Koos Bekker, the South African Billionaire Tech King

Koos Bekker is a South African billionaire and businessman. He has etched his name as a remarkable entrepreneur and visionary in the global business world. With a string of successful organisations such as MultiChoice (DSTV & GOTV), MTN, and more to his credit, Bekker’s journey is an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs worldwide.

Today, he is one of the African billionaires according to Forbes. He is renowned for transforming Naspers, South African newspaper publisher into an e-commerce investor and cable TV powerhouse.

Biography of Koos Bekker

Koos Bekker was born in Potchefstroom, South Africa, on December 14, 1952. He grew up in Heidelberg, Gauteng Province, and attended Hoer Volkskool Heidelberg. Koos studied law and literature at Stellenbosch University and later pursued a law degree at Wits University. He also holds an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York and an honorary doctorate from Stellenbosch University.

Known as one of South Africa’s earliest millionaires, Koos Bekker has made his mark as a successful businessman. He has invested in various industries, including the Internet, newspapers, books, magazines, and education. His ventures have extended beyond Africa to countries like China, India, and Russia.

While at Naspers, a media company, he played a significant role in its growth. Under his leadership, the company’s value skyrocketed from $600 million to $25 billion. Additionally, Bekker co-founded M-Net, one of the first pay television services outside the United States.

Koos Bekker is happily married to Karen Roos Bekker, and they have a stable and supportive family. Currently residing in Cape Town, South Africa, they have been blessed with several children.

Bekker’s entrepreneurial journey and business accomplishments have been remarkable, catapulting him to prominence and earning him a net worth of $2.4 billion. His vision and successful ventures have contributed to his standing as a respected figure in the business world.

His early career

Following his advertising stint, while Koos Bekker was pursuing his MBA at Columbia Business School, he discovered his passion for cable networks. Inspired by the absence of such networks in South Africa, he envisioned the potential of launching a cable network in his homeland. He channeled his ideas into a project paper and subsequently co-founded Mnet in 1984 (officially launched in 1986), becoming one of the first pay-television services outside the United States.

The station initially aired its shows between 5 pm and 7 pm each day but gradually expanded its programming. Mnet’s success set the stage for Bekker’s further entrepreneurial endeavors. In 1993, Mnet underwent a transformation, resulting in the establishment of Multichoice, a cable TV company that revolutionised satellite TV services across Sub-Saharan Africa. This move propelled Bekker into the spotlight and showcased his ability to identify untapped market opportunities.

Also, in 1998, Bekker through Naspers invested in the internet business at a time when technology was not yet a big thing in SA. He created the News24 and Fin24, which is now one of the premier news websites in SA. Moreover, during his tenure as the CEO, the market capitalization of Naspers grew from about $1.2 billion to $45 billion.

Interestingly, while still serving as the CEO of Naspers, he signed a contract with Naspers not to receive a salary, or bonus but compensated solely via stock option grants that vested over time.

Naspers story

The year 1994 marked a significant milestone in Bekker’s career. Nasionale Pers, a Dutch newspaper company founded in South Africa in 1915, became publicly listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Bekker assumed the role of CEO, and the company underwent a rebranding, adopting the name Naspers in 1998. Under Bekker’s astute leadership, Naspers experienced exponential growth, with its market capitalization skyrocketing from $1.2 billion to an astonishing $45 billion during his fifteen-year tenure.

Koos Bekker’s strategic acumen and appetite for diversification led Naspers into various sectors. In the telecommunications arena, Bekker’s visionary outlook led to the birth of MTN, a mobile network operator that quickly became one of Africa’s largest, with millions of subscribers. Additionally, Naspers expanded its footprint in the internet services sector through ventures such as MWeb, ‘ which swiftly grew to become South Africa’s second-largest internet provider, serving over 320,000 customers. The company also made strategic investments in global tech giants like Tencent, the world’s largest video game company and a prominent player in social media.

Bekker’s strategic investments, particularly in Tencent, proved to be groundbreaking. Naspers’ stake in Tencent skyrocketed in value, contributing significantly to the company’s overall growth and financial success. This transformative move solidified Bekker’s reputation as a visionary entrepreneur with an eye for lucrative opportunities in the rapidly evolving tech industry.

As of today, Koos Bekker has stepped down from his role as CEO of Naspers, but his impact on the company and Africa’s business landscape cannot be overstated. Naspers has continued to expand its global reach, making strategic investments and forging partnerships in various sectors and regions.

Koos Bekker’s other endeavors

Over the years, Bekker’s share options became increasingly valuable as Naspers’ investments in companies like Tencent paid off. In 2015, he exercised some of these options to purchase Naspers shares.

Bekker’s bold decision in 1999 to be paid in Naspers shares ultimately made him one of South Africa’s wealthiest individuals.

In 2019, Koos Bekker stepped down from his role as Naspers CEO, assuming the position of chairman while retaining a significant stake in the company. Beyond his stake in Naspers, Bekker has pursued numerous interests that have contributed to his wealth.

Recently, Koos Bekker sold Prosus shares worth R3.4 billion to fund the development of hotels. These shares were sold through a family trust, and the proceeds will be used to support hotel operations in various countries.

Together with his wife Karen Roos, a former editor of Elle Decoration, Bekker developed the Babylonstoren estate in the Cape Winelands. In 2019, they opened The Newt in Somerset, UK. Both estates feature extensive gardens, restaurants, and hotels.

Koos Bekker’s Wife: (Karen Roos Bekker)

Karen Roos Bekker, the wife of billionaire businessman Koos Bekker, has made a name for herself as the designer and owner of the renowned Babylonstoren. This exquisite house in Cape Town, South Africa, has garnered widespread attention for its stunning decoration and luxurious features.

While only a little personal information about Karen Roos is available in the online media, her contribution to Babylonstoren speaks volumes. She has meticulously designed the house, including its lavish gardens and wine trees. The mansion itself holds significant historical significance, as it was built more than 250 years ago, in 1745.

Karen and Koos Bekker are known to be private individuals in their personal lives. They have chosen to maintain secrecy regarding details about their marriage and the names of their four children. Karen, in particular, prefers to stay away from the digital world, spending her time within the confines of their mansion with her children. In terms of net worth, Karen Roos’s wealth is not readily available.

Karen Roos Bekker’s dedication to creating a splendid living environment in Babylonstoren showcases her exquisite taste and attention to detail. As the wife and designer of such a renowned billionaire house, she has contributed to the couple’s influence and prominence in society. With Koos Bekker, Karen continues to lead a private and prosperous life, leaving a lasting impression on those who admire their accomplishments.

Koos Bekker Net Worth

Koos Bekker has achieved great success in his career, accumulating an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion. Forbes ranks him among the wealthiest African and holds the 1272th position on Forbes‘ list of the world’s richest billionaires. In South Africa, he is among the top ten richest individuals. Bekker’s substantial wealth is primarily derived from his investments in the media industry.

As the chairman of Naspers, a media group that operates in about 130 countries and is also listed on the London Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Bekker has played a pivotal role in its growth and success. Under his leadership, Naspers has strategically invested in pay television, mobile telephony, and various internet services. The company conducts business across Europe, Africa, Latin America, China, India, Russia, and other smaller countries.

Koos Bekker’s impressive journey as a billionaire businessman has made him a prominent and influential figure in the business world. His outstanding achievements and strategic investments have solidified his position as one of the wealthiest individuals in Africa.

How Did Koos Bekker Make His Money

Koos Bekker is widely recognized as the CEO of Naspers, a big company in the media and technology industry based in South Africa. Naspers, initially a newspaper publisher founded in 1915, experienced a significant transformation under Bekker’s leadership. He turned it into a powerful player in the internet and investment sectors, making it the most valuable company in Africa.

Bekker’s success can be attributed to his involvement in Naspers’ investment in Tencent, a Chinese social media and gaming giant, back in 2001. This highly lucrative investment made Naspers a significant Tencent shareholder worth billions of dollars. Bekker’s forward-thinking approach and willingness to embrace innovation gave Naspers an edge, allowing it to benefit from the internet revolution and make strategic investments.

In addition to his role at Naspers, Bekker co-founded M-Net/Multichoice, a prominent pay television business, in 1986. He also served as a founding director of MTN, a mobile communication company established in 1994. Today, Bekker is known as one of Africa’s billionaires, thanks to his remarkable achievements and contributions to transforming Naspers into a major force in e-commerce, investment, and cable TV.

Through his endeavours, Bekker has significantly increased his net worth, making him a highly influential and successful multinational businessman in the global market.

List of Koos Bekker Companies

Koos Bekker, the South African billionaire, has made significant contributions to the corporate world and beyond. He is associated with several prominent companies. Let’s take a closer look at these companies:

MultiChoice

In 1985, Bekker founded M-Net, which later became MultiChoice. This pioneering pay television company in South Africa attracted a loyal customer base through its innovative broadcasting and commitment to quality content. Bekker’s leadership was instrumental in the significant growth of MultiChoice in the pay television market. In 1997, he became the CEO of Naspers, the media conglomerate that owned MultiChoice. Naspers’ strategic acquisitions and investments in emerging markets solidified its position as a major global player in media and technology.

Naspers

Bekker’s transformative leadership at Naspers, Africa’s largest publicly traded company, has been remarkable. Naspers engages in publishing, retail, and venture capital investments. As the Chairman, Bekker owns a controlling 0.85-percent stake in Naspers, the source of his substantial long-term wealth. Despite the closure of Naspers Foundry, a $100-million venture capital fund, due to the global impact of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, Naspers continues to support startups in its portfolio through a $100-million fundraising initiative.

The Newt in Somerset

Bekker and his wife, Karen Roos, purchased a 400-hectare property in Somerset, UK, in 2013, which they transformed into The Newt. This stunning estate includes a hotel, gardens, and a restaurant, offering visitors spiralling gardens, a spa, and a cider press. The hotel features 13 suites in a Georgian mansion and ten rooms in the original Stable Yard buildings. Notably, the property was renamed from Hadspen House to The Newt to reflect Bekker’s commitment to conserving and protecting endangered newts on the estate. The Newt is also known for its vast collection of apple tree cultivars.

Babylorian Estate

Bekker and Karen Roos acquired Babylonstoren in 2007. This remarkable estate, spanning nearly 600 acres in the Western Cape region of South Africa, showcases beautifully restored architecture dating back to 1690. It features wide gardens, a boutique hotel, a restaurant, a spa, and farm-to-table eating options. Babylonstoren has gained global recognition for its historical significance, luxurious amenities, and stunning gardens, reflecting Bekker’s appreciation for design, beauty, and conservation.

Prosus N.V

Bekker also controls Prosus N.V., a global internet player and a part of the South African conglomerate Naspers. As an owner of 0.72 per cent of Prosus, Bekker’s stake contributes to his wealth. With a diverse portfolio of over 80 companies in various sectors such as fintech, social media, ed-tech, and food delivery, Prosus has previously made strategic moves, including selling its stake in JD.com Inc. for $3.67 billion and completing the sale of Russian online marketplace Avito to Kismet Capital Group for $2.46 billion. Bekker has divested $190.4 million worth of Prosus shares through a family trust, which are earmarked for hotel development in multiple countries.

Koos Bekker Assets

Koos Bekker is known for showcasing his wealth. He owns many expensive houses in Cape Town worth billions of naira. Additionally, he possesses several wine estates in South Africa, including the famous Babylonstoren in Stellenbosch. Bekker also has properties in other locations, such as The Newt estate in Somerset, United Kingdom, valued at millions of pounds. Interestingly, he doesn’t own a car or a private jet, indicating he isn’t excessively focused on material possessions.

Koos Bekker Somerset

The Newt in Somerset first opened its doors in 2019. And it didn’t take long for the travel world to rain awards upon it and bestow endless superlative praise. The brainchild of South African couple Koos Bekker, a telecoms billionaire, and Karen Roos, the former editor of Elle Decoration. The hotel, carved out of a Georgian manor house, is found in rural Somerset. Stretching over some 300 acres of farm and forest. Not only has it become renowned as a blueprint for how to ‘do’ country house hotels in our modern era. But it is equally beloved for its beautiful gardens touched by a series of gardeners over the years.

When it comes to hospitality, the couple already had form. Babylonstoren, in South Africa, is their first property, which also encompasses an immaculate estate and sprawling vineyards. The Newt echoes its success, and so enamoured is the world with it, that waiting lists for rooms now stretch months in advance. It is why its one-day sneak peek into the working estate – known as The Great Garden Escape – is such a good idea.

Giving you a taste of the Somerset idyll, the one-day adventure, in partnership with Great Western Railway, whisks you from Paddington to the West Country, First Class, with plenty of home-grown treats along the way.

Koos Bekker Awards

He has received several prestigious awards and honours throughout his career, including.

• World Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, World Entrepreneur Awards
• Best Entrepreneur, Ernst & Young/Rand Merchant Bank
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Business Times
• Honorary Doctorate in Commerce, University of Stellenbosch
• Appointed Member of Board, University of Stellenbosch, 2000 – present
• 1272th wealthiest person in the world, Forbes Rich List 2019
• 4th Wealthiest South African
• 11th Africa’s Billionaire, Forbes 2020

Koos Bekker Quotes

“For a group to be great, both good governance and excellent execution are required. It’s not one or the other.”

“Entrepreneurship is a little bit like farming when you start you do everything, you make a team, you do the Photostats machine and as the business grows, it diversifies but certainly, the improvisation of a farm is extremely useful in business.”

“In business, one should never take anything for granted. Your fortune can change in five minutes.”

“The CEO is the captain of the ship; he makes the executive decisions fast and with enough authority to sail the ship. A non-executive chairman is more… a strategic figure in the background.”

“The pace of technological change is still accelerating. Innovation never stops.”

Entrepreneurial Lesson from the Life of Koos Bekker

1. Every experience is a training

Koos narrated his early life as a farm boy, and how the farming experience prepared him for business. He also likened farming to entrepreneurship and how the improvisation of a farm is extremely useful in business.

In farming, he said, you have an element of interference. You plant the seed then you have an element of nature, it rains, you get yield. Similarly, in business, you do certain things and the environment throws certain issues at you. And then you try to solve it.

Every experience we go through is a training ground on how we can achieve our dream. Absolutely, no life lesson is a waste.

2. Innovation

When Koos Bekker went to study at the Columbia University in New York, he was completely clueless at first. But along the line, he discovered the new pay television industry there and thought of how he could recreate it in Africa. Then, he began to study the process.

After some time, he came back to South Africa with the idea, found a way to encrypt the technology with his team. Eventually, they had a lucky break with M-Net. Subsequently, MultiChoice and its subsidiaries; Showmax, DSTV, GOTV, e.t.c came along. Today, they operate in over 48 countries, serving millions of subscribers.

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3. Identify opportunities

According to him, the future is very hard to predict. Koos moved from future prediction to taking action. As he grew older both in age and in life experience, he scans the world to grab opportunity that appears as quick as possible.

For instance, in his interview with CNBC, he mentioned how he has never had any original idea of his own. But he takes what’s already available and make it better or adapt it to his environment.

Bekkers believes that as entrepreneurs, one of the most productive ways of thriving is to identify what is working in other markets. Either abroad or anywhere, recreate it, trying not to infringe on copyright laws. Also, you can improve the product and maybe someday you will become a world leader in it.

We must not wait for original ideas. Most of the ideas are already existing, we can always improve on what is available.

Conclusion

Koos Bekker, a successful South African businessman, made lots of money by investing in things like the internet, TV, and phone services. He helped turn a regular media company, Naspers, into a giant by investing in a big Chinese internet company called Tencent. This investment made him and Naspers very rich. He also co-founded other companies in TV and phones.

Bekker has around $2.3 billion, which makes him one of the richest people in Africa and the world. He’s known for buying fancy properties and helping with a famous garden place called Babylonstoren. He’s received many awards for his work, showing how important he is in the business world.

References:

• https://dailyinvestor.com/business/16677/how-koos-bekker-made-his-billions/
• https://mybroadband.co.za/news/investing/493549-how-m-net-and-multichoice-cofounder-koos-bekker-made-his-billions.html
• https://nairametrics.com/2023/08/23/meet-koos-bekker-billionaire-multichoice-founder-worth-2-4bn/
• https://www.meltingpot.africa/koos-bekker-net-worth/#koos-bekker-assets