Douw Steyn

{{Short description|South African billionaire businessman (1952–2025)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Douw Steyn | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Douw Gerbrand Steyn | birth_date = {{Birth date|1952|12|19|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|2|4|1952|12|19|df=y}} | education = | alma_mater = [[Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education]] | occupation = Businessman | known_for = Founder of [[BGL Group]] | partner = Donne Botha (2005-2009) | spouse = [[Carolyn Steyn]] (m.2013) }}

'''Douw Gerbrand Steyn''' (19 December 1952 – 4 February 2025) was a South African [[billionaire]] businessman, the founder of [[BGL Group]], a UK-based insurance and financial services company, and the parent of [[Compare the Market]]. Steyn had links to South African politics, having housed former South African president [[Nelson Mandela]] at the Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa.

According to The ''[[Sunday Times Rich List]]'' in 2021, Steyn had an estimated net worth of £2.05 billion, an increase of £1.1 billion from 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Sunday Times Rich List 2021|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list|access-date=10 September 2021|website=[[The Times]]|language=en}}</ref>

==Early life== Douw Gerbrand Steyn was born in December 1952. He went to school in [[Linden, Gauteng|Linden]], Johannesburg.<ref name="biznews1">{{cite web|url=http://www.biznews.com/undictated/2014/12/01/douws-r250m-palazzo-steyn-reflects-my-confidence-in-sas-future/ |title=R250m Palazzo Steyn reflects "my confidence in SA's future" |publisher=Biznews.com |date=1 December 2014 |accessdate=11 May 2017}}</ref> He received a bachelor's degree in 1978 from [[Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education]].<ref name="bloomberg1">{{cite web|author=Douw Steyn SA, B.Sc (QS) |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=46493632&privcapId=9002888&previousCapId=9002888&previousTitle=BGL%20Group%20Limited |title=Douw Steyn SA, B.Sc (QS): Executive Profile & Biography |publisher=Bloomberg |date= |accessdate=11 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="biznews1"/>

==Career== Steyn began his career as a [[quantity surveyor]] at Eskom Mega Watt Park.<ref name="bloomberg1"/>

Steyn founded [[BGL Group]] (which was founded as Budget Insurance Company in 1992), a UK-based insurance and financial services company, and the parent of [[Compare the Market]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/margin-call/douw-steyn-a-meerkat-beyond-compare/news-story/c3b251d3084cd0c25ada7216bb880bf6?nk=865e1a8cabe55543ac3b8fd44c232842-1494503139 |title=Nocookies |publisher=The Australian |date= |accessdate=11 May 2017}}</ref>

In 2015, Steyn launched the development of a luxury private estate, Steyn City, on a {{convert|900|hectare|acre|adj=on}} site between [[Fourways]] and [[Lanseria International Airport|Lanseria]] in [[Johannesburg]]. The project initially drew R6.5 billion in investment, with a further R5.5 billion invested in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Staff Writer|title=A look at Steyn City's massive new R5.5 billion plan – which includes a beach|url=https://businesstech.co.za/news/property/350183/a-look-at-steyn-citys-massive-new-r5-5-billion-plan-which-includes-a-beach/|access-date=20 July 2020|language=en-US}}</ref>

In April 2020, Steyn pledged R320 million to assist the coronavirus relief efforts in South Africa through the Douw Steyn Family Trust and the companies he founded.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Steyn|first=Douw G.|title=Introduction to Atmospheric Modelling|date=2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-18248-2|location=Cambridge|doi=10.1017/cbo9781316182482}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=15 April 2020|title=Entrepreneur Douw Steyn donates R320 million to SA pandemic fightback|url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/douw-steyn-solidarity-fund-donation-covid-19-2020/|access-date=20 July 2020|website=The South African|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Personal life and death== Steyn was in a relationship with Donne Botha from 2005 to 2009; and on the basis of an extravagant ceremony in London in 2007, Botha claimed in 2014 that they were married, and began a legal bid for half of his estate.<ref name="News24">{{cite news |last1=Bhengu |first1=Lwandile |title='There was never a marriage' - judge rules in billionaire Douw Steyn's favour after legal bid by ex |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/there-was-never-a-marriage-judge-rules-in-billionaire-douw-steyns-favour-after-legal-bid-by-ex-20210805 |access-date=5 August 2021 |work=News24 |date=5 August 2021}}</ref> In August 2021, the [[Durban High Court]] ruled that they were never married, and that a punitive cost order against Botha was warranted.<ref name="News24"/>

In February 2013, he married [[Carolyn Steyn]] at the Saxon Boutique Hotel, where guests included [[Graça Machel]], [[Timothy Moloi]], and [[Michael de Pinna]].<ref name="biznews1"/>

Steyn died on 4 February 2025, at the age of 72.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brederode |first=Compiled by Ahmed Areff and William |title=Billionaire insurance magnate Douw Steyn has died |url=https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/billionaire-insurance-magnate-douw-steyn-has-died-20250204 |access-date=4 February 2025 |website=Business |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name| 3597315}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steyn, Douw}} [[Category:1952 births]] [[Category:2025 deaths]] [[Category:South African billionaires]] [[Category:South African company founders]]