Stef Wertheimer
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| Stef Wertheimer | |
 Stef Wertheimer
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| Born | July 16, 1926 Kippenheim, Germany |
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| Occupation | Honorary Chairman -- ISCAR Metalworking Company |
| Net worth | $4.4 billion USD[1] |
Stef Wertheimer (Hebrew: סטף ורטהיימר, born 16 July 1926) is considered the wealthiest Israeli living in Israel. He is an entrepreneur and industrialist, a former Member of the Knesset, a winner of the Israel Prize and is most famously known for founding industrial parks in Israel and neighboring countries.[citation needed]
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[edit] Early life
Wertheimer was born in Kippenheim, Germany. His family fled to Palestine in 1937 and settled in Tel Aviv. He studied in the Tel-Nordau School but dropped out of school at age sixteen and started working in a camera repair store. At the same time, he began studying optics with Professor Emanuel Goldberg, a researcher and inventor who contributed significantly to different aspects of imaging technology in the first half of the twentieth century.
In 1943, during World War II, Wertheimer joined the British Royal Air Force. Wertheimer served as an optical equipment technician. He was sent to Bahrain where he repaired optical equipment installed in Britain's military aircraft.
In 1945 he joined the Palmach, where he served as a technical officer in the German Unit - a special guerrilla force trained with British cooperation to participate in combat operations against the German army, should it reach Palestine. In 1947, he joined the Haganah and worked in the development and improvement of cannons. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, he served as a technical officer in the Yiftach Brigade.
After the war, Wertheimer started working at RAFAEL, only to be dismissed shortly thereafter because of his lack of formal education.
[edit] Business ventures
In 1952, Wertheimer started in the backyard of his home in Nahariya, Israel a small metal tool cutting factory called ISCAR. The factory became a quick success and attracted the interest of Discount Investments, who later became a minority investor in the company. Today, ISCAR Metalworking Company is one of the world's largest (by sales) manufacturers of carbide industrial-cutting tools, which are used by carmakers like General Motors and Ford.[2] ISCAR branches exist in over 50 countries worldwide and the company employs nearly 6,000 people.
In 1969, as part of Israeli efforts to overcome the French weapons embargo after the Six-Day War, Wertheimer founded Iscar Blades which later became Blades Technology Ltd. - one of the largest manufacturers of blades and vanes for jet engines and industrial gas turbines. Today, Blades Technology's customers include Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Snecma, General Electric, MTU Aero Engines, Techspace Aero, Solar Turbines, and others.
In May 2006, Berkshire Hathaway, billionaire investor Warren Buffet's conglomerate holdling company, bought 80% of Iscar Metalworking Company for $5 billion (the Wertheimers paid $1 billion in taxes to the Israeli government).[3] The Wertheimer family is left with Blades Technology, which was not included in the Buffet deal, and is worth an estimated $1 billion.[4]
[edit] Industrial parks
Wertheimer founded four industrial parks in Israel, with the goal of fostering economic growth and job creation to help create stability in the region. "The idea of industrial parks in the Middle East and on the borders between Israel and its neighbors is that the parks will bring industry and provide jobs, which will keep people busy working, instead of engaging in terrorism," explains Wertheimer.[5]
Wertheimer's model park is the Tefen Industrial Park. Built in 1982, it encompasses everything from transportation to cultural and educational facilities. Tefen is one of four such parks in Israel that generate some $1 billion in combined revenue. Wertheimer is especially proud of the industrial park in the Arab-Israeli city of Nazareth, where Jews and Arabs work side by side. "Coexistence in the industrial park in Arab Nazareth is a good example of coexistence. When people work together, they have no time for nonsense. They're too tired at night to commit terrorist acts. They're satisfied, they engage in producing. They work together, not against each other," elaborates Wertheimer on the success of his model.[5]
[edit] Marshall Plan for the Middle East
Wertheimer promotes the idea of a "Marshall Plan for the Middle East" - his concept for using industry to provide training, create jobs, alleviate poverty and raise the per capita income of those living in the Middle East.
In the 1990's, he drew up plans for an industrial park in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian and the Israeli governments both offered support, but one week before the groundbreaking ceremony, the Second Intifada broke out and that plan has been shelved for now, a victim of the violence of the last several years.[6]
In 2002, he testified before the United States House of Representatives about a "new Marshall Plan" that advocates U.S. funding to revitalize the Middle East through a sustained effort to promote commerce, jobs, and a free economy in the region .[7]
Wertheimer's vision includes building an additional 100 industrial parks that will employ Israelis and Palestinians. Wertheimer isn't confining his idea to Israel though, and has plans underway in Turkey and Jordan.[5]
"My Marshall Plan is based on aid from Western countries for strengthening the Middle East, in order to achieve peace and tranquility. The parks will serve as a five-year incubator for manufacturing and export companies. If aid is obtained, the parks can usher in an era in which production, exports, education, and an advanced quality of life can replace terrorism and poverty," elaborated Wertheimer on his vision.[5]
Palestinians, however, are more cautious. They are concerned that the trust which briefly characterised Israeli-Palestinian relations before October 2000 has been irrevocably severed. As Israel maintains a tight curfew of almost all West Bank cities, Palestinians are less interested in Wertheimer's ambitious long-term plan than they are in day to day economic survival.[8]
[edit] Political career
| Stef Wertheimer | |
|---|---|
| Year of Aliyah | 1937 |
| Knesset(s) | 9th |
| Party | Shinui |
| Former parties | Dash |
In 1977 Wertheimer was amongst the founding members of Dash, a new centrist political party. The party was highly successful, winning 15 seats in the 1977 elections, with Wertheimer taking one of the seats. When the party split up in 1978, he joined Shinui. In 1981 following an accident,[citation needed] he resigned from the Knesset (was replaced by Stella Levy) and returned to his business ventures. During his term in the Knesset, he was a member of the Economics Committee.
In 1991, Wertheimer was awarded Israel's most prestigious prize: the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement and Exceptional Contribution to the Nation. Wertheimer has four children, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren (as of July 2002).[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Forbes: The World's Billionaires, dated March 8, 2007.
- ^ Stef Wertheimer & Family, Forbes, dated October, 2006.
- ^ Associated Press Berkshire Hathaway buys $5B Iscar stake Deseret News (Salt Lake City), May 6, 2006.
- ^ Israel's Richest Forbes.com, December 11, 2006
- ^ a b c d Stef Wertheimer's New Middle East Israel21c, January 11, 2004
- ^ Giving Galilee a Foothold in Industry, New York Times, May 18, 2006.
- ^ Marshall Plan for Middle East News Advisory, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on International Relations, July 22, 2002.
- ^ a b Israeli tycoon urges help for Palestinians, BBC News, July 17, 2002.
