Nicky Oppenheimer Net Worth

Nicky Oppenheimer has an estimated net worth of $10.6 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Nicky Oppenheimer profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $7.3 billion in 2019.

Nicky Oppenheimer is a South African businessman best known for leading De Beers. He became the third generation of his family to run the diamond company and served as chairman of the De Beers Group from 1998 to 2012. He also chaired the Diamond Trading Company and was a deputy chairman of Anglo American. A key moment came in 2001, when he helped take De Beers private after years as one of the biggest names in diamonds.

His wealth is tied mainly to diamonds. In 2012, he sold his 40% stake in De Beers to Anglo American for $5.1 billion in cash, ending 85 years of family control in the diamond trade. After that sale, he moved into other ventures, including Fireblade Aviation, which he started in Johannesburg in 2014 to run chartered flights. He also owns at least 720 square miles of conservation land across South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

How Nicky Oppenheimer built his fortune

Oppenheimer made his name through De Beers and the wider Anglo American group. He joined Anglo American in 1968, became a director in 1974, and later served as deputy chairman in 1983. At De Beers, he became deputy chairman of the Central Selling Organisation in 1984, took more senior De Beers roles in 1985, and then became chairman of the group in 1998. Those jobs tied his career to the diamond business for decades.

The biggest money event in his career came in 2012. That year, he sold his 40% share of De Beers to Anglo American for $5.1 billion in cash and retired as chairman. Forbes connects his wealth to diamonds, and that sale helps explain why. Since then, he has also launched Fireblade Aviation in 2014, a Johannesburg charter-flight business, while keeping large conservation holdings spread across southern Africa.

What Forbes says about his wealth

Forbes placed Oppenheimer at $7.3 billion in 2019 and $7.4 billion in 2020. The estimate then moved to $8 billion in 2021 and $8.7 billion in 2022 before dipping to $8.4 billion in 2023. Those changes show that his fortune has not moved in one straight line. Even after leaving De Beers in 2012, his wealth remained closely linked to the diamond fortune built around the family stake.

More recently, Forbes estimated his wealth at $9.5 billion in 2024, then $10.4 billion in 2025, and $10.6 billion in 2026. Forbes' real-time billionaires tracker also showed $10.6 billion as of October 20, 2026. Alongside business, he has also put money into other areas. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he donated more than $110 million to South African small businesses, a major financial commitment outside his core mining fortune.