What’s the Best Investment You’ve Never Heard Of?

How a $32 Million Bet on Tencent Became a $133 Billion Fortune: The Power of Patience, Conviction, and Knowing When to Do Nothing

Naspers' logo is pictured on a smartphone in this illustration taken, December 4, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Most people have no idea who the biggest shareholder of Tencent is. They assume it’s a Chinese billionaire or a big tech firm. Wrong. It’s Naspers—a South African media company that nobody even associates with cutting-edge technology. It’s like hearing that your local bakery owns 30% of Apple.

So how did this unknown company land the investment of a lifetime? By doing the one thing almost every investor screws up: sitting tight. Seriously, that’s it. They just sat on their hands while everyone else played musical chairs.

The $32 Million Bet That Changed Everything

Back in 2001, Naspers wasn’t a tech powerhouse. They were a struggling South African media company, losing money and credibility after a string of bad bets in the dot-com boom. But their CEO, Koos Bekker, saw something nobody else did—a tiny Chinese internet startup called Tencent. It wasn’t a high-flying stock; it was a struggling company that could barely pay its bills. So what did Bekker do?

He went all in. Against every piece of advice, Bekker threw $32 million into Tencent for a 46.5% stake. Most people thought he was nuts. His board thought he was gambling away the company’s last dollars. But Bekker didn’t care. He saw the potential in Tencent’s founders, Pony Ma and Tony Zhang. He wasn’t investing in their current product; he was investing in their vision for the future of China’s internet.

When Everyone Says “Sell,” Hold

When Tencent went public in 2004, that $32 million stake was already worth hundreds of millions. Any sane person would’ve taken the money and run. But not Bekker. Naspers held. They didn’t sell when the stock doubled, tripled, or even when it went up 100x. They didn’t budge when the market hit bumps, when Tencent faced regulatory threats, or when the global financial crisis wrecked the markets.

This wasn’t just about patience. This was about belief. Bekker knew that the only way to capture the full upside was to sit tight—no matter how tempting the urge to cash in became.

Today, that $32 million has turned into over $133 billion. The best investment in corporate history. It’s hard to wrap your head around, but it happened because Bekker refused to sell. He turned down multiple opportunities to cash out because he understood that real wealth isn’t built by trading in and out. It’s built by holding on for the long run.

Richard Li: The Billionaire Who Walked Away Too Early

And here’s where it gets interesting. Richard Li, son of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, was also an early investor in Tencent. He bought a 20% stake for $2.2 million in 1999. But when the dot-com bubble burst, Li panicked and sold his stake to Naspers for $12.6 million. A tidy 6x return, right?

Except that 20% stake is now worth over $70 billion. Imagine selling your lottery ticket for $12 bucks right before the winning numbers are drawn. That’s what Richard Li did. His story is a classic case of letting short-term fear overshadow long-term gains. It’s the kind of mistake that haunts you forever.

The lesson here? Selling early can feel like winning—until you see what you missed out on.

Koos Bekker: The Man Who Got It Right

Let’s be clear: Koos Bekker wasn’t just lucky. He had a unique advantage. He structured his own pay to align perfectly with the company’s success. No salary, no bonuses. Just stock options tied directly to Naspers’ performance. If Tencent soared, he’d get rich. If it tanked, he’d be broke.

This wasn’t a CEO cashing in on short-term pops. This was a leader betting his own financial future on the company’s long-term success. That’s why he didn’t sell when the stock price jumped. He didn’t just want good returns—he wanted life-changing returns. And he got them.

His strategy was simple: find an extraordinary asset, and do nothing. But here’s the catch: doing nothing is the hardest thing in the world. Most investors can’t resist tinkering, rebalancing, or taking profits. That’s why they’ll never see a 4,000x return like Bekker did.

Naspers’ Golden Handcuff: The Downside of a Good Bet

But here’s the twist: Naspers’ success turned into a problem. By 2012, Tencent made up 80% of its market value. Suddenly, Naspers wasn’t a media company anymore. It was a Tencent holding company. This created a mess. Naspers was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), but the asset driving its value was a Chinese tech stock. It was like trying to sell a Ferrari in a local used car lot—nobody knew what to do with it.

Investors were stuck. They wanted exposure to Tencent, but they didn’t want the baggage of the South African Rand or Naspers’ other failing businesses. The result? Naspers’ stock started trading at a massive discount to its true value.

The Creation of Prosus: A New Hope?

In 2019, Naspers tried to fix the problem by spinning off its international tech assets into a new company called Prosus. They thought it would simplify things, but it just made the situation more confusing. Now Prosus owned a chunk of Naspers, and Naspers owned most of Prosus. It was a bureaucratic merry-go-round that left investors scratching their heads.

Even Bob van Dijk, the CEO who took over in 2014, couldn’t untangle the mess. He tried diversifying into food delivery and classifieds, but nothing could overshadow Tencent. By 2023, he stepped down, leaving Naspers still chained to the golden handcuff of its own success

The Lesson for Investors: Don’t Be a Genius. Be Patient.

If you’re looking for the secret to building real wealth, it’s not in picking the hottest stock or timing the market perfectly. It’s about finding one extraordinary asset—and holding on for dear life. Most investors can’t do it. They get impatient. They sell early. They let fear or greed drive their decisions.

But the greatest fortunes aren’t built by trading. They’re built by holding. Koos Bekker didn’t sell when Tencent went up 10x. He didn’t flinch when it went up 100x. He understood something that Richard Li didn’t: the true power of compounding only reveals itself to those who have the guts to wait.

Final Thought: What’s Your Tencent?

Every investor dreams of finding a stock like Tencent. But most would have sold too early even if they had it. The real challenge isn’t finding your Tencent—it’s holding onto it when everyone else is cashing out.

So, what’s your Tencent? What’s that one investment you believe in, but are tempted to sell because of short-term noise? Maybe it’s a stock, a business, or even a skill set you’re building. Whatever it is, hold on to it. Don’t get distracted by quick wins or the urge to lock in profits. Find your Tencent, and have the conviction to sit tight.

Because the biggest gains aren’t made by buying and selling. They’re made by having the patience to wait for your 4,000x return.

The question is, do you have the patience? Or will you sell out for a 6x return like Richard Li and miss out on billions? Choose wisely.

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