Real Estate Investor Magazine July/ Aug 2020 July 2020 | Page 11

JOHN RABIE
John Rabie
South Africa’s Development Maestro
Steps onto the Global Stage
NICHOLAS SHEPHERD
PERSONAL PROFILE
Family: Married, with three children and
five grandchildren – so far!
What motivates you? The challenge to
see and to seize opportunities before my
competitors.
Totem animal: The cheetah. Well, that’s
what my friends called me, since my
Western Province rugby days. Speed
and agility have certainly been crucial
elements in my success.
Books you are reading: James Patterson
- The Invisible, Jeffrey Archer - Heads You
Win & Wilbur Smith - War Cry
Life Motto: Be genuine & stay humble.
At the end of the day we are all just
molecules floating through God’s infinite
universe, so we need to take the chance to
help others as we can.
What would you still like to achieve?
To cement the position of Neworld as
a significant player in the European
development market, and to know that
each of the three companies I have
founded will continue in good hands into
the next generation of leadership.
I
n 1978, after studying building science at the University
of Cape Town, John Rabie started a house painting and
renovation company with partner Leon Cohen. This humble
start-up, funded with a R2000 parental loan, was soon to
evolve into the Rabie Property Group, now indisputably
one of South Africa’s most successful independent property
development companies. But it hasn’t been a smooth road to
success.
“Our very first job was to renovate a block of flats called
Beach Court in Sea Point. We didn’t get our pricing quite right
and ended up taking quite a knock. It was an expensive lesson,
but an incredibly valuable one. You pick yourself up, move on
and don’t make the same mistake again!”
In the course of the following four decades, John has
successfully navigated through two major recessions, a radical
change in political dispensation, a global financial crisis, and
is now moving into the uncharted waters of a worldwide
pandemic. “With the impact of the coronavirus epidemic,
everyone’s talking about the new normal. But from a broader
perspective, there really is no normal, and never has been.
“Change in business, as in every area of life, is the only
constant and success is all about dealing with the positive and
negative effects of that change. You have to understand, very
quickly, how those dynamics are affecting your industry and
your customers, and adapt your business model accordingly.”
Proof of how successfully this charismatic property
entrepreneur has done exactly that is evident in the numerous
national and international awards he has garnered along the
way. These include the prestigious FIABCI René Frank Habitat
Award, granted for social upliftment in the re-housing of a
squatter community in Westlake Estate in 2004, and a cabinet
full of SAPOA and International Property Awards.
But a much more obvious accolade to the success of John’s
visionary approach can be seen in his impact on the skyline
of the Western Cape, including landmark developments like
Woodbridge Island, Atlantic Beach Golf Estate, Fernkloof
Golf Estate and in particular a series of mega, mixed-use
developments, which include Marconi Beam, Westlake Estate,
Royal Ascot, Big Bay and Century City.
The phenomenal success of Century City, a 250-hectare,
privately managed New Urban Estate ten kilometres from
Cape Town’s CBD, has resulted in the conversion of more than
one million square metres of bulk to a range of commercial,
residential and retail real estate opportunities, and is currently
home to approximately 10 000 permanent residents.
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine JULY/AUGUST 2020 7