Africa has just welcomed its 23rd dollar billionaire, and this time, the fortune comes from the fast-evolving world of car-tracking technology.
Zak Calisto, the founder and CEO of Karooooo Ltd., has officially joined the continent’s exclusive billionaire club following a remarkable surge in his company’s stock and financial performance.
Karooooo Ltd., originally launched as Cartrack, began as a modest vehicle tracking service.
But under Calisto’s leadership, the company transformed itself into a global player, expanding its portfolio to include AI-powered driver monitoring and full-scale fleet management solutions.
This strategic pivot has paid off handsomely.
As reported by Bloomberg, Calisto owns roughly two-thirds of Karooooo, and the company’s earnings and stock performance have soared.
For the fiscal year ending February 2025, Karooooo reported double-digit growth in subscription revenues and a 25% jump in earnings per share, sending its stock sharply higher.
With 2.3 million subscribers, most of them in South Africa, the company continues to dominate its core market while looking eastward for future growth.
“There’s significant potential for even faster growth,” Calisto said in a recent interview, signaling plans to prioritize organic expansion while remaining open to strategic acquisitions.
Though the company moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020 to better tap into Asian markets, its African roots remain central to its story.
Calisto’s ascent underscores Africa’s increasing prominence in the digital economy and reflects the continent’s evolving billionaire landscape.
As of March 2025, Africa counted 22 billionaires on the Forbes list, with a combined net worth that broke records, surpassing $100 billion for the first time.
That figure now stands at $105 billion, up from $82.4 billion the previous year, when the continent had just 20 billionaires.
South Africa continues to lead the pack with now eight billionaires, followed by Nigeria and Egypt with four each.
Morocco contributes three, while Algeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe each have one representative on the list.
With Calisto’s entry, South Africa tightens its grip on the continent’s wealth rankings, reinforcing its reputation as a powerhouse of African entrepreneurship and innovation.
