Who's Johann Rupert and how rich is he?

Over the past few days as from 5 December 2018 Johann Rupert (68) has been trending on social networks with dozens of articles being published about him since he appeared on a radio talk show hosted by Given Mkhari on Power Fm, a radio station owned by Mkhari himself under the imprint - MSG Africa Holdings.

Some might not know much about Rupert and must be wondering who is Johann Rupert and how wealthy is he? Simply put Johann Rupert might not be the wealthiest person born in South Africa enlisted under the Forbes magazine elite club. That title would arguably go to Elon Musk. However Johann Rupert is the second richest South African citizen who currently resides in South Africa.

This is how Rupert climbed the corporate ladder:

Net Worth: $5,3 billion (2018)

* Born to Anton Rupert, a South African tycoon and Huberte Rupert; Johann Peter Rupert grew up in Stellenbosch. He schooled at Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch. He furthered in the University of Stellenbosch to obtain a degree in economics and company law but had to drop out of school to venture into business.

*Johann started out his business career in New York when he served his apprenticeship at Chase
Manhattan. He stayed with the company for two years then moved to Lizard Feres and worked for three years. In 1976, he returned to South Africa and started a bank called Rand Merchant Bank of which he served as the CEO.

*The Rupert family empire was started in 1941 and his father operated a dry cleaning business for a while and then decided to go into tobacco industry a year later. The firm’s first cigarette brand was named Rembrandt and it was famous among South African smokers. Later on, the company was split into two, Remgro and Richemont. Remgro deals in Mining, Finance and industrial area. Richemont, on the other hand, works as Swiss Luxury Goods Group. Now, the company has been expanded in six continents over more than 30 countries.

Rupert has over the past few days set twitter trends alight with thousands of unimpressed users expressing their displeasure at his controversial remarks. Here are some quotes from the interview that made Southern Hemisphere shake:

Do you think Johann Rupert is racist ? Comment with your views below here.

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