Business

South Africa’s newest billionaire ‘quietly’ quintupled his wealth in 8 years

Jonathan Hoyle

 ·20 Oct 2026

South African billionaire Zak Calisto’s net worth has increased by over 400% in the past eight years, as his company—Karooooo (Cartrack)—has continued to surge.

Cartrack reported over R1 billion in profit in its latest quarterly report, with subscription revenue growing by 20% during the period.

In Karooooo’s latest quarterly report, it noted a strong increase in Cartrack’s revenue and profit, with R1.4 billion in subscriber revenue between June and August 2026.

Cartrack’s gross profit for the period also increased by 18% year-on-year, from R869 million to roughly R1 billion.

Along with gross profit, its operating profit rose from R344 million to R411 million, a 19% increase.

Karooooo noted that Cartrack’s strong results were despite a strengthening rand, which impacted its figures.

“Despite the strengthening rand, which continues to impact contributions from most of the countries in which we operate when reporting in rand, Cartrack’s subscription revenue and ARR increased 20% and 19%, respectively,” the company said.

It said the strong results came from focusing on growing its revenue through its subscriber base, which accounts for the majority of its earnings.

“We continue to generate strong operating cash flow and remain committed to accelerating subscription revenue growth,” the company said.

During the second quarter of its 2027 financial year, Cartrack added 94,516 subscribers to its base, higher than its previous year’s Q2 growth of roughly 71,000 subscribers.

Outside of Cartrack, the Karooooo group also saw revenue growth in the last three months, with overall subscription revenue increasing by 20%.

The company said its performance in South Africa has been strong, placing it in a good position to continue growing in the country.

“We are encouraged by the strength of the teams we are building, which positions us well to continue to broaden our customer base and increase product adoption in South Africa,” the group said.

“We are committed to continue building our distribution capabilities to service the demand for our products from both new customers and existing customers, and we are confident that our recent investments in operating capacity will have a positive impact on Cartrack’s growth.”

While the company said South Africa is a strong market for its business, it noted that the country currently faces a difficult economic environment.

“Despite some macro-economic stress in the South African economy, we continue to see a compelling market opportunity in South Africa and are excited about the potential ahead,” it said.

“We believe that we are the largest and fastest-growing operational intelligence platform provider on the African continent.”

Recently, Calisto crossed the threshold to become South Africa’s newest dollar billionaire, largely from his holdings in the company.

He has been the CEO of the group since its founding in 2001 and is the primary driver of its rapid expansion. He has also reaped the rewards.

Until 2025, Calisto had a direct 64.81% stake in the company. In 2018, his shareholding was worth over R3 billion.

The billionaire sold 1,500,000 Ordinary Shares in June 2025 when Karooooo facilitated and launched an SEC-registered, underwritten secondary public offering.

This resulted in a R1.3 billion sale for Calisto, and reduced his direct shareholding to 58%.

As at 20 October 2026, however, that shareholding is worth about R18.1 billion ($1.1 billion), showing an astounding 417% growth in 8 years.

Cartrack second quarter results