Chief executive and founder of Karooooo, Zak Calisto, has cross the threshold into dollar-billionaire status, with his holdings in the group now worth $1.07 billion.

Calisto directly owns 65% of the group’s shares, with another 10% of the company tied to him through a standing agreement, giving him beneficial voting rights.

On Thursday (22 May), the company carried a market capitalisation of $1.65billion, putting Calisto’s direct stake at over $1 billion, making him the eighth memeber of the billionaire club in South Africa.

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.

Calisto controls 20,028,811 of the company’s shares, giving him a direct 64.81% stake valued at $1.07 billion.

Calisto has come a long way since dropping out of actuarial science at Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand to pursue his military service and test his mettle in the corporate world.

After a brief foray in banking, he spotted opportunity to help redress the wave of auto thefts sweeping South Africa.

His devices helped car-owners score lower insurance premiums and provided a springboard for expansion to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa and as far afield as South East Asia.

The firm last week reported double digit subscription-revenue, with a 25% increase in earnings per share for the year through February 2025.

While South Africa still accounts for about three-quarters of its 2.3-million strong customer base, the firm moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020 and sees Asia as key to its expansion plans in coming years.

“There’s significant potential for even faster growth” Calisto, who serves as chief executive officer, said in an interview.

While the company plans to prioritize organic growth, he says he isn’t ruling out doing acquisitions if they make sense.

Karooooo takes its name from Calisto’s love of the semi-desert Karoo region which lies in South Africa’s interior. The improbable spelling stems from his reluctance to shell out to buy the original “Karoo” domain name.

The entrepreneur, 58, was born in Portugal and spent his early childhood in the Mediterranean nation’s former colony of Mozambique, where his father was a government official.

His family moved to South Africa as political refugees when the colonial government was overthrown five decades ago.

After ditching his studies, Calisto did a stint at Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s biggest bank by assets. He also did work for Netstar, one of Karooooo’s rivals, as an independent distributor.

He started Cartrack with just R100 and used cash incentives offered by wireless carriers MTN Group Ltd. and Vodacom Group Ltd. to fund customer acquisition before starting its global expansion.

Calisto’s entry into the billionaire club makes him the eighth in South Africa, joining the likes of Johann Rupert, Nicky Oppenheimber, Koos Bekker, Patrice Motsepe, Michiel le Roux, Christo Wiese and Jannie Mouton.