Markus Jooste, the former chief executive of Steinhoff International, died on Thursday, 21 March 2024. He was 63.
Markus Jooste dies: What’s the cause of death?
The disgraced ex-Steinhoff CEO tragically took his own life, according to the SABC.
This news emerges amid ongoing scrutiny and legal battles linked to the collapse of Steinhoff International Holdings NV, once a titan in the global retail sector.
In fact, Jooste’s death came a day after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) issued a staggering R475 million penalty against the 63-year-old for his role in Steinhoff’s accounting fraud, with payment due by 19 April 2024.
Details around his death were still unravelling when this article was published.
Markus Jooste biography
Born on 22 January 1961, Markus Johannes Jooste’s journey from a South African businessman to the helm of Steinhoff International is a tale of ambition, success, and eventual controversy.
An avid horse breeder, Jooste was listed among Africa’s wealthiest individuals in 2016, with a net worth of $400 million.
His partnership with Christo Wiese in 2014 spearheaded an aggressive international expansion, catapulting their conglomerate’s share price to unprecedented heights in March 2016.
The strategy, however, faced a significant setback following a dispute with business partner Andreas Seifert, leading to investigations by
European regulators, journalists, and law enforcement into the conglomerate’s inflated profit and asset values and undisclosed deals.
These actions precipitated Deloitte LLP’s demand for an internal investigation, a request Jooste contested, culminating in his resignation on 5 December 2017.
The fallout from Jooste’s resignation was swift and devastating, erasing billions of euros in market value and thrusting Steinhoff into a financial abyss.
A comprehensive investigation by PwC linked Jooste and his CFO, Ben la Grange, to extensive accounting malpractices, leading to significant legal and financial repercussions for both individuals and the company at large.
Despite the substantial evidence of wrongdoing, the lack of immediate criminal prosecution frustrated many, highlighting challenges within South Africa’s legal and regulatory frameworks.
Reactions to Jooste’s death
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The news of Jooste’s death has elicited a broad spectrum of responses, from expressions of sympathy for his family to renewed calls for accountability in the Steinhoff scandal.
The complexity of Jooste’s legacy—marked by both his business acumen and the controversy surrounding Steinhoff’s collapse—shapes the diverse reactions.
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