Idan Ofer is a billionaire and one of the wealthiest people in the world. What is his net worth and how did he make his money?
On October 2023, amid the conflict between Israel and Palestine which has claimed the lives of many, Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and his wife Batia Perry quit their position as executives of Harvard’s famed Kennedy School of Business, per New York Post.
Their decision comes after slamming the college’s woke president Claudine Gay’s ‘shocking and insensitive’ response to the Hamas massacre.
His wife Batia told a Hebrew-language outlet that she and her husband are both quitting the school’s executive board over their callous response to the attacks.
She specifically cited President Claudine Gay’s response to 31 Harvard organizations signing a letter placing the blame on Israel.
Following their decision to leave the board of executives, many want to learn more about his fortune and how he made his money. Here’s what we know.
Profile Summary
| Celebrated Name: | Idan Ofer |
| Net Worth: | $14 billion |
| Profession: | Israeli businessman and philanthropist |
| Date of Birth: | October 2, 1955 (age 68 years) |
| Birthplace: | Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel |
| Nationality: | Israeli |
Who is Idan Ofer?
Idan was born on October 2, 1955, in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, into a wealthy Israeli family.
Ofer grew up in Haifa, Israel, to a family of Ashkenazi Jewish (Romanian-Jewish) descent.
His parents are Shmuel Herskovich (famously known as Sammy Ofer) and Aviva Ofer.
His uncle is Yuli Ofer and has a brother named Eyal Ofer, who is also an Israeli businessman.
Idan owes his success to his late father Sammy who was an Israeli shipping magnate who immigrated to Israel from Romania.
Before Sammy Ofer died, he was regarded as one of the Israeli billionaires. He was a charismatic billionaire and patron who made his fortune mainly through maritime trade and ships.
When growing up and before he ventured into business, Idan was enlisted for 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.
Ofer is not exactly a lover of giving interviews, quite the opposite, and it’s a media silence that will surely continue.
What is Idan Ofer’s net worth?
Per Forbes, Idan Ofer has an estimated current net worth of $14 billion. He accrued his fortune from his primary career as a shipping and chemicals magnate.
The Ofer family is one of the wealthiest in Israel. The late patriarch, Sammy Ofer, derived most of his wealth from his ownership stake in Israel Chemicals as well as ZIM, the cargo shipping service.
Idan is the founder of Eastern Pacific Shipping, and the principal of the Quantum Pacific Group, a holding company.
He is also the owner of the Israeli holding company Lynav Holdings and the Dutch-based Ansonia Holdings.
Per Calcalistech, 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.
Idan and his wife Batia Ofer, who is an art collector, jointly own a majority stake in Israel Corp. and Kenon Holdings, which was spun off from Israel Corp.
He is also known for his philanthropic activities. His donations to museums and hospitals in Israel are numerous and well-known, and the most modern stadium in the country also bears his name.
How did Idan Ofer make his money?
First of all, Idan Ofer was born into a rich home. Despite his late dad being a billionaire at the time of his death, Idan has been able to create business investments for himself.
After studying at a university in northern Israel and at the London Business School, of which he is one of its advisers and donors, Idan Ofer began to stand out as an entrepreneur with his brother Eyal.
In 2007, they acquired 55% of the state conglomerate ‘Corporation Israel.’
Ofer’s businesses were not limited to their small country either but spread all over the world in Latin America, Europe, and China.
Many projects are related to energy resources, boats, and new technologies, and it’s estimated that the fortune of this Israeli, a father of five children, exceeds 3,000 million euros.
A lover of sports and art, Ofer believes that economic progress can and should be an important basis for cooperation between Israel and Arab countries.
In the past, he offered his commitment to do everything possible to sign a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians and financed projects to encourage the coexistence of Israeli and Palestinian students.
Why did Idan Ofer leave Harvard board?
Idan Ofer and his wife, Batia, are resigning their posts on the executive board of Harvard’s Kennedy School in protest of school President Claudine Gay’s belated lukewarm response to the student letter blaming Israel for the massacre committed by Hamas terrorists on Saturday.
Ofer said that he and his wife were quitting the board, according to the Hebrew-language news site TheMarker.
Ofer and his wife, Batia said they resigned “in protest of the shocking and insensitive response by the president of the university, who did not condemn the letter by student organizations who blamed Israel for the massacres.”
Gay has come under fire from Harvard alums including former school president Larry Summers, who decried the “delayed” statement from her office in response to the student letter.
“Why can’t we give reassurance that the University stands squarely against Hamas terror to frightened students when 35 groups of their fellow students appear to be blaming all the violence on Israel?” Summers wrote in his social media post late on Monday.
Summers’ disappointment was in response to the lukewarm statement released by the president’s office on Monday.
“We write to you today heartbroken by the death and destruction unleashed by the attack by Hamas that targeted citizens in Israel this weekend, and by the war in Israel and Gaza now underway,” Harvard administrators wrote in the statement from Monday.
The statement did not explicitly condemn Hamas, prompting Summers to post his criticism.