Wealth

Top CEO quietly becomes a billionaire in South Africa

Staff Writer

 ·16 Jul 2026

Chief executive and founder of Karooooo, Zak Calisto, has quietly crossed the threshold into dollar-billionaire status once again, with his holdings in the group now worth $1.05 billion.

As of the last reporting, Calisto is the largest shareholder in the company, directly owning 58% of the group’s shares.

He previously owned 64% of the shares, but sold 1,500,000 Ordinary Shares when Karooooo facilitated and launched an SEC-registered underwritten secondary public offering in June 2025.

This resulted in a R1.3 billion sale for Calisto, but also reduced his direct shareholding to 58%, and, at the time, pulled that value below the $1 billion mark.

However, on Thursday (16 July), the Karooooo carried a market capitalisation of $1.81 billion, putting Calisto’s direct stake at over $1 billion once again, even with the reduced holding.

Given the nature of market cap fluctuations, this is subject to change.

Despite this, beyond his direct holdings, he also has access to an additional 10% of the company under a standing agreement.

However, this gives him beneficial voting rights rather than a direct financial benefit.

Karooooo, formerly known as Cartrack, is a global provider of fleet management, stolen-vehicle recovery, and insurance telematics services. The company was founded in 2001 and listed on the JSE in 2014.

The group has experienced exponential growth over the years, growing from vehicle tracking to fleet management and various mobility software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms for connected vehicles.

Its global expansion has also been extensive. Starting in South Africa, it quickly moved into the rest of Africa, then Europe, Asia and the Americas.

The company is now headquartered in Singapore and operates in 24 countries.

In its latest reporting, Karooo reported revenue rising 22% to R1,564 million for the first quarter of FY27, which ended in May, while subscription revenue increased 19% to R1,354 million.

Cartrack’s revenue increased by 20% to R1,387 million, driven mainly by its subscription-based business model.

Cartrack’s subscription revenue also jumped by 19% to a record R1,351 million (Q1 2026: R1,138 million), driven by the acquisition of new customers and the sale of Video and Cartrack-Tag to customers.

Calisto’s direct holding in the company now makes him one of only ten dollar billionaires in South Africa.

Along with other frequent faces on the list, he joins two other relative newcomers, including Dis-Chem’s Ivan Saltzman and family, and Le Creuset’s Paul van Zuydam.

South Africa’s dollar billionaires