Jannie Mouton

Biography

Born in 1946 in the Karoo town of Carnarvon, Jannie Mouton grew up in the Northern Cape before studying accounting at Stellenbosch University. He completed his articles at Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1973. Early in his career, he worked as a corporate accountant at Federale Volksbeleggings, Veka, and Kanhym. In 1982, he co-founded the stockbroking firm Senekal, Mouton & Kitshoff, serving as managing director until a sudden fallout led to his firing in 1995 at age 48—a setback he frequently cites as the defining catalyst for his success.

Later that same year, Mouton partnered with Chris Otto to acquire control of PAG Limited for R3.5 million, using it as the foundation to establish PSG Group. Under Mouton’s leadership as CEO and later Chairman, PSG evolved into a premier investment holding company, earning him the nickname "The Boere-Buffett" for his long-term value investing philosophy. His team identified undervalued assets and incubated businesses that disrupted traditional South African markets, most notably co-founding Capitec Bank alongside Michiel le Roux, backing private education giants Curro and Stadio, creating MiWay Insurance, and developing agricultural holding entity Zeder.

Over two decades, an initial investment of R100,000 in PSG grew into hundreds of millions in value, building market capitalization exceeding R280 billion across its portfolio companies. In 2018, Mouton announced his diagnosis with early-stage dementia and retired as PSG Chairman, handing over executive leadership to his son, Piet Mouton. He established the Jannie Mouton Foundation, based at Oude Leeskamer in Stellenbosch, to direct philanthropic investments into education, social upliftment, and Western Cape regional projects.

Career timeline

In their words

“Identify good people, trust them, and give them the space and capital to build great businesses.”

Jannie in the news

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