[8] Rabe was born in 1965 in Luxembourg and grew up in Brussels,[9][10] where his father worked as a civil servant in the European Coal and Steel Community from 1968.

[12] After completing his German baccalaureate (Abitur), Rabe studied Business and Economics at the RWTH Aachen and the University of Cologne.

[11] One year later, he joined his supervisor in moving to the law firm Forrester, Norall & Sutton,[16] which today belongs to White & Case.

[18] In this capacity, among other responsibilities, he was in charge of the privatization of the assets of the Ministry for State Security and the National People's Army of the former GDR.

[19] After earning his Ph.D., in 1996 Rabe was hired as office head of the CEO of the Luxembourg financial service provider, Cedel International.

[28] His recruitment of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. as an investor in BMG Rights Management was seen as a key decision for the music company's future development.

[30][31] After Hartmut Ostrowski announced his retirement as chairman and CEO in 2011,[32] Rabe was declared his successor, effective January 1, 2012.

[48][49] As CEO of RTL Group, he oversees the company's TV unit;[50] he is a member of the board of directors of Penguin Random House, among others.

[56][57] The couple collects modern art and, in 2015, purchased a Henry van de Velde-designed villa in Tervuren near Brussels.