Johannes Henoch Marais (8 September 1851 – 30 May 1915) was a South African mining magnate, politician and philanthropist who co-founded the multibillion-dollar media conglomerate Naspers and the University of Stellenbosch.
[5][6] On 12 May 1914, along with sixteen other men, Jannie Marais attended a meeting at Heemstede, the house of the banker Hendrik Bergh in Stellenbosch.
[7] At the meeting, they agreed to establish a company which was registered the following year as De Nationale Pers Beperkt (Dutch for the National Press Limited).
Their purpose was to create a publishing and printing company: "For the free unimpeded expression of public opinion on all major issues in our country; the commercial and service imperative must complement each other."
(Dutch: "Voor de vrije onbelemmerde uiting van die volksmening aangaande alle belangrike vraagstukken in ons land; kommersiële en diensimperatief moet mekaar aanvul.")
Today, Naspers is a broad-based multi-national internet and media group, offering services in more than 130 countries with a market cap of $114 billion.