[imagesource: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg / Images]

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.

Where is old Markus these days? Certainly not behind bars where he belongs, although his day in court draws ever nearer.

Back to Wiese and his payout, with news breaking this week that Steinhoff’s former chairperson received in excess of R7 billion worth of cash and a Pepkor stake as part of the Steinhoff settlement.

Fin24 reports:

Wiese confirmed to Netwerk24 that he received cash and a 5% stake in Pepkor, which is currently worth more than R4 billion.

In return for dropping all current and future legal challenges against the retailer, claimants will share a “pot” of about 1.43 billion euro (roughly R25 billion), with payouts differing according to which of the three classes they belong to. Claimants are receiving cash and shares in Pepkor.

That’s a tidy sum but it is still a great deal less than he lost amidst the carnage.

He once owned 52% of Pepkor, exchanging it for a 20% stake in Steinhoff in 2014. A few years later, his shares plummeted in value by more than 95% after the scandal broke.

Wiese initially sought roughly R60 million from Steinhoff:

“It cost me a lot of money, but given my age, I decided that I didn’t want to be in litigation for the next seven years, so I made the concession,” Wiese told Netwerk24.

While this chapter of his Steinhoff saga is now ending, Wiese says he is now waiting for the perpetrators to be held responsible in court.

“Those of us who suffered damage will exert pressure that the right things are done.”

Ominous words for Jooste to hear.

Wiese may have settled for ‘just’ R7 billion but his thirst for justice appears undiminished.

On the plus side, BizNews reported last week that Wiese is official a dollar billionaire once more:

The increase in Wiese’s wealth has been driven largely by his investment in the food retail business he started, Shoprite, which has become the country’s standout retail performer…

Wiese’s other listed interests include investment holding companies Brait and Invicta. Brait is a private-equity firm that was listed before the global financial crisis and went on to become the darling of the JSE in subsequent years.

He has some way to go before he reaches pre-Steinhoff collapse levels. His net worth was once estimated to be around $5,8 billion.

$1 billion is still a tidy nest egg for an 80-year-old.

[sources:fin24&biznews]