The meerkat with the fake Russian accent and his family that have taken the UK insurance industry by storm during the past few years is non other than the brainchild of South African businessman Douw Steyn (59). The makes the cuddly creature a Saffa…
The Mail online reports that the small cuddly creature has earned the South African business tycoon £220million (R3billion) on the back of the popular advertising campaign for his comparison website Compare the Marktet. This has boosted Steyn’s personal fortune to £420million with the businessman recently buying a £60m mansion in London.
The South African entrepreneur who set up the Compare the Market insurance website in Britain bought the 10-bedroom mansion for £62million in one of London’s most expensive and exclusive streets and is now the neighbour of Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich.
Steyn created the meerkat Aleksandr Orlov who explains to UK TV viewers not to compare “The Meerkat.com”, but “The Market.com – Simples!” He certainly owes much of his success to the little creature who has been an overnight success.
So successful is it, that the word “simples” has been included in Collins English Dictionary in 2010. When the meerkats first appeared on screen the South African was worth £200million, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. But now that his meerkat family has been riding a wave of popularity and success, Steyn’s personal wealth has grown to £320million in 20101, £360million last year and £420million this year.
The cuddly Alexandr now has 55,000 followers on Twitter and 800,000 people have liked his Facebook page. .
Steyn divides his time between London and South Africa where he has business interests that include the five star Saxon Hotel in Johannesburg and a game reserve.
