Given their similar paths in life, it’s a slight surprise that Sir David Levene has managed to outlive his long-time friend and fellow NBR Rich Lister, Sir Graeme Douglas, founder of Douglas Pharmaceuticals.
The pair had much in common – they went to boarding school together, married sisters, and were knighted on the same day. Douglas died two years ago, at the age of 87, and Levene admits he feels the loss greatly. But at the age of 90, he is still determined to live life to its fullest. He remains totally committed to his business interests, and still goes into his office in Auckland’s Takapuna every day. He still runs team meetings, and is involved in all major decisions.
“It’s the young people who keep me going,” he explains. “I still love to support the young ones, and I still love being around driven, successful companies.”
Not many young people these days have heard of the Levene home decorating chain, which was the original source of Levene’s wealth. The chain started life as a paint shop run by his father and uncle in 1924. Levene took over as manager of the business in 1952, at the age of 23, and over the years introduced many new concepts to the retail sector in New Zealand.
By 1994 it had 52 retail stores and its own paint and wallpaper factories. But to his eternal regret, Levene agreed to sell it for $74 million to Murray Bolton’s Skellerup Group in a leveraged buyout. It collapsed just three years later.
Levene, like many of his former staff, has never quite gotten over it. However, he kept his property interests and since then has managed to grow his fortune into a sizeable nest egg.
These days his property management company, Quadrant Management, owns more than $370 million worth of land and buildings – up significantly on last year. And like fellow Rich Lister Sir Stephen Tindall, he also invests in a wide variety of start-ups, including hi-tech, biotech and other early-stage companies, as well as funds and shares.
Over the past year, his investment company, Lewis Holdings (named after his father) has made three new investments in companies using artificial intelligence: chatbot startup Ambit, legal software firm McCarthyFinch, and retailing intelligence platform DemandForecast. He has also invested in two companies with promising futures in minerals extraction: Avertana and Geo40.
But it’s clear he also enjoys a far more traditional business – his half share in Auckland tomato grower NZ Hot House Group. The company was founded 25 years ago by Brett Wharfe and is an example of Levene’s fundamental rule of investing: He invests in people, rather than ideas. That’s not to say that ideas, and sensible business plans, aren’t important. But for Levene, it’s the human side of business that has always been his passion.
“The most important thing is to bring the people along with you,” he says.
He also has a separate foundation, the David Levene Foundation, which gives away a seven-figure sum each year. Decisions on donations are made by a group of trustees that include his two children, Elizabeth and Mark.
The foundation focuses on three primary areas: education through charities such as Kiwi Can, health through foundations such as the Neurological Foundation, and in early intervention such as Great Potentials Foundation, which offers education and parental support in low-income New Zealand communities to unleash the potential of children, young people and families.
Last year, for example, it donated $5 million to the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences for brain research – one of the biggest individual donations in the university’s history. Levene said at the time he was inspired to donate after seeing friends and family suffer from the challenges of brain disease such as Parkinson’s, dementia and motor neuron disease.
“My late wife Billie suffered from Parkinson’s and I have friends whose better halves suffer from dementia. Ageing is not easy, so if we can research ways to prevent and treat brain disease to ease suffering, that can only be a good thing.”
2018: $370 million