Who Is Jerome Booysen and What Is His Net Worth?

Jerome “Donkie” Booysen is the alleged leader of the Sexy Boys gang associated with drug dealings. The 60 year-old was born in 1964 and is said to be worth more than R25 million.

For almost 21 years, Jerome Booysen worked as the City of Cape Town building inspector and after his retirement in 2006, he became self-employed, working as a property developer and property speculator. However, since the 1990s, he and his brothers – Michael and Colin Booysen have been making headlines for gangsterism, which he has vehemently denied. They are said to be the leaders of Sexy Boys – one of the biggest gangs in Cape Town.

How Old Is Jerome Booysen?

Jerome “Donkie” Booysen is 60 years old. He was born in South Africa in the year 1964 and his birthday is still not known. He grew up with his brothers, Colin and Michael and they were rugby players as youngsters.

Jerome Booysen, who was a rugby star, won many trophies and medals during his active career. His father established the Belhar Rugby Club in 1983 and he currently serves as the president of the rugby team. While his younger brother, Colin, is reportedly the head of a faction of the Sexy Boys gang, Michael is serving a life sentence in jail for the murder of Llewellyn who was killed in a shooting around 1997.

What Is Jerome Booysen Famous For?

Since the ’90s, Jerome Booysen has been all over the news as a powerful underworld figure. Not only is he said to be the leader of the Sexy Boys gang, but was charged with the murder of Brian “Steroid King” Wainstein alongside his business associate, Mark Lifman. Also, in February 2021, Jerome and other five prominent suspected gang leaders were arrested and faced charges of contravention of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca).

The suspects have made appearances in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court and are believed by the Hawks to be primary dealers and distributors of illegal drugs in Cape Town. Jerome Booysen was granted bail of R30,000 and had previously been released on a bail of R100,000 for the accused murder of Steroid King. This is not the first time the businessman has been implicated in a murder case.

In 2012, a Hawks investigator alleged that he was a prime suspect in the murder case of Cyril Beeka – a nightclub security kingpin and rumored intelligence agent. However, he was not charged in the case. Despite constant reports of him being at the helm of the Sexy Boys gang, Jerome Booysen has denied being a gangster. He told News24 that Gangsterism is not the way and he is nothing like the person portrayed in the media.

Jerome “Donkie” Booysen’s Net Worth

Jerome “Donkie” Booysen is reportedly worth over R25 million. According to the millionaire businessman, he has made his money through rugby and the property industry. He is the president of Belhar Rugby Club and works as a property speculator and developer. For almost 21 years, Jerome was employed by the City of Cape Town as a building inspector and during that time, he purchased many properties at auctions.

Consequently, he veered into the property business after his retirement which significantly accounts for his staggering wealth. Donkie Booysen claimed to have been following the legitimate way all his life. He disclosed that he started working while in Grade 11 and was washing pots after school hours, from 17:00 to 01:00. He was employed at a canteen which has now become a popular store that sells both food and clothes.

On the contrary, Jerome Booysen has been charged with crimes relating to drug peddling and is said to be the manager and equally, a participant in a wide-scale criminal enterprise known as the Jerome Booysen Enterprise. He is reportedly involved in an alleged syndicate that oversees the dealing of massive quantities of methaqualone (mandrax) tablets trafficked and sold in many communities in Cape Town.

Hence, several of his properties worth multimillion rands were seized while he had a criminal case in court. Additionally, Jerome Booysen allegedly owns nine vintage cars valued at R1.7 million. He claimed to have funded his eye-catching acquisitions from his profitable property resale and rentals.

Alleged Sexy Boys gang boss Jerome “Donkie” Booysen has survived yet another attempted hit after walking away unharmed from a shooting at a cemetery on Monday. https://t.co/twc5Lx8uzQ

— IOL News (@IOL) December 30, 2020

Jerome Booysen’s Properties

Five years before Jerome Booysen retired as a building inspector in Cape Town, he purchased several properties at auctions and focused on sales in execution. As a result, he has over 17 properties in Cape Town valued at over R21 million. He purchased his first two properties with the loan he took from his pension and one was sold for as little as R100 in Delft.

Donkie owns properties in Glenhaven, Durbanville, and Bellville. In February 2013, two of his houses in Durbanville and one in Bellville were searched by the Hawks, and four men were arrested for allegedly dealing in drugs. Then in the next month, at one of his houses in Durbanville, a huge stash of chemicals used to make illegal drugs went up in flames. And these led to the accusation that his gang, Sexy Boys controlled a massive drug trade in city center clubs and pubs.

In June 2021, when a restraint order was placed on his properties, Jerome Booysen applied to the Western Cape High Court for the discharge of the order which was affecting him. He explained that he married his wife, Tina Booysen in a community of property and they jointly invested in the multimillion properties as his wife contributed her pension payout.

The restraint order was placed on 18 immovable properties registered in Jerome Booysen’s name and several other properties registered to Albatross Isle Trade (Pty) Ltd. This was due to the considerable quantities of drug-manufacturing material found at three of his properties during police raids. Donkie, on the other hand, denied having knowledge of his properties used for the manufacturing and distribution of illegal narcotics on a commercial scale.

What Happened To Jerome Booysen’s Son?

One person shot in the the leg ran inside the centre pic.twitter.com/0txwFm3uo6

— 💕Tanswell – Proud 🏳️‍🌈 Dad (@Mutaaz_Aspeling) May 5, 2023

Jerome “Donkie” Booysen’s son, Joel Booysen, who serves as the owner of Sneaker Cartel Club, was first attacked in March 2023, while driving his armored Audi in Belhar. The gunmen tried to shoot him but his car was bulletproof, thus, he was not injured. Later, on May 5th, 2023, a second attack was launched on Joel’s life shortly after he stopped his car near Somerset Road, Green Point.

The gunman fired several shots at him and he got injured in the thigh. He ran for cover inside the Cape Quarter building and was later taken to the hospital. Despite sustaining a wound in the thigh and a bullet grazing on his chest, the then 27-year-old has fully recovered. Furthermore, the eldest son of Jerome Booysen, Nino Booysen was attacked on June 9th, 2023 on the corner of Radnor Road and Robert Sobukwe Drive in Parow, Cape Town.

Though he was driving in an armored vehicle, he was reportedly wounded as the police confirmed that a 9-year-old boy and two adult males aged 46 and 53 were wounded in the shooting. The injured victims received medical treatment at nearby hospitals and thankfully, they survived the attack.

Is Jerome Booysen Still Alive?

Dubbed ‘The Teflon Donkie with many lives’, Jerome Booysen has survived seven attempts on his life and yes, he is still alive. In a space of a year; between 2017 and 2018, there were six attempts to assassinate the alleged gang leader. In May 2017, he was first wounded in the neck on his way to extend condolences to late Deon Williams’ family. The next year, he sustained a gunshot wound from an attack inside a Spur restaurant at a Kuilsriver mall.

In the same 2018, his car was shot at in Mitchell’s Plain and he was wounded five times at Cape Town International Airport. Later in December 2020, he survived an attempted assassination while attending a funeral at Durbanville Memorial Park in Cape Town. The several hits on Jerome Booysen’s life have been linked to the time when he was involved in owning nightclubs and seeking control of the nightclub security business in Cape Town.

Hence, he was reportedly in rivalry with the alleged gang leader, Nafiz Modack, and his partner, Colin Booysen (Donkie’s brother). After the second attempt on Joel Booysen’s life in May 2023, Jerome said that he knew the person who was after his son’s life and the attack was out of jealousy.