Rael Levitt

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.

In 2012, Levitt acquired a bankrupt Pomegranate orchard at the Bonathaba Farms in Wellington, Cape Town and renamed it Superpom SA.[10] The company became South Africa’s largest pomegranate exporter and Levitt became a non-executive Chairman of the company.[11]

In 2017 Levitt founded Inospace, an owner and manager of serviced industrial and logistics parks.[12] The company began with one industrial park in Epping, Cape Town and grew through acquisitions.[13] Under Levitt's leadership, Inospace grew its assets in South Africa and the United Kingdom to over R2,5billion.[14] In 2022 Inospace concluded a R1,25billion transaction with Fortress REIT Ltd.[15]

Levitt was one of the founding shareholders of Lift Airline, a South African 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.[16]