South African billionaire Koos Bekker faces backlash over 2,700-acre estate in England
Villagers around Koos Bekker's Newt hotel in Somerset have started a petition over pesticides and blame the estate for floods and drying streams.
The Newt Somerset
South African billionaire Koos Bekker cashes out $500 million to build luxury hotels
Koos Bekker's family trust has sold Naspers and Prosus shares worth about $500 million in three rounds since 2023, earmarking the money for his hotels.
South African billionaire Koos Bekker is buying up a corner of England
Koos Bekker, the billionaire who turned Naspers into a Tencent fortune, now owns more than 2,700 acres of Somerset farmland, pubs and shops.
South African billionaire Koos Bekker built a £1,000-a-night nature paradise in Somerset. Now it is under fire for using weedkiller
Koos Bekker's luxury Somerset eco-resort charges up to £1,000 a night and markets itself on its gardens and nature ethos. Critics say it is using weedkiller on its grounds.
Koos Bekker sold $334 million in Naspers shares to build English gardens — and now his Somerset estate is taking on Chelsea
South African billionaire Koos Bekker sold $334 million in Naspers and Prosus shares to build historic farming estates across four countries, and now his Somerset hotel is launching a nine-day garden festival to rival Chelsea.
Billionaire Koos Bekker’s The Newt is reshaping life near Castle Cary in rural Somerset
Koos Bekker’s Somerset estate, The Newt, has turned nearby Castle Cary into a higher profile stop for tourism, rail travel and rural investment.