South African billionaire Christo Wiese has seen his fortune plummet due to a $46 million drop in the market value of his stake in Shoprite Holdings as a result of the retailer’s share price’s recent decline on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
Wiese’s investment in Shoprite has lost R892.39 million ($46.20 million) in market value over the last 23 days, according to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa. This drop came after he earned a $13.8 million dividend on Oct. 2.
Shoprite Holdings, regarded as South Africa’s premier food retailer and Africa’s largest retail company, employs over 142,000 people across the continent. It has a large network of 2,989 stores to service its clients.
Wiese’s investment in Shoprite is 11.58 percent, worth at more over $780 million. This position consists of 305.6 million non-convertible, non-participating, no-par value deferred shares and common stock, giving him a controlling 32.2 percent ownership in Shoprite.
Shoprite shares on the JSE have dropped 5.56 percent in the last few weeks. The share price has dropped from R254.42 ($13.17) on September 11 to R240.28 ($12.44) at the time of writing, bringing the company’s market capitalization below R150 billion ($7.35 billion).
The market value of Wiese’s holding in Shoprite has shrunk by R892.39 million ($46.20 million) during the last 23 days as a result of this single-digit percentage drop in the retailer’s shares. It has dropped from R16.06 billion ($831.3 million) on September 11 to R15.16 billion ($785.1 million) as of this writing.
Despite this significant decrease in Wiese’s stake, he remains one of the most wealthy investors on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and one of Africa’s wealthiest businesses.