Eswatini’s richest man Natie Kirsh loses $500 million in three months

Eswatini’s richest man Natie Kirsh has seen his fortune slip by $500 million over the past three months, pushing his net worth below the $10 billion mark. This comes despite his recent efforts to expand his wide-ranging business interests, including a fresh move into the storage sector.

Data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows that Kirsh’s wealth has declined from $10.4 billion on June 1 to $9.9 billion at the time of this report. This reflects a $500 million loss over 92 days, even as his family office, Ki Corporation, continues to pursue growth opportunities, most notably through a bid for Australian self-storage company Abacus Storage King.

Kirsh wealth falls below $10 billion

This setback follows a period of strong gains earlier in the year. Between April and early June, Kirsh’s net worth climbed from $9.24 billion to $10.4 billion. But since then, revaluations of his holdings—particularly through the Kirsh Group, which controls U.S. food supply chain giant Jetro Holdings—have weighed on his fortune, dragging it back below $10 billion.

Kirsh’s wealth is largely tied to his 75 percent stake in Jetro Holdings, the New York-based wholesale grocery group that operates Jetro Cash & Carry and Restaurant Depot. The value of that holding has slipped from $7.4 billion on June 1 to $6.98 billion, based on comparisons with publicly traded peers such as Costco, Kroger, Metro, and Loblaw.

Natie Kirsh pursues $1.4 billion storage deal

The latest decline has trimmed his year-to-date wealth gains from $1.07 billion as of June 1 to $570 million. Still, Kirsh has remained active on the deal front. Through Ki Corporation, he has partnered with U.S.-based Public Storage in a renewed attempt to buy Abacus Storage King.

After its initial bid was rejected in April, the consortium returned in July with a higher buyout offer, valuing Abacus Storage King at A$2.17 billion ($1.42 billion). The revised offer—A$1.65 ($1.08) per share, about 15 percent above the earlier bid—was confirmed by the company on July 14 and sent its shares up more than 7 percent.