Sam Hackner, a man who “lived 100 years in just 65”

“If my father could live his life again, he would live it another ten times. He had a good life, and helped so many people. He lived a hundred years in his 65 years,” says Gary Hackner.

His father, Johannesburg property stalwart Sam Hackner, passed away on Sunday, 8 August, after a battle with COVID-19. Husband to Karen and father to Gary, Leanne, and Nicci, he was almost 66, and had been vaccinated.

“It’s been a very difficult few weeks. He got COVID-19 about six weeks ago, and went into hospital shortly afterwards. He was on a non-invasive ventilator and was conscious for the first few weeks. He was then sedated for the last few weeks.”

While the younger Hackner acknowledges that they didn’t expect it because his father had been vaccinated, he says, “He wouldn’t have it any other way. He didn’t want to grow old. He wanted to do everything himself. There is never a good time to go, but he went out when the party was still pumping. His impact wouldn’t have changed. He did everything he wanted to do, but I would have liked him to know the impact he made.”

The elder Hackner was non-executive chairperson of Investec Property Fund until his death. While he had retired some years before, it was just one way he continued to provide expertise, mentorship, and support to Investec, where he built and led several businesses. The most notable of these were Investec Private Bank and the Investec Property Group, which he ran for 38 years. Hackner was appointed chair of the fund when it listed in April 2011.

He was also the chairperson of Growthpoint, the largest property REIT listed on the JSE, from 2003 to 2008. He was instrumental in growing Growthpoint from a market capitalisation of R35 million in 2002 to about R20 billion by 2007.

On top of all that, he was a director of Argo Property Fund and Argo Real Estate Management until 31 March 2021. At the time of his death, he was a director of Platinum Hospitality Holdings and the Sunshine Tour, among others. He had also created his own property development and management company, and consulted to various others.

Investec Group’s former chief executive, Stephen Koseff, often spoke to Hackner over WhatsApp, even after he landed up in hospital with COVID-19. “Then one day, the communication just suddenly stopped,” says Koseff, describing the heartbreaking moment when Hackner was sedated and intubated.

He first met Hackner senior when Investec bought I Kuper & Company in the 1980s, where Hackner was a partner. “My dad grew up in Durban,” says the junior Hackner. “He went to the army, which wasn’t easy. He qualified as a chartered accountant and came to Joburg, where he landed up at I Kuper. He and the late David Kuper became best friends and partners. It was bought out by Investec. He thought his time at Investec would be temporary, but he landed up staying for 35 years.”

Asked what it was about Investec that made him stay so long, he says, “The culture. They understood him, that he needed a relationship-based working environment. Career wise he was an entrepreneur who worked in a corporate environment. He established a lot in entrepreneurial ventures, and was integral to the growth of Investec. But ultimately, his passion was family. That was non-negotiable. He was also a passionate golfer, and helped a lot of professional golfers to grow their careers.

“He was friends with the best golfers and businessmen in the world,” says the younger Hackner. “But he would talk to everyone the same way. He made ‘kings feel like kids, and kids feel like kings’. In our childhood, he would travel a lot, building his career, but in the past 15 years, he more than made up for that. In the past few days, I’ve received messages from people who say he changed the course of their lives. He probably wouldn’t remember them because he didn’t realise he was mentoring them, and it was so long ago.”

In business and in life, “he was very relationship-focused. He wouldn’t deal with a person if he couldn’t have a good relationship with them. He saw people as people. But he would leave meetings with billionaires to go bath his grandkids. It was all about quality time for him.”

Koseff agrees. “He was very smart, diligent, trustworthy, and you could leave your life in his hands. He was a very strong family man. You couldn’t want a better partner than Sam. He lived the culture and values of Investec.”

The younger Hackner says his father was “always prepared”, and Koseff shares a story that illustrates this.

“In the early days before computers, he would keep every property in his portfolio at the back of his diary, in a spreadsheet. If you had any questions, he would flip to the right page. He really was an expert in his field. He was a ‘straight shooter’ – he would tell you like it is. And he had generosity of spirit, helping a lot of people. His passing leaves a huge gap.”

The executive director of the Sunshine Tour, Selwyn Nathan, says that he and the late businessman first connected at a Maccabi event in Durban about 25 years ago. “We started playing golf together about 20 years ago. He sat on the board of the Sunshine Tour and had a huge influence on what happened on the tour and in professional golf in South Africa for a long time. He had a huge impact on the growth of young South African golfers.

“One of the things he would say if someone was considering a business proposition is to ‘let the feeling pass’ [consider it with a cool head],” remembers Nathan. ‘I’m heartbroken at his passing. Spending time with Sam and his family was one of the greatest pleasures of my life.”

When his father got sick, the younger Hackner created WhatsApp groups to update friends and family. “There were so many people on the first group that I had to open a second one,” he says. When his father passed away, he opened the groups to allow people to share memories, and the pictures and anecdotes flooded in.

The younger Hackner says his father lived his Jewish identity by giving to others. This could be anything from “helping guys go on Maccabi” to “helping rabbis live and serve the community”. And “every night since he passed, we’ve had a different rabbi insisting on leading prayers”.

Looking at his legacy, the son spoke of his father’s “absolute passion for what he did and how he did things. He was a father figure to so many. He would thank everyone for making his life amazing. He learnt from so many, he took it and acted on it.”

While lying in his hospital bed, Sam Hackner wrote a list of life lessons that he called “positive thoughts from the ICU”, and his son shares them now:

1. Life isn’t a dress rehearsal – don’t forget;

2. Drink your best alcohol and eat your best food with family and friends (now) from your best utensils – don’t wait for a future you don’t know;

3. Let your family and friends inherit what you can’t reproduce or spend together – time, fun, and occasion – material things matter f**k-all in the greater scheme;

4. Make time for family and friends – no excuses;

5. Share simchas more than tragedies;

6. Really listen more;

7. It’s not necessary to be critical when you can be mentoring and kind instead;

8. Live life with humour and positive vibes – anger, revenge, and hatred are hurtful wasted emotions and sentiments;

9. Surround yourself with like-minded people;

10. Don’t waste time on what you can’t control or influence – life of an optimist is far sweeter than as a pessimist.