How a family tragedy inspired Johann Rupert, billionaire founder of luxury goods company Richemont, to create one of the jewels of south african wine
In Franschhoek, a village near South Africa’s Western Cape with 17thcentury charm and postcard views of the Drakenstein Mountains, is L’Ormarins, a 3,200-acre estate belonging to Johann Rupert; it’s the largest part of Anthonij Rupert Wyne, the South African billionaire’s wine empire. Driving past a Rodin sculpture in the garden and equally statuesque stallions on the lawns, he arrives at the property early one February morning in a jovial mood, the harvest season under way. His comfortably appointed study is in one of the property’s newer buildings, its red wine cellar designed to resemble the inner workings of a watch (an appropriate metaphor for Rupert, who built his fortune as chairman of Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods and jewelry company with such brands as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Piaget).
(This story appears in the 24 June, 2016 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)