Idan Ofer

Idan Ofer (Hebrew: עידן עופר; born 2 October 1955) is an Israeli billionaire businessman and philanthropist, with interests in shipping, energy, mining and sports. He is the founder of Eastern Pacific Shipping, and the principal of the Quantum Pacific Group, a holding company. He is majority shareholder of the Israel Corporation, listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, as well as Kenon Holdings, listed on the Tel Aviv and New York Stock Exchange. He is also the owner of the Israeli holding company Lynav Holdings and the Dutch-based Ansonia Holdings.[2]

Idan Ofer
Born (1955-10-02) 2 October 1955[1]
Haifa, Israel
EducationUniversity of Haifa
London Business School
OccupationBusinessman
Known forShareholder of Quantum Pacific Group, Israel Corporation, Kenon Holdings , Atlético Madrid & Futebol Clube Famalicão
Spouse(s)Orly (divorced)
Romi Ben Ami (divorced)
Yifat Gurion (divorced)
Batia Perry
​
(m. 2009)​
Children5
Parent(s)Sammy Ofer
Aviva Ofer
RelativesYuli Ofer (uncle)
Eyal Ofer (brother)

Ofer owns a 33% stake in Spain's La Liga association football club Atlético Madrid,[3][4] and an 85% stake in Portugal's Primeira Liga association football club FC Famalicão.[5][4]

As of August 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$13.5 billion.[6]

Early life

Idan Ofer is the son of the late Israeli billionaire Sammy Ofer (originally Shmuel Herskovich) and Aviva Ofer.[6] His father was an Israeli shipping magnate who immigrated to Israel from Romania.[6][7][8] His older brother is Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.[6] His uncle is Yuli Ofer.

Ofer grew up in Haifa, Israel, to a family of Ashkenazi Jewish (Romanian-Jewish) descent.[6][7][8] He was enlisted as to mandatory military service in the Israeli Navy, serving as deputy commander of a patrol boat. He graduated from the University of Haifa, Israel, with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Shipping.[9][10] He then received a Master's in Business Administration from the London Business School in the 1980s.[9][11][12] He has been married four times.[7] His fourth wife is Batia Ofer, a charity fundraiser.[13][14] He has five children.[6] They resided in Arsuf, Israel (near Tel Aviv) until 2013.[15] His daughter Leigh Ofer resides in New York City; his other children reside in London.[6]

Business career

He started his career by expanding the family shipping business in Hong Kong in the 1980s.[7][10] He then worked in Singapore and the United States.[10] In 1987, he founded Eastern Pacific Shipping, .[16]

He is the principal of the Quantum Pacific Group, a Guernsey-based holding corporation,[6][17] and the Israel Corporation, one of the largest public holding listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.[6][17] He served as the Chairman of the Israel Corporation from 1999 to 2010, and as a member of its board of directors from 1999 to 2013.[9][10] He has served on the Advisory Boards of Synergy Ventures and Aspect Enterprise Solutions.[9] He was an investor in Better Place, an electric car company which went bankrupt in May 2013.[6]

In 2014, he established Kenon Holdings as a spin off from the Israel Corporation.[18][19] It is a holding company primarily focused on growth-orientated businesses in the automotive and energy industries.[20] It inherited some of the investments previously held by the Israel Corporation, such as Qoros, a joint project created in partnership with Chery Automobile that manufactures automobiles aimed towards a 'young, internationally minded' market in China.[19][21][22] Other investments include Zim Integrated Shipping Services and IC Power.[19] It also includes Inkia Energy, a Peruvian energy company and subsidiary of the IC Power.[23][24]

He serves on the advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Dean's Council of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.[9][10] With Richard Branson and others, he is a co-founder of the Carbon War Room, a think tank on climate change based in Washington, D.C.[6][10][25] According to The Financial Times, he is "a Tel Aviv liberal in the mould of the old Israeli Labour party."[7]

After his father's death in 2011, he inherited half his father's fortune and collection of modern art.[6] As a result, by 2013, he was the richest man in Israel.[17][26] According to Forbes, Ofer has a net worth of $13.5 billion.[6]

In March 2022 Israel Corp controlled by Idan Ofer, sold 20.17 million shares at $10.90 per share for an overall $220 million.[27]

By February 2023, the Israel Corporation sold all its shares in Oil Refineries to David Federmann, as part of the company's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.[28][29][30] Meanwhile, the Israel Corporation retains investments in Israel Chemicals.[19]

Sports

In 2018, Ofer purchased a 51% stake via Quantum Pacific Group in Portuguese second league football club FC Famalicão, which he subsequently increased to 85% in 2019.[5] In 2019, Famalicão was promoted to the top-tier football league in Portugal, the Primeira Liga.[4]

Ofer also owns a 33% stake in Spain's La Liga football club Atlético Madrid.[3][4]

Controversies

Ofer was criticized in Israel[31] for pollution from his chemical factories,[32][33][34][35][36] and for his lavish lifestyle.[37][38]

In 2014, an Israeli TV show raised questions about the possible engagement of services from an intelligence firm in one of Ofer's companies. However, the show could not conclusively prove these claims.[39]

In 2023, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has published its 2021 report on organizations considered as high risk. After Ofer sold his Oil Refineries shares, he's now associated with one company featuring the list.[32]

Philanthropy

In 2013, Ofer donated £25 million to his alma mater the London Business School through the Idan and Batia Ofer Foundation.[11][12][40][41] As a result of the charitable gift, the largest private donation the school has ever received, the LBS built the Sammy Ofer Centre in 2017 in honor of his father.[42][11][40]

In 2017, Ofer and his wife Batia Ofer made charitable contributions to the Jewish Museum London.[43]

In 2021, Idan and Batia also launched a maritime scholarship fund in Singapore aiming to award up to 10 full term scholarships per year in the maritime industry.[44]

Through his foundation, Ofer donated 15M$ to the Israeli National Library in 2021.[45]

See also

References
  1. "Bloomberg profile: Idan Ofer". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  2. "חמישה דברים שלא ידעתם על עידן עופר". Ice (in Hebrew). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  3. "Idan Ofer increases hold on Atletico Madrid | TradeWinds". TradeWinds | Latest shipping and maritime news. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  4. Hazani, Golan (1 July 2018). "Israeli Billionaire Idan Ofer Acquires Portuguese Second League Soccer Club". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  5. Patrick. "Project Famalicão: The story so far and what it could mean for the future of Portuguese football". portugoal.net. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  6. "Forbes profile: Idan Ofer". Forbes. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  7. John Reed, Idan Ofer: fleeing Israel’s new populism, The Financial Times, 12 April 2013
  8. Isabel Kershner, Sammy Ofer, Magnate and Israeli Power Broker, Dies at 89, The New York Times, 4 June 2011
  9. "Stocks - Bloomberg – Idan Ofer". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  10. "Who we work with | The Climate Group – Idan Ofer". theclimategroup.org. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  11. Israeli-Born Billionaire Idan Ofer Donates £25 Million to London Business School, Algemeiner Journal, 2 October 2013
  12. Sandy Rashty, Idan Ofer donates £25 million to a London business school, The Jewish Chronicle, 2 October 2013
  13. Thomson, Alice (5 January 2019). "Batia Ofer: I work very hard at my job. It's not just picking up the phone and saying, 'Give me money'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  14. Mance, Henry (16 November 2018). "Inside the world of the glitzy charity fundraiser". Tatler. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  15. Eytan Avriel, Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer's moving to London. No loss to us, Haaretz, 10 April 2013
  16. "Eastern Pacific Shipping Pte Ltd - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg News.
  17. John Reed, Israel’s richest man risks anger over UK move, The Financial Times, 8 April 2013
  18. "Kenon Holdings Ltd", Reuters. Accessed 29 October 2015.
  19. Eran Hazran, In surprise move, Israel Corp. will list spin-off Kenon in Tel Aviv, Haaretz, 14 October 2014
  20. "Holdings", Kenon Holdings. Accessed 29 October 2015.
  21. Colum Murphy, Israel Corp.’s Idan Ofer Reiterates Support for Chinese Car Maker Qoros, The Wall Street Journal, 5 November 2014
  22. "China’s Newest Car Brand: Qoros", The Wall Street Journal, 28 November 2011. Accessed 29 October 2015.
  23. "Kenon Holdings: IC Power". kenon-holdings.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  24. Naomi Mapstone, Peru’s Inkia Energy sells $300m bond, The Financial Times, 30 March 2011
  25. "Home - Rocky Mountain Institute – Carbon War Room: Founders". carbonwarroom.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  26. Alistair Dawber, Israel’s wealthiest man Idan Ofer set to move to London amid tax row, The Independent, 9 April 2013
  27. "After the deal was completed, Israel Corp's stake in ICL fell by 1.57% to 44.1%". Globes. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  28. Sternlicht, Hezi (18 April 2022). "Hagag Group completes Bazan purchase from Israel Corp". Globes.
  29. Sternlicht, Hezi (30 August 2022). "David Federmann to take control of Bazan". Globes.
  30. Cohen, Nitzan (9 February 2023). "Idan Ofer completes the sale on the BZN: sold the remaining shares for NIS 220 million (Translation from Hebrew:"עידן עופר משלים את מכירת בז"ן: מכר את יתרת המניות ב-220 מיליון שקל"". Ice.
  31. "Israel's wealthiest man Idan Ofer set to move to London amid tax row". The Independent. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  32. "מי הם עשרת המפעלים בעלי ההשפעה הסביבתית השלילית בישראל". GOV.IL (in Hebrew). Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  33. "זיהום נחל אשלים: כיל התעלמה מ־20 שנה של התרעות על אסון מתקרב בנגב | כלכליסט". m.calcalist.co.il. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  34. "Acid leaks found at Dead Sea chemical site". Israel National News. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  35. Ben-David, Ricky; Surkes, Sue. "Haifa's Oil Refineries Ltd. tops worst environmental offenders list… again". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  36. "6 חברות של עידן עופר בצמרת הרשימה האדומה של המשרד להגנת הסביבה | כלכליסט". calcalist (in Hebrew). 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  37. "This could be used by future historians analyzing Israeli decadence | Opinion". Haaretz. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  38. "הפקרות: זה מה שלא סיפרו לכם על מסיבת הענק של עידן עופר במיקונוס". TheMarker. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  39. "בשירות עידן עופר: ריגול עסקי אחרי שר האוצר והחשכ"לית". TheMarker. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  40. Della Bradshaw, Adam Palin, Idan Ofer gives £25m to London Business School, The Financial Times, 26 September 2013
  41. Idan Ofer donates $40 million to London Business School, The Times of Israel, 1 October 2013
  42. "LBS's Sammy Ofer Centre opens its doors to the world". London Business School. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  43. "Our supporters - The Jewish Museum London". jewishmuseum.org.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  44. "Maritime Schlarship".
  45. "עידן ובתיה עופר עם תרומה אדירה למשכן הספרייה הציבורית". Ice (in Hebrew). 19 April 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
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