South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe, head of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and an in-law of head Cyril Ramaphosa, has joined the $4 billion net-worth club, aided by a rise in gold and copper holdings and a strategic move into Australia.
Motsepe’s fortune is currently believed to be at $4.2 billion, making him one of the world’s top 1,000 richest people, according to Forbes, and the fourth South African to surpass the $4 billion mark.
Motsepe joins a small group of African billionaires who have surpassed the $4 billion mark, including Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person; Johann Rupert, the luxury-goods billionaire behind Richemont; Nicky Oppenheimer, the former De Beers heir; Nassef Sawiris of Egypt; Mike Adenuga of Nigeria; and Abdulsamad Rabiu, the Nigerian industrialist whose fortune is based on cement and sugar.
Motsepe’s gain has been fueled mostly by his exposure to mining assets, particularly gold. He is the founder and majority stakeholder of African Rainbow Minerals Ltd. (ARM), with a 45.9% ownership, and has an indirect interest in Harmony Gold Mining Co., South Africa’s largest gold producer.
ARM shares have climbed by more than 15% since the beginning of the year, bringing the company’s market capitalization to almost $3 billion and increasing the value of Motsepe’s stake to nearly $1.37 billion.
Harmony Gold shares have risen by more than 12%, bringing the company’s valuation to over $14.4 billion and raising the estimated value of Motsepe’s indirect ownership to $1.7 billion.
The increases have coincided with a record rise in gold prices, as investors reconsider monetary policy assumptions and seek sanctuary in safe-haven assets.
Motsepe’s mining activities are no longer limited to Africa. Through his influence at Harmony Gold, the billionaire has supported a large expansion into Australia, signaling a deliberate push into copper, a metal vital to electrification and the global energy shift.
Harmony recently finalized the $1 billion-plus acquisition of MAC Copper Ltd., which owns the high-grade CSA Copper Mine in New South Wales, one of Australia’s oldest underground copper mines.
The company is also moving forward with the Eva Copper project in Queensland, with total development costs projected to exceed $1.7 billion.
Motsepe invests in financial services, technology, infrastructure, and renewable energy through African Rainbow Capital, which also owns Tyme Group, a Singapore-based digital bank that operates in Africa and Southeast Asia.
Despite diversification, his wealth increase coincides with a $195 million Tanzanian mining lawsuit against his company, demonstrating the risks of cross-border resource ventures.
Nonetheless, hitting the $4 billion mark is uncommon among African billionaires, demonstrating how commodity exposure, strategic diversification, and influence in sport and politics can propel industrialists into the global wealth elite.