These are the billionaire South Africans living in the US, UK and Australia

However, on top of gold, minerals and many agricultural products, ultra-wealthy individuals also appear to be one of the country’s biggest exports.

Looking at local rich lists published in countries like the UK and Australia—where many locals settle down—many names can trace their roots back to South Africa.

The annual Forbes billionaire ranking provides a good indication of the wealthiest people currently residing in South Africa, and the 2025 edition features names most familiar to the country.

Johann Rupert has maintained his position as the richest man in the country with mid-year estimates putting his wealth at $14.5 billion in July 2025.

Mining magnate Nicky Oppenheimer is currently ranked second with a net worth of $10.5 billion, followed by media mogul Koos Bekker at $3.6 billion.

South Africa’s other billionaires include familiar names on the list: Minerals boss Patrice Motsepe with $3.4 billion, prominent banker Michiel le Roux at $2.6 billion, “boere Buffett” Jannie Mouton at $1.9 billion, and retail tycoon Christo Wiese at $1.7 billion.

While these are the dollar billionaires Forbes ranks in South Africa, there are many South Africa-born billionaires featured elsewhere in the rankings.

One of the most obvious South African-born exports is the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, who has an astounding net worth of $405.4 billion, according to Forbes.

While Musk’s wealth has been amassed far outside South Africa, his ties to the country are well-known, particularly in the politically charged environment of 2025.

Despite his origins, Musk represents the United States in the rankings. The same goes for South African-born surgeon Patrick Soon-Shiong, whose net worth currently sits at $5.6 billion, according to Forbes’ data.

The billionaire ranking also includes SA-born Nathan Kirsh, who resides in Eswatini. He heads the Kirsh Group, which holds a majority stake in New York state cash and carry operation Jetro Holdings, owner of Restaurant Depot and Jetro Cash & Carry.

His net worth is estimated at $7.9 billion, which would have made him the third-richest man in South Africa, had he resided here.

South Africans featured in other rich lists

Forbes is not alone in ranking the wealthiest people around the globe.

The Financial Review in Australia and the Sunday Times in the UK both run rich lists of the wealthiest people in each respective country, featuring some home-grown wealth.

Two South African-born businessmen featured in the 2025 rich list for Australia: Ivan Glasenberg, with an estimated net worth of $9.9 billion, and SA-born investor, Kerr Neilson, with an estimated $1 billion.

The UK’s Sunday TImes Rich List, meanwhile, features two South African-born individuals: music mogul Clive Calder with an estimated net worth of GBP3 billion ($4 billion) and investor Manfred Gorvy (just over $1 billion).

Notably, Calder’s wealth has increased to an estimated $6.9 billion, according to Forbes.

Previous rich lists from the Sunday Times tracked the 1,000 richest people in the UK, however, more recent versions have truncated this to the top 350.

The ranking previously included many other wealthy people who were born in South Africa, including property mogul Sir Donald Gordon, Ubuntu developer Mark Shuttleworth, pharmaceutical boss Tony Tabatznik, businessman Vivian Imerman, and investment banker Richard Gnodde.

They were last featured in the rankings in 2019. The 2025 ranking also did not include the net worth of the late insurance king, Douw Steyn. He was ranked in 2024 as having a net worth of about $4 billion.

Steyn passed away in February 2025.

The table below outlines South African-born billionaires who rank among the richest in the USA, the UK and Australia.