Idan Ofer

Idan Ofer (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 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 November 2023, his net worth was estimated at US$13.9 billion.

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, an art collector and charity fundraiser.

He has five children.

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.

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.

After his father's death in 2011, he inherited half his father's fortune and collection of modern art.

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.

He was an investor in Better Place, an electric car company which went bankrupt in May 2013.

As a result, by 2013, he was the richest man in Israel.

According to Forbes, Ofer has a net worth of $13.9 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".

In 2014, he established Kenon Holdings as a spin off from the Israel Ships 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."