SOUTH AFRICAN TECH BILLIONAIRE MARK SHUTTLEWORTH MADE HISTORY AFTER GIVING EVERY EMPLOYEE — INCLUDING CLEANERS AND A GARDENER A R1 MILLION BONUS FOLLOWING THE SALE OF HIS COMPANY
South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of internet security company Thawte and later the company behind the Ubuntu operating system, remains one of the country’s most remarkable business success stories.
In 1999, Shuttleworth sold Thawte to US internet security giant VeriSign in a deal worth about US$575 million (around R3.5 billion at the time). Instead of keeping the windfall to himself, he rewarded all 57 employees with a R1 million bonus each. The bonuses were not limited to executives — they also went to office cleaners and the company gardener, reflecting his belief that every employee had contributed to the company’s success.
The generous gesture made headlines around the world and has often been cited as one of South Africa’s greatest examples of employee appreciation. Many recipients reportedly used the money to buy homes, invest in education, start businesses, and secure their families’ futures.
Shuttleworth’s achievements did not stop there. In 2002, he became the first African to travel to space, and in 2004 he founded Canonical, the company behind the globally popular Ubuntu Linux operating system, which is widely used on servers, cloud platforms, and by software developers around the world.
Today, Mark Shuttleworth is widely regarded as one of South Africa’s most influential technology entrepreneurs, with his story continuing to inspire young innovators and business leaders across Africa.
Would you have shared your fortune with every employee if you had built a billion-rand company?