Rael Levitt

Rael Levitt (born 10 May 1971) is an entrepreneur and business owner from South Africa and most well known as an auctioneer.

Business life

Rael Levitt founded several South African real estate, investment, asset trading and auction companies. He is best known for developing and promoting the auction industry in Southern Africa.[1] Levitt began his career with his first property sale at the age of seventeen and the formation of Levco Property in 1989.[1] In 1992, he founded his first auction company, Levco Auction Group.[2] Levitt was responsible for many high-profile sales including the assets of Freddie Steenkamp and politician Allan Boesak’s Foundation of Peace and Justice. In 1995, Levitt concluded a sale of Levco to Seeff Holding's Chairman, Lawrence Seeff, and after acquiring Boland Bank’s auction arm, became the Managing Director of Seeff Auctions.[3] Levitt was appointed the Vice Chairman of the South African Institute of Auctioneers and in 2011 was inducted into its Hall of Fame.[4]

Following the delisting of Seeff Holdings Ltd in 1998, Levitt completed a management buyout of the auction business. He renamed the company Auction Alliance and became its CEO based in Cape Town, South Africa.

The company opened in several cities, including Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Upington, Windhoek and Dubai (United Arab Emirates).[5] Auction Alliance became South Africa’s largest auction house.[6] Levitt also launched several other subsidiaries and companies related to Auction Alliance including: Salesbid, Asset Alliance; Alliance Business Brokers; Alliance Finance; and Valuation Alliance.[7] Auction Alliance acquired several real estate, auction and valuation companies.

Levitt worked to improve the image of the auction industry in South Africa by implementing various approaches including Multiple Auctions[8] and the development of the RAP (Rapid Auction Programme).[9] In 2006 Auction Alliance sold a 25.1% stake to Amabubesi Investments[10] and in 2010 a 31% stake to Transaction Capital.[11] By 2011 Auction Alliance's turnover was over R300 million.[12] with sales of over R6Billion.

On 23 June 2012 Wendy Appelbaum laid an attempted fraud charge against Rael Levitt. Thereafter, Levitt stepped down as CEO of Auction Alliance and as a member of the national auction association.[13][14] In August 2012, Levitt's apartment and Auction Alliance offices around South Africa were raided by the South African Police's Hawks crime unit [15] The material collected through this seizure was challenged for being unconstitutional. In April 2015, the Constitutional Court upheld the search warrants as being fully compliant with South African law.[16]

Based on the admissibility of the seized material the South African police conducted an investigation into fraud and money laundering as well as all auctions Levitt and Auction Alliance handled between January 2003 and February 2012.[17] Rael Levitt was not convicted of any civil or criminal offences and no charges against Levitt or Auction Alliance are pending. [18]

Philanthropy

Rael Levitt organized and conducted charity auction events between 1992 and 2012 raising over R250 million for various charities including the Nelson Mandela Children’s Trust.[19] and many others. Rael Levitt became synonymous with charity fund raisers and many of the country's leading auction fund raisers in South Africa were trained by him under his "auctiontainment" brand. Rael Levitt was aappointed as trustee of the Rambam Trust and the founder Trustee of the Tsojana Trust.[20] which built schools and educational facilities in the rural Eastern Cape of South Africa. He has sat on the boards of various other charitable institutions including the Glendale Home, the United Jewish Campaign and the Edom Trust.

Religious affiliation

Levitt is a member of the Cape Town Jewish community. He was executive committee member of South Africa’s largest synagogue: Green and Sea Point Hebrew Congregation. In 2010 Levitt was appointed as the Chairman of YAD and sat on the board of the United Jewish Campaign.[21]

Awards and recognition

Rael Levitt was the recipient of the South African Jewish Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2008[22] and was a finalist for the South African Ernst and Young World Entrepreneur competition in 2011. He also won the USA Today National Auctioneering Association’s annual awards several times.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 On the fall of the hammer, By TheSouthAfrican.com on 3 August 2010
  2. ↑ Realised vision. WHAT IT MEANS, Next Generation Communications, 23 February 2007
  3. ↑ Samuel Seeff - Executive Profile, Bloomberg Businessweek
  4. ↑ The South African Auctioneering Conference, SAIA Events, 13 March 2011
  5. ↑ Auction Alliance expands to United Arab Emirates, Eprop.co.za, 1 December 2006
  6. ↑ Auction Alliance Employees Turn Bosses, Property24, 28 Dec 2012
  7. ↑ South Africa: Property Boosts Auction Industry, All Africa, 2 December 2005
  8. ↑ Cut-price commissions at "jumbo" property auctions, Money Web, 12 May 2009
  9. ↑ Property, Lamb to the slaughter, By Ian Fife 28 May 2010
  10. ↑ Major BEE deal signed under Property Charter, Mail&Guardian, 4 May 2006
  11. ↑ Transaction Capital acquires 31% of Alliance, BDLive, by Sure Kamhunga, 6 August 2012
  12. ↑ Auction group may face fine of R30m, Business Report, By Fiona Forde, 30 March 2012
  13. ↑ Levitt lawyers leave NCC bloodied, By Ant Katz, 18 July 2012
  14. ↑ Auction Alliance's Rael Levitt steps down, Mail&Guardian, 28 Feb 2012
  15. ↑ Levitt admits rigging auction, IOL, 16 Sep 2012
  16. ↑ http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2014/3.html AUCTION ALLIANCE: Losing bi, Financial Mail, 15 April 2015
  17. ↑ IOL: Cops face huge auction probe 15 September 2015
  18. ↑ http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2014/3.html
  19. ↑ R50 000 for sperm bank, but no deposits, IOL, 25 August 1999
  20. ↑ Rael Levitt - Biography
  21. ↑ New chairman at the helm of YAD, Cape Jewish Chronicle, Vol. 28 No 2, March 2011
  22. ↑ Capetonians shine in Achiever Awards, Cape Jewish Chronicle, Vol. 25 No. 7, August 2008
  23. ↑ 2011 NAA - USA TODAY Marketing Competition Winners, 11 May 2011
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