99 and putting in a good day’s work
‘Mr Rabbi’ one of many working well past retirement age
PEOPLE half his age dream about retiring. Even Pope Benedict XVI threw in the towel at 85, citing failing strength of body and mind.
But the R-word is not for 99year-old Louis Rabinowitz.
“Retire? Why should I? As long as I can get out of bed every morning and get to work, I will do my job. It keeps my mind working,” he quipped from behind his desk in Cape Town this week.
He is one of a growing global army of people forced by financial necessity — or who are able to volunteer thanks to improved healthcare — to work well beyond retirement age.
Rabinowitz is in good company. Other elderly workers include businessman Warren Buffett, 84; baking expert Mary Berry, 78; media mogul Rupert Murdoch, 82; and Queen Elizabeth II, who continues to carry out her royal duties at the age of 87.
Closer to home, Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi celebrated his 85th birthday on Tuesday and President Jacob Zuma is still in the hot seat at 71.
“Mr Rabbi”, as he is affectionately known to colleagues, has arrived punctually at work for the past 34 years at the offices of property administrators Broll Properties. His desk, in the heart of a bustling openplan office, is piled high with paperwork, a calculator and a computer.
He can teach young people a thing or two about the work ethic
Colleague Berenice le Grange, 60, who sits next to the 99-yearold, said: “Mr Rabbi’s willingness to embrace change — he even has a cellphone — is one of the things that keeps him going.”
Another co-worker, Joanne Mileham, said: “As you can see, not even the stormiest Cape Town weather deters this man from coming to work. He can teach young people a thing or two about the work ethic.”
Until last year Rabinowitz drove himself to work, but after one scrape too many in the office parking lot, he agreed to employ a driver.
“I am supposed to work from nine until 12, but that never happens. I have so much to do that I hardly ever get out of here before two,” he said.
“People often ask me what my secret is — not only to my long life, but also how I remained so healthy and kept my wits about me. They are disappointed to learn that there is no secret. I’ve lived a normal but hard-working life. I even smoked; I only stopped 20 years ago.
“I don’t allow myself to get stressed and bear grudges. I prefer to look on the bright side. I am an early riser and enjoy all food except cereal. I don’t have special diets or go out of my way to eat healthy foods,” he said.
Rabinowitz, who is slightly hard of hearing, used to play tennis and squash, and now plays bridge.
His evening tipple is Johnnie Walker and he likes watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire on the telly.
Rabinowitz was born on January 1 1914 in Gardens, Cape Town. His parents, Solomon and Sylvia, had fled the pogroms in Russia and Solomon went on to run a fish shop in Paarl.
“I enjoyed growing up [with three siblings] in the country. Our lives were simple and uncluttered. We had radio, no TV and we had a local bioscope where we paid three pennies for a seat,” Rabinowitz said.
He went to school at Paarl Gimnasium and during his holidays earned pocket money by sorting raisins and chasing flies off a neighbour who liked to nap.
But then came the Great Depression of 1929. It “was far greater than our recent economic woes”, Rabinowitz said.
“Our teachers were paid every three months and everyone struggled to make ends meet.”
Instead of studying further, he worked in his father’s building supplies company. “I earned about £12 a year and started by carrying timber and shovelling coal,” he said.
He married his wife, Celia Fischer, in 1938. She died in 2004 at the age of 90. His elder son, Norman, had a fatal heart attack in 2006 at the age of 67.
Rabinowitz sold the fa mily business in 1967, and in 1979 he and Celia moved to Sea Point in Cape Town. But the then 66-yearold was determined not to spend his days “walking on the pier”, so he resumed work, ending up as a director at Broll Properties.
At his 90th birthday party, his employer, Jonathan Broll, joked: “We have a policy at this company where we don’t employ people older than 100.” Rabinowitz’s riposte then was: “I’m in no hurry to get there.”
Now his centenary is just around the corner.
“Mr Rabbi” began an autobiography in 2011, which he selfpublished and gave as presents to his family and close friends.
In it he wrote: “I doubt that any other century in the history of time has borne witness to so much change, development and turmoil, and I cannot help but wonder what lies ahead for my descendants.”
Near the end he added a collection of his favourite quotes as messages to his great-grandchildren, including one by Oprah Winfrey: “The big secret in life I that there’s no big secret. You can get there in life if you’re willing to work hard.”