South African Billionaire’s Fortune Plunges More Than $2 Billion In A Day Amid Accounting Scandal

Published 7 years ago
Christo-Wiese_JC-6

The acquisitive plans of South African retail king Christo Wiese took a hit Wednesday when Steinhoff, the retail conglomerate he chairs, said its chief executive Markus Jooste had resigned amid accounting irregularities. It’s a major reversal of fortune for Wiese, 76, and Steinhoff, which has recently expanded its business across Europe and America.

Steinhoff shares have fallen more than 60% in a day, erasing $2.3 billion from Wiese’s fortune. He’s now worth an estimated $1.49 billion, according to Forbes Real Time Rankings. That’s down more than $4 billion from March 2017, when he was worth $5.6 billion.

Going forward, Steinhoff has tapped PwC to investigate the accounting irregularities, and with Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste out, Wiese will temporarily become Steinhoff’s executive chairman.

Advertisement

Since 2016, furniture and home good retailer Steinhoff has done more than half a dozen deals, including the acquisition of US-based Mattress Firm. Steinhoff is a part of Wiese’s discount retail empire, which the South African has been building since the 1970s, as a 2016 profile of Wiese in Forbes magazine details.

Wiese first joined the ranks of the Forbes Billionaires in 2011, with a net worth of $1.6 billion. His fortune rose as high as $6.3 billion in March 2015. In December 2015, Wiese moved Steinhoff’s listing from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to concentrate more on the European market.

Loading...

The retail king made headlines in 2009  after U.K. customs officials detained him at London City Airport with two suitcases filled with nearly $1 million in cash. They seized it, suspecting illicit origins. The British and South African press picked up on the incident – apparently suspecting Wiese had been nabbed for money laundering – and were further emboldened by Wiese’s stubbornness in fighting for the funds’ return and his insistence that the amount was “insignificant.” (The Daily Mail’s gleeful headline: “It’s Just Peanuts to Me.”) The government ended up returning the money to Wiese – interest attached. Wiese wouldn’t talk publicly about it.

– Written by 

Advertisement

Loading...

Related Topics: #Christo Wiese, #Markus Jooste, #Steinhoff.

African Billionaires in 2025

RANKNAMENET WORTHCOUNTRYINDUSTRY
1Aliko Dangote$23.9 BNigeriaManufacturing
2Johann Rupert & family$14 BSouth AfricaFashion & Retail
3Nicky Oppenheimer & family$10.4 BSouth AfricaMetals & Mining
4Nassef Sawiris$9.6 BEgyptConstruction & Engineering
5Mike Adenuga$6.8 BNigeriaDiversified
6Abdulsamad Rabiu$5.1 BNigeriaDiversified
7Naguib Sawiris$5 BEgyptTelecom
8Koos Bekker$3.4 BSouth AfricaMedia & Entertainment
8Mohamed Mansour$3.4 BEgyptDiversified
10Patrice Motsepe$3 BSouth AfricaMetals & Mining
10Issad Rebrab & family$3 BAlgeriaFood & Beverage
12Mohammed Dewji$2.2 BTanzaniaDiversified
12Michiel Le Roux$2.2 BSouth AfricaFinance & Investments
14Othman Benjelloun & family$1.6 BMoroccoFinance & Investments
14Anas Sefrioui & family$1.6 BMoroccoReal Estate
16Aziz Akhannouch & family$1.5 BMoroccoDiversified
16Jannie Mouton & family$1.5 BSouth AfricaFinance & Investments
16Femi Otedola$1.5 BNigeriaEnergy
16Christoffel Wiese$1.5 BSouth AfricaFashion & Retail
20Youssef Mansour$1.4 BEgyptDiversified
21Yasseen Mansour$1.2 BEgyptDiversified
21Strive Masiyiwa$1.2 BZimbabweTelecom