheron Constantin | |
| Alaïa | |
| Chloé | |
| Delvauz | |
| dunhill | |
| Gianvito Rossi | |
| Montblanc | |
| Peter Millar | |
| Purdey | |
| Serapian | |
| TimeVallée | |
| Watchfinder & Co. | |
| NET-A-PORTER | |
| MR PORTER | |
| THE OUTNET | |
| YOOX | |
| Online Flagship Stores |
Reinet
Reinet is the smallest of the three companies, with a market cap of R4.86 billion.
This is what the company’s net asset value was comprised of at 31 March 2024.
| Investments | Percentage of portfolio |
| Listed Investments | |
| British American Tobacco | 22% |
| Other listed investments | 1.50% |
| Unlisted Investments | |
| Pension Insurance Corporation Group | 55.60% |
| Trilantic Capital Partners | 7.20% |
| TruArc Partners | 6% |
| Coatue funds | 1.20% |
| Asian private equity companies and portfolio funds | 2.80% |
| Specialised investment funds | 1.70% |
| United States land development and mortgages | 0.30% |
| Other investments | 1.20% |
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