Shari Arison

Shari Arison
Born 1957 (age 54–55)
New York
Citizenship American-Israeli
Net worth US$5.1 billion
Parents Ted Arison and Mina Arison Sapir
Relatives Micky Arison, brother

Shari Arison (born 1957) is an Israeli-American businesswoman and Israel's wealthiest woman. She is the owner of several businesses, the largest among them Bank Hapoalim.

According to Forbes, she is the richest woman in the Middle East, and the only woman to be ranked in the region's top-20 richest people in 2007.[1][2] As of 2011 Forbes estimated her fortune at US$5.1 billion, making her the 200th-wealthiest person in the world, and the third-wealthiest in Israel. [3]

Contents

Biography

Arison was born in New York, and is the daughter of the businessman Ted Arison and Mina Arison Sapir. She has an older brother, Micky. In 1966 her parents divorced, and she moved to reside with her mother in Israel. At the age of 12 she returned to the US to live with her father, and five years later she returned to Israel in order to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Arison is the mother of four children. She has been married three times, most recently to businessman Ofer Glazer. In 1999 Arison's father died, and bequeathed her 35 percent of his possessions. In 2003, she caused a big wave of protest after 900 workers were fired from Bank Hapoalim.

In 2005, she was voted the 56th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.[4]

In March 2009, Arison sponsored Israel’s third annual “Good Deeds Day” in which her non-profit organization, Ruach Tova, inspired thousands of Israelis to get involved in volunteering across the country.[5] As part of the event, which took place near Tel Aviv, a Palestinian youth orchestra performed in an hour-long concert in honor of Holocaust survivors.[6] They played classical Arabic tunes and songs of peace, but upon the group’s return to Jenin, authorities condemned the orchestra’s leader for her so-called “exploitation of the children for political purposes.”[7] The event garnered lots of media attention from around the world.[8][9][10] Following the concert to celebrate “Good Deeds Day”, the orchestra conductor was expelled from her hometown of Jenin.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Forbes topic page on Shari Arison. Accessed March 2010.
  2. ^ 7 Israelis on Forbes' list of richest Mideast billionaires – Israel Money, Ynetnews
  3. ^ Forbes list 2011
  4. ^ גיא בניוביץ' (June 20, 1995). "הישראלי מספר 1: יצחק רבין – תרבות ובידור". Ynet. http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3083171,00.html. Retrieved July 10, 2011. 
  5. ^ Be part of a day that is all good, Ynet News, Published March 17, 2009.
  6. ^ Essay: If dialogue is a crime, we are all guilty, by David Saranga, Jerusalem Post, Published April 16, 2009.
  7. ^ a b Concert for Holocaust Survivors Is Condemned, By ISABEL KERSHNER and KHALED ABU AKER, New York Times, Published March 29, 2009.
  8. ^ Real roadblocks to peace, By Abraham Cooper & Harold Brackman, Ynet News, Published April 8, 2009.
  9. ^ Israel Faces Soul-Searching Double Standard, By Cathy Young, Jewish Journal, Published April 8, 2009.
  10. ^ Center Field: Don't Cry For Us, New York Jewry, Turkish Weekly, Published April 14, 2009.

External links