Rael Levitt (born 10 May 1971) is an entrepreneur, author and business leader from South Africa. He is a double master's degree graduate from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and the National University of Singapore.
Levitt founded multiple real estate, investment and asset management companies. He is best known for developing both auctions and logistics parks in Southern Africa. [1]
While studying at the University of Cape Town, Levitt sold his first property in 1989. [1] In August 1992, he conducted his first auction on behalf of Absa Bank Ltd [2] and at the age of 21 founded his first auction company, Levco Auctions. [3] Three years later Levitt sold Levco Auctions to Seeff Holdings Ltd and merged the two companies. Levitt was appointed CEO of the merged company that was renamed Seeff Auctions. [4]
After the delisting of Seeff Holdings Ltd in 1998, Levitt completed a management buyout of Seeff Auctions, renamed the company Auction Alliance and became its CEO. [5] [6] In 2006 Auction Alliance sold a 25.1% stake to Amabubesi Investments [7] and in 2010 a 31% stake to Transaction Capital. [8] By 2010 Auction Alliance's turnover was over R300 million, with sales of over R6 billion. [9] In 2011, after a well-publicized dispute arose at an auction, Levitt voluntarily closed Auction Alliance. [10]
In 2012, Levitt acquired a bankrupt Pomegranate orchard at the Bonathaba Farms in Wellington, Cape Town and renamed it Superpom SA. [11] The company became South Africa's largest pomegranate exporter and Levitt became a non-executive Chairman of the company. [12]
In 2017 Levitt founded Inospace, an owner and manager of serviced industrial and logistics parks. [13] The company began with one industrial park in Epping, Cape Town and grew through acquisitions. [14] Under Levitt's leadership, Inospace grew its assets in South Africa and the United Kingdom to over R3billion. [15] In 2022 Inospace concluded a R1,25billion transaction with Fortress REIT Ltd. [16] In 2023 the company branched into the logistics sector offering outsourced warehousing and fulfilment services to e-commerce businesses [17]
Levitt is a founding shareholder of Lift Airline, which launched on 10 December 2020. Lift operates on major domestic routes from O. R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg using a fleet of Airbus A320 narrow body aircraft, operated by Global Aviation. Levitt is a non-executive director of the airline. [18]
It Takes a Tsunami (2022), published by Mercury. [19]
In 2010 Levitt was appointed as the Chairman of YAD. [20] He was appointed a trustee of the Rambam Trust, a board member of Glendale care services and the United Jewish Campaign. Levitt is the founding trustee of the Red Circle Trust, which focuses on entrepreneurial educational development.
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Transnet SOC Ltd is a large South African rail, port and pipeline company, headquartered in the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. It was formed as a limited company on 1 April 1990. A majority of the company's stock is owned by the Department of Public Enterprises, or DPE, of the South African government. The company was formed by restructuring into business units the operations of South African Railways and Harbours and other existing operations and products.
Absa Group Limited, commonly known simply as Absa and formerly the Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (ABSA) until 2005 and Barclays Africa Group Limited until 2018, is a multinational banking and financial services conglomerate based in Johannesburg, South Africa and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. It offers personal and business banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and bank assurances.
Daily Maverick is a South African online news publication and weekly print newspaper, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. It claims to have a readership of approximately 10 million readers per month. It was founded in 2009 by Branislav Brkic, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of the publication, and Styli Charalambous, its Chief Executive Officer.
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Edcon Limited was a retail company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its subsidiaries included Edgars, a department store with 203 branches. In 2020, the Competition Tribunal approved the sale of the Edgars division to Retailability (pty) Ltd, and Jet to The Foschini Group.
Bob Shop, formerly Bidorbuy or bidorbuy.co.za, is a South African e-commerce website based on an internet auction and online marketplace model allowing individuals and businesses to trade with each other. Transactions on bidorbuy are in South African rands.
The Absa Cape Epic, founded by Kevin Vermaak and also known as the Cape Epic, is an annual mountain bike stage race held in the Western Cape, South Africa. First staged in 2004, it has been accredited as hors catégorie by the Union Cycliste Internationale.
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The North-West University is a public research university located on three campuses in Potchefstroom, Mahikeng and Vanderbijlpark in South Africa. The university came into existence through the merger of the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, which also had a branch in Vanderbijlpark, and the University of North-West in 2004. With its merged status, the North-West University became one of the largest universities in South Africa with the third largest student population in the country.
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Tsogo Sun is a South African gaming, hotels and entertainment group. Tsogo Sun operates 15 casinos, 24 Galaxy Bingo sites, 1 Independent Site Operator Licence (ISO) as well as VSlots ("LPMs") Limited Pay-out Machines across nine provinces, including but not limited to Bet.co.za bookmaker licences, hotels, a Theme Park, multiple world-class theatres, movie cinemas, restaurants, bars and conference facilities.
The Creative Counsel is a South African advertising agency founded in 2001 by school friends Gil Oved and Ran Neu-Ner.
The 2016–17 South African Premier Division season is the 21st season of the Premier Soccer League since its establishment in 1996.
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Xneelo (Pty) Ltd formerly Hetzner (Pty) Ltd is a web hosting company based in South Africa. It was sometimes called Hetzner South Africa to distinguish it from the German partner company Hetzner Online GmbH. The company announced a rebrand to xneelo in July 2019.
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