Idan Ofer

Idan Ofer (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.
Ofer owns a 33% stake in Spain's La Liga association football club Atlético Madrid, and an 85% stake in Portugal's Primeira Liga association football club FC Famalicão.
As of August 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$13.5 billion.
Early life
Idan Ofer is the son of the late Israeli billionaire Sammy Ofer (originally Shmuel Herskovich) and Aviva Ofer. His father was an Israeli shipping magnate who immigrated to Israel from Romania. His older brother is Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer. His uncle is Yuli Ofer.
Ofer grew up in Haifa, Israel, to a family of Ashkenazi Jewish (Romanian-Jewish) descent. 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. He then received a Master's in Business Administration from the London Business School in the 1980s. He has been married four times. His fourth wife is Batia Ofer, a charity fundraiser. He has five children. They resided in Arsuf, Israel (near Tel Aviv) until 2013. His daughter Leigh Ofer resides in New York City; his other children reside in London.
Business career
He started his career by expanding the family shipping business in Hong Kong in the 1980s. He then worked in Singapore and the United States. In 1987, he founded Eastern Pacific Shipping, .
He is the principal of the Quantum Pacific Group, a Guernsey-based holding corporation, and the Israel Corporation, one of the largest public holding listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. 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. He has served on the Advisory Boards of Synergy Ventures and Aspect Enterprise Solutions. He was an investor in Better Place, an electric car company which went bankrupt in May 2013.
In 2014, he established Kenon Holdings as a spin off from the Israel Corporation. It is a holding company primarily focused on growth-orientated businesses in the automotive and energy industries. 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. Other investments include Zim Integrated Shipping Services and IC Power. It also includes Inkia Energy, a Peruvian energy company and subsidiary of the IC Power.
He served 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. 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. According to The Financial Times, he is "a Tel Aviv liberal in the mould of the old Israeli Labour party."
After his father's death in 2011, he inherited half his father's fortune and collection of modern art. As a result, by 2013, he was the richest man in Israel. According to Forbes, Ofer has a net worth of $13.5 billion.
In March 2022 Israel Corp controlled by Idan Ofer, sold 20.17 million shares at $10.90 per share for an overall $220 million.
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. Meanwhile, the Israel Corporation retains investments in Israel Chemicals.
In October 2023, Idan Ofer resigned from Dean’s executive board of Harvard Kennedy school, in response to the University’s leader response to Hamas’ terror attacks on Israel. Idan Ofer and his wife Batia told in their statement that their “faith in the University’s leadership has been broken” and that they “cannot in good faith continue to support Harvard and its committees".
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. In 2019, Famalicão was promoted to the top-tier football league in Portugal, the Primeira Liga.
Ofer also owns a 33% stake in Spain's La Liga football club Atlético Madrid.
Controversies
Ofer was criticized in Israel for pollution from his chemical factories, and for his lavish lifestyle.
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.
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.
Philanthropy
In 2013, Ofer donated £25 million to his alma mater the London Business School through the Idan and Batia Ofer Foundation. 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.
In 2017, Ofer and his wife Batia Ofer made charitable contributions to the Jewish Museum London.
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.
Through his foundation, Ofer donated 15M$ to the Israeli National Library in 2021.
See also
List of Jews in sports (non-players)
List of Israelis
Ashkenazi Jews
References
1955 births
Living people
University of Haifa alumni
Alumni of London Business School
Israeli businesspeople
Israeli businesspeople in shipping
Businesspeople from London
Israeli billionaires
Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent
Israeli philanthropists
Harvard Kennedy School people
Idan
People named in the Panama Papers
People named in the Paradise Papers
Israeli Ashkenazi Jews