On Forbes

Three South Africans appear on this year's Forbes World Billionaires list - Nicholas (Nicky) Oppenheimer, Anton Rupert and mining magnate Patrice Motsepe. Nicholas Oppenheimer is 173rd on the list, while Rupert is in 284th place and Motsepe is at number 503. Born in Soweto and trained as a lawyer, Motsepe became the first black partner at Johannesburg's Bowman Gilfillan law firm, before starting a contracting business doing mine work. He bought low-producing gold mine shafts in 1994 and made them profitable, building a $875m mining conglomerate, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM). He also holds a 5.5% stake in Sanlam.