Lunch with the FT: Ron Perelman

He orders an iced cappuccino and I ask for a macchiato before asking why he  still works. “I work, like my father did before me, primarily for my family,” he  says, but he adds that as he has grown more religious he has come to believe he  has been blessed and has a duty to give something back.

Will he be working at 96? “I hope I’m doing it at 110,” he shoots back. His  youngest son will be in his forties by then, and I ask whether he wants his  children to work for him. “My [oldest] boys both worked for me. They didn’t like  it,” he replies. “At first I was disappointed … but I grew to be happy that  they’re happy.” One daughter is now looking at “technological add-ons” for his  businesses, he adds.

He personally doesn’t use email, has no computer and sends no texts, he says,  looking me in the eye as he adds that he prefers to look people in the eye. “You  look around this restaurant and half the people are doing something except what  they should be doing.” A glance at the number of iPhones being consulted by  Marea’s well-heeled clientele confirms he has a point. How does he run his  businesses without a constant stream of digital updates? “I have a lot of  secretaries,” he says with a smile, before taking a call on his old Nokia  telephone.

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