[imagesource: Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Raymond Preston]

Christo Wiese and Markus Jooste are never going to share a friendly beer again.

That bridge has been burnt to a cinder after Jooste stuck a very expensive knife in Wiese’s back.

The story of their falling out over what’s widely regarded as the biggest corporate scam in South African history has been told many times over, most recently in Steinheist.

Every aspect of the scandal is picked apart in the three-part docuseries which premiered on Showmax on September 22.

The series showcases “the richest cast in Showmax history” – Jooste, Wiese, Bruno Steinhoff (the founder of Steinhoff International), and current CEO Louis du Preez, among others:

Wiese, who was once South Africa’s richest man before losing a large chunk of his fortune in the scandal, is forthright in his criticism of Jooste.

SA People has a collection of some of his quotes regarding his former protégé.

On Markus Jooste’s alleged affair

“​I don’t want to sound like a goody two-shoes, but that’s a no-no… For a CEO to have an affair known to his subordinates is a no-no. I fired at least two senior executives because of that. Because you lose the trust of the people that report to you. If he could lie to his wife of 40 odd years every day, why wouldn’t he lie to me? You know that can’t be tolerated.”

Berdine Odendaal was widely identified as Jooste’s alleged mistress.

On whether he knows how wealthy he is, within the closest billion

“I have no idea because my experience has been that generally people who know how much they’re worth are not worth a hell of a lot.”

On his reaction to the Steinhoff crash

“When I looked myself in the mirror after the terrible news from Steinhoff, I decided I will have to find clear guideposts to get through this one. Number one: I don’t mourn the loss of money, because money you make, you can lose and you can try to make again. Secondly, I count my blessings. And thirdly, I’m not going to become a bitter person, because nobody wants bitter people around them.”

Look, if I lost tens of billions of rands I’d be bitter. On one day in December 2017 alone, Wiese saw R32 billion wiped off his net worth.

On owning wine farms, and selling Lanzerac to Markus Jooste for Steinhoff shares

“I always tell people, one wine estate is one too many… To have two is close to a nightmare.”

On Markus Jooste

“Obviously, he is a very, very smart operator, and with nerves of steel. How do you do this for 15 years? And you have to get through all these gatekeepers? This isn’t a normal person. You’ve got to be an artist, knowing every button to push with every person.”

You also have to be a sociopath.

Wiese, who himself is currently involved in a legal battle with SARS over what it claims is a multibillion-rand “tax evasion” scheme, pointed out how multiple supposed safety checks had failed in order to facilitate Jooste’s corrupt behaviour, name-checking Deloitte.

When asked whether Steinhoff was the biggest mistake of his career, he didn’t mince his words:

“It is the biggest mistake by a country mile… What it cost me in monetary terms, but what it cost also in reputational terms, it’s by a country mile the biggest mistake.”

In February, he received in excess of R7 billion worth of cash and a Pepkor stake as part of the Steinhoff settlement.

That doesn’t come close to covering his losses and, as Wiese points out, the reputational damage is priceless.

Meanwhile, Jooste continues to deny any wrongdoing in a civil case brought against him by Steinhoff.

[source:sapeople]