Daniel Lubetzky
Daniel Lubetzky (born 1968) is a Mexican-American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, author, and founder and executive chairman of snack company Kind LLC. Biography. Daniel Lubetzky is the son of Sonia and Roman Lubetzky. A Holocaust survivor and an Ashkenazi Jew of Lithuanian ancestry, Lubetzky's father was a partner in International Bonded Warehouses and United Export Trading Association, both duty-free shop chains with headquarters in Laredo, Texas. Lubetzky was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. As a teenager, he moved with his family to the U.S. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and  international relations, graduating "magna cum laude", from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. As an undergraduate, he studied abroad in both Israel and France. Lubetzky then earned his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1993. In March 2008, Lubetzky married Michelle Lynn Lieberman, a physician. They have four children. Lubetzky is the cousin of Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. Business career. During his college years in Texas, Lubetzky created a retail watch operation, Da'Leky Times. After graduating from law school, Lubetzky worked briefly at Sullivan & Cromwell and at McKinsey & Company. In 1993, Lubetzky was awarded a Haas Koshland Fellowship  to write about legislative means to foster joint ventures between Arabs and Israelis. While carrying out his research, he discovered a sun-dried tomato product that provided the foundation for PeaceWorks Inc. in 1994. PeaceWorks is a "not-Only-for-profit" business corporation pursuing both peace and profit. Its flagship brand – Meditalia –is made through cooperation among neighbors striving to co-exist in the Middle East. In 2003, concerned about unhealthy snacking choices and the rising obesity and diabetes epidemic in America, Lubetzky launched Kind Snacks with the value proposition of being "Kind to your body, your taste buds and  your world". Kind has since become the fastest-growing snack company in the US. In 2010, Lubetzky co-founded Maiyet, a luxury fashion venture committed to forging partnerships with artisans in some of the world's developing economies to create high end and unique products, while promoting self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship. In 2015, President Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker named him a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE). In 2018, Lubetzky founded New York-based family office, Equilibra, which backs entrepreneur-run businesses that offer packaged goods to consumers; investments include Greek yogurt brand Ellenos, and social enterprise  Yellow Leaf Hammocks. As of November 2021, Lubetzky had a net worth of $2.2 billion. In November 2020, it was announced that Kind North America would be purchased by Mars in a deal worth $5 billion. Lubetzky said he would retain his stake in the company and remain involved in its operations. In September 2021, Lubetzky teamed up with two of Kind's former executives to create Somos (meaning "we are" in Spanish), an authentic Mexican food company. Investments. Lubetzky established Equilibra Partners Management Inc in 2018. The firm backs entrepreneur-run businesses that offer packaged goods to  consumers. In May 2020, Equilibra purchased a 25% stake in Yellow Leaf Hammocks for $1 million when Lubetzky sat as a guest shark on "Shark Tank". In 2020, Equilibra invested $18 million in Greek yogurt company Ellenos. Towards the end of the year, it made a $250,000 investment in FitFighter, a fitness brand which began with equipment for firefighter training programs and expanded to full-body fitness tools and workouts. In 2021, Equilibra purchased a 10% stake in Quevos, an egg white protein snacks company, also on "Shark Tank". That same year, they invested in Tandm Inc. , a family-owned business that created a tandem boogie board. Other investments include: Cava Group, Justin's, Krave jerky, gimMe snacks and Chapul. Media. Lubetzky is the author of the "New York Times" bestselling book "Do the Kind Thing, Think Boundlessly, Work Purposefully, Live Passionately". The book is based on Lubetzky's entrepreneurial experience, and was inspired by his father's stories from the Holocaust. Lubetzky appeared as a guest shark in episodes of "Shark Tank" in seasons 11, 12 and 13, and on "To Dine For with Kate Sullivan" in January, 2021. Philanthropy. In 2002, he co-founded the  OneVoice Movement, an international grassroots effort, to amplify the voices of moderate Israelis and Palestinians seeking to end the conflict. In 2015, Lubetzky and Kind Snacks created the Kind Foundation. Its signature initiative, Empatico, is a video-conferencing and digital learning platform that connects classrooms around the world designed to help kids explore their similarities and differences and expand their world views. In 2017, he launched a public advocacy organization called Feed the Truth to counteract the food industry's influence on food policy and public health. He pledged $25 million to fund the organization. In 2019, he was  appointed to the Anti-Defamation League's inaugural board of directors. In April 2020, Lubetzky's Kind Foundation launched the Frontline Impact Project in consultation with Project N95. The project is a platform for healthcare and other frontline responders to request resources needed in the fight against COVID-19.  As of May 14, Frontline Impact Project has partnered with more than 40 brands like Unilever, Nestle, and Mars Incorporated, reaching more than 180,000 people working mostly in hospitals, nursing homes, and outpatient medical practices.