Johann Rupert

Johann Peter Rupert (born 1 June 1950) is a South African-born entrepreneur, who is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte. He is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and the South Africa-based company Remgro. As of 1 April 2010, he assumed the CEO position of Compagnie Financiere Richemont. Together with his family, he was estimated to be worth $5.9 billion , and was ranked as the second wealthiest person in South Africa on the "Forbes" list of The World's Billionaires of 2019, with his fortune reported as having declined from US$7.3 billion. Rupert and family were ranked as the second-richest in South Africa on the 2020 "Forbes" list, with a fortune reported as US$5.4 billion.
Personal life.
Rupert grew up in Stellenbosch, where he attended Paul Roos Gymnasium and the University of Stellenbosch, studying economics and company law. He dropped out of the university to pursue a career in business, however, in 2004, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate in Economics.
In 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Commerce from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Described as "reclusive" by the "Financial Times" and "Barron's", Rupert rarely gives interviews and shuns public events. In 2006 the same newspaper also called him "Rupert the Bear" for predicting a world economic crisis.
Business career.
Rupert served his business apprenticeship in New York City, where he worked for Chase Manhattan for two years and for Lazard Freres for three years. He then returned to South Africa in 1979 and founded Rand Merchant Bank of which he was CEO.
Views on economics and politics.
Rupert has declared his sympathy for and belief in the idea of a universal basic income.
Other interests.
Rupert is a former cricketer and founded the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in 1990. Laureus funds 65 projects globally, with the goal of using sport to tackle social issues, having a particular emphasis on underprivileged children. He co-founded the Sports Science Institute with his friends Morne du Plessis and Tim Noakes.
Rupert also developed the Gary Player designed, Leopard Creek Golf Club in Mpumalanga, South Africa which is one of South Africa's top three golf courses, and rated number 25 outside the United States of America (Golf Digest). He has also played in the annual Gary Player Invitational golf tournament to assist fellow South African and friend Gary Player raise funds for various children's charities. He serves as Chairman of the South African PGA Tour and Chairman of the South African Golf Development Board. In 2007 he was elected into South African Sports Hall of Fame and in 2009 was inducted into South African Golf Hall of Fame.
Following his younger brother Anthonij's death in a car accident in 2001 he took over the L'Ormarins wine estate. Anthonij, was head of Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons. Rupert initiated a project to enhance the farm in memory of his late brother.
He was council member of The South Africa Foundation and 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 and Managing Trustee and member of the investment committee, Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. He served on the Daimler Chrysler International Advisory Board.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Anton, Johann Rupert is also a committed conservationist. In addition to conserving about 25,000 hectares in the Graaff Reinet area, he is also Chairman of the Peace Parks Foundation.
Controversies.
When the British design magazine "Wallpaper*" described the Afrikaans language as "one of the ugliest languages in the world" in its September 2005 edition (in reference to the Afrikaans Language Monument), Rupert responded by withdrawing advertising for his companies' brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Montblanc and Alfred Dunhill from the magazine.
In December 2016, it was reported that Rupert had dropped Bell Pottinger as the PR agency of Richemont, accusing Bell Pottinger of running a social media campaign against him, to divert attention away from persistent 'state capture' allegations levelled at the Gupta family.
In September 2017, Rupert, during Richemont’s annual general meeting in Geneva, described the use of the term "Radical Economic Transformation" by Bell Pottinger as "just a code word for theft”, in order to cover up the "State Capture" by their clients, the notorious Gupta family. Radical Economic Transformation is a policy championed by President Jacob Zuma to reduce racial inequality in South Africa.
In 2018 Rupert caused some controversy in South Africa for comments he made during an interview with PowerFM. He was criticised for denying the alleged existence of white monopoly capital, his account of the process of Afrikaner economic-upliftment, and for comments he made regarding the saving habits of black South Africans. Following the incident Rupert issued an apology for his comments. The controversial leader of the Black First Land First party Andile Mngxitama stated afterwards that Rupert's comments were a reason to commit violence against white South Africans.