Former Steinhoff International CEO Markus Jooste gains $7.4 million in three months

South African businessman and former Steinhoff International Holdings CEO Markus Jooste has recorded a R112.2-million ($7.4 million) boost in his net worth, as the market value of his stake more than doubled in just three months.

Steinhoff International is a South African-German-Dutch international retail holding that is dual-listed in Germany and South Africa.

Steinhoff deals primarily in furniture and household goods and operates in Europe, Africa, Asia, the United States, Australia and New Zealand through its subsidiary operations in Pepco Group, Pepkor Africa, Greenlit Brands and LIPO.

The market value of Jooste’s 74-million-share stake in Steinhoff is worth R219.3 million ($14.5 million), up 105 percent from its valuation of R107.1 million ($7.1 million) at the close of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on July 6, 92 days ago.

The surge in the market value of his stake can be linked to a triple-digit increase in the retail holding company’s stock price, as investors continue to accumulate shares in expectation of improved year-end financial results.

At the end of the nine-month period of its current fiscal year, the retail group announced that its consolidated revenue increased by 15 percent to €6.8 billion ($7.8 billion) from last year’s figures when the group generated €5.9 billion ($5.9 billion) in revenue from its operation.

In reaction, investors on the local bourse intensified buying interest in the group’s shares, causing the share price to increase from R1.45 ($0.096) per share on July 6 to R2.97 ($0.196) per share as of the time of writing on Oct. 6.

The recent upsurge in the share price has accrued a total 104.8-percent gain for shareholders in 92 days, with South African businessmen like Christo Wiese and Markus Jooste notching impressive gains running into the millions of dollars from their interest in the group.

Research conducted by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the market value of Jooste’s 1.75-percent equity stake has more than doubled in three months from a valuation of R107.1 million ($7.1 million) on July 6 to R219.3 million ($14.5 million) on Oct. 6.

This translates to a gain of R112.2 million ($7.4 million) in 92 days for the businessman, who resigned as Steinhoff’s CEO on Dec. 5, 2017.