Saban made some nice coin from Disney deal
Photo: Ata Awisat
A long ways from Egypt. Saban
Photo: AFP
Israeli businessman one of LA’s richest
Business magazine estimates Alexandria-born entrepreneur Haim Saban worth USD 1.7 billion
Israeli-American business mogul Haim Saban was ranked 14th on Los Angeles Business Journal’s list of LA County’s 50 wealthiest people.
Saban’s capital is estimated at USD 1.7 billion, marking a 35 percent increase from last year, the journal said. He currently resides in Beverly Hills, but owns property in Malibu as well.
Recently Saban, the CEO of Saban Capital Group, Inc., was ranked 272nd on Forbes magazine list of the world’s richest people. The magazine estimated his fortune at USD 2.3 billion.
A large chunk of his capital was made in October 2001, when he and Rupert Murdock sold their stake in Fox Family Worldwide, owner of the Fox Family Channel and other cable properties, to entertainment giant Walt Disney Company for USD 5.3 billion.
At the time, analysts hailed the move as the largest cash deal ever made in Hollywood.
A native of Alexandria, Egypt, Saban immigrated to Israel at the age of 12 where he attended agricultural school and served in the IDF.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1983, where he launched a chain of recording studios. In 1988 he formed Saban Entertainment, an international television, production, distribution and merchandising company.
Another Jewish-American on the Los Angeles Business Journal’s list is entertainment tycoon David Geffen, who was ranked 7th with an estimated USD 4.3 billion in personal assets, 23 percent higher than what he was worth a year ago.
