AFTER hunkering down in South Africa’s Eastern Cape for most of 2020, Johan Rupert headed for Switzerland when the alpine nation approved a coronavirus vaccine last month, Swiss daily Tagenszeiger reported on Thursday.
The newspaper alleges Rupert jumped the queue, sparking outrage in Switzerland.
There, the controlling shareholder of luxury goods firm Richemont received the first shot of vaccine of two roughly ten days ago, the outlet reported. Rupert, worth $6.5 billion according to Forbes did so at a Swiss private clinic owned by his family.
A spokesman for the clinic, Hirslanden, confirmed the report, saying the 70-year-old Rupert qualifies as a «test» patient before the scheme’s official start because he is overweight, diabetic, and has high blood pressure and coronary artery disease.
The clinic was chosen by the Swiss government to distribute the vaccine in Thurgau, a canton in eastern Switzerland. Rupert’s official domicile is Satigny, near Geneva –
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