We have to be thankful for what we have, but who doesn’t think about the lifestyle of the rich and famous every now and then? private jets, exotic vacations and some very expensive perks.
According to the Forbes annual ranking of billionaires from around the globe, ten Israelis are already there, right alongside Larry, Steve, Warren and all the other usual suspects.
| Name |
Citizenship |
Age |
Net Worth ($bil) |
Residence |
|
| 140 |
Sammy Ofer & family |
Israel |
86 |
6.7 |
Monaco |
| 222 |
Stef Wertheimer & family |
Israel |
82 |
4.6 |
Israel |
| 227 |
Lev Leviev |
Israel |
52 |
4.5 |
United Kingdom |
| 256 |
Shari Arison |
Israel |
50 |
4.1 |
Israel |
| 296 |
Beny Steinmetz |
Israel |
51 |
3.6 |
Israel |
| 307 |
Yitzhak Tshuva |
Israel |
59 |
3.5 |
Israel |
| 334 |
Alexander Machkevich |
Israel |
54 |
3.3 |
Kazakhstan |
| 358 |
Arnon Milchan |
Israel |
63 |
3.1 |
Israel |
| 1014 |
Morris Kahn |
Israel |
78 |
1.1 |
Israel |
You’ll notice that some of the people on the list are not Israelis, and some are Israelis living abroad. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that they net over a billion dollars, which gets them a nice cosy spot on the Complete List.
Sami Ofer for example, is an 86 year old self-made billionare who made his fortune from a global shipping empire, plus interests in banking and real estate. Another veteran is Stef Wertheimer, who’s been a social leader apart from a business superstar. At 82 years old, Stef is a lobbist for his idea of implementing the “Marshall Plan for the Middle East” therefore he created industrial parks like “Tefen” in the Galilee, to bring peaceful coexistence by having Jews and Arabs work together. Most recently he sold 80% of his company Iscar, the manufacturer of precision carbide metalworking tools, for $4 billion.
Not everyone on the list is 80 years old. Mark Zuckerberg, made the list at #785, with a worth estimated at $1.5 billion. Zuckerberg is also listed as the youngest billionaire at the age of 23. Russian-Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev, married with 9 children, has made over $4.5 billion and he’s only 52. He also owns the most expensive new home in Britain, $65 million Palladio, a seven-bedroom bulletproof estate replete with in-house nightclub and gold-plated indoor pool.
Just for the record, The Top 5 Billionaires: Overall
1) Warren Buffett
2) Carlos Slim Helu
3) William Gates III
4) Lakshmi Mittal
5) Mukesh Ambani
For more information, check out Gary Price’s summary on ResrouceShelf. I hope to see your name on the list next time.
He is a former General Partner at Google Ventures (GV) in Europe, former head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe, and founding head of Campus London, Google's first startup hub. Eze writes on Israeli tech, venture capital, artificial intelligence, and founder strategy.
He is also the founder of Techbikers, a nonprofit that brings together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read.
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