Discovery Limited was founded in 1992 by Adrian Gore. In the same year, RMB Holdings (RMBH) acquired a stake in the business by making Discovery Limited its subsidiary through Momentum Group (now part of MMI Holdings Limited). In 1998, the Momentum Group became part of First Rand after the merger of the financial services interests of Anglo American Corporation of South Africa Limited (now Anglo American plc) and RMBH to achieve the objective of a unified financial services grouping. With First Rand Group owning 75 percent of Discovery Limited.

Discovery Limited was successfully listed on the JSE in October 1999 through a successful initial public offering. During the year, First Rand Group reduced its stake in Discovery Limited to 64 percent. In 2003, Momentum Group Limited transferred its investment in Discovery Limited to FirstRand Limited for R740 million. In November 2007, FirstRand unbundled all of its entire shareholding in Discovery Limited and allotted the shares of Discovery Limited to its shareholders. This led to RMBH receiving a 25 percent direct stake in Discovery Limited, making it the single largest shareholder.