Wertheimers wealthier than Arison, Forbes says
Financial magazine lists 10 Israelis in its annual list of billionaires, with former owners of Iscar Ltd. topping local list
Stef and Eitan Wertheimer, who sold their manufacturing company Iscar Ltd last year for $4 billion, are the richest Israelis according to Forbes magazine - bumping long-time titleholder Shari Arison to
second place.
Stef Wertheimer founded the company in the Fifties and most recently served as its chairman, while his son, Eitan, served as the CEO.
Stef (right) and Eitan Wertheimer
The Wertheimers came in at 188th place in a recent Forbes ranking of world's richest people, with a net worth of $4.4 billion, in comparison to the well-known Shari Arison, who was ranked 194, with $4.3 billion.
Ten Israelis made Forbes' list. In addition to the Wertheimers and Arison, Lev Leviev was ranked 210, with $4.1 billion and Yitzhak Tshuva was ranked 214, with $4 billion.
Next among the Israelis was Sammy Ofer, in 226th place with $3.9 billion, followed by Arnon Milchan ranked 287 with $3 billion and Haim Saban ranked 323 with $2.8 billion.
Alexander Machkevich, a resident of Kazahkstan with Israeli citizenship, tied several others for 538th place, with a net worth of $1.9 billion. Real-estate mogul Benny Steinmetz was tied at 583, with $1.7 billion. Morris Kahn rounded out the Israeli list with $1.1 billion, coming in at 840th place.
Strong equity markets combined with rising real estate values and commodity prices pushed up fortunes and the magazine reported a record 946 billionaires. There were 178 newcomers, although 44 people dropped off the list for various reasons.
Indians had a particularly strong showing on the list this year, with 14 newcomers. Three Indian billionaires in Forbes' top twenty, second only to the US. Bill Gates topped the list, as usual.
The rankings and fortune estimates are based on a snapshot of balance sheets taken on Feb. 9 and therefore the numbers don't reflect the volatility that shook the markets three weeks later. Between Feb. 9 and March 2 the world's stock markets, as measured by the Morgan Stanley All Country World Local Index, fell by 3.7 percent.
