South Africa’s Billionaire Johann Rupert Bids Farewell to Tobacco Signaling End of an Era

South Africa’s wealthiest individual and billionaire Johann Rupert has decided to completely divest from British American Tobacco (BAT) signaling the end of his family’s long standing ties to the tobacco industry.

Major Share Sale Announcement

On January 14th ‘Reinet Investments’ one of Rupert’s investment groups revealed that it has agreed to sell over 43.3 million ordinary shares of BAT at £28.20 per share to institutional investors. This sale is expected to generate approximately £1.22 billion (~R28.3 billion) in gross proceeds.

Recent Sales and Financial Overview

The transaction was facilitated through an accelerated bookbuild process that began on January 13th 2025. As of Reinet’s last reporting date on September 30th 2024, its interest in BAT represented 24% of its net asset value amounting to about 48.3 million BAT shares. Additionally in November and December 2024, Reinet sold 5 million BAT shares on the London Stock Exchange realizing about £148.5 million (~R3.43 billion).

Completion and Future Plans

Following the completion of this sale expected on January 16th 2025, Reinet and its subsidiaries will have completely exited their position in BAT. Reinet plans to use the proceeds for ongoing investment activities and will announce the net asset value for the Reinet Fund as of December 31st 2024 around January 23rd 2025.

A Transformative Moment for the Rupert Family

This divestment marks a significant shift for the Rupert family whose wealth has historically been tied to the tobacco sector. Johann Rupert’s father Anton Rupert founded the Voorbrand Tobacco Company in the 1940s which laid the foundation for their tobacco legacy.

Historical Context of Rupert’s Tobacco Ventures

Voorbrand evolved into Rembrandt which entered the South African tobacco market in 1948 and was listed on the JSE shortly after. In the 1970s, Rembrandt diversified into various industries including financial services and mining. In 1995, Rembrandt and the Rupert controlled Richemont consolidated their tobacco operations into Rothmans International later merging with BAT.

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Transition to Reinet Investments

In 2008, Richemont’s non luxury related activities including its tobacco interests were spun off into Reinet Investments. Today through various ventures in luxury goods, tobacco and other investments, Johann Rupert holds a net worth of approximately R213 billion according. This wealth primarily comes from his stakes in Richemont (market cap of R1.57 trillion), Remgro (R75.86 billion) and Reinet (R86.2 billion).