Zimbabwean businessman John Moxon has lost $148 million over a period of 71 days as the value of his ownership stake in Meikles Limited, a diversified conglomerate headquartered in Harare, continues to decline.
Recent data compiled by Billionaires.Africa reveals that the losses incurred by John Moxon are primarily due to a sustained decrease in the company’s share price.
Moxon, a prominent figure in the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and a key contributor to the growth of Meikles Limited, possesses a 10.8% ownership stake in the company. This stake consists of 27,933,226 shares, which have witnessed a substantial decline in market value from ZWL67.04 billion ($208.23 million) on June 12 to ZWL19.28 billion ($59.88 million) on August 22. Consequently, this represents a significant loss of ZWL47.76 billion ($148.3 million) for the Zimbabwean billionaire within the past 71 days.
Originally established in 1894 as a department store chain by Thomas Moxon, Meikles Limited has evolved into a diversified conglomerate with substantial interests in hospitality, retail, supermarkets, agriculture, and financial services.
However, the recent struggles faced by the company are evident in its stock performance on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. The share price of Meikles has experienced a sharp decline of 71.24% since June 12, dropping from R2,400.0 ($7.454) to ZWL690.18 ($2.144) per share on 22 August.
This significant depreciation in the stock price has also resulted in a considerable reduction in Meikles’ overall market capitalization, which currently stands at ZWL178.07 billion ($553.08 million), reflecting a substantial contraction over the past 71 days.