Eyal Ofer

Eyal Ofer
Born 1950
Haifa, Israel
Residence Monte Carlo, Monaco
Nationality Israeli
Occupation Chairman, Ofer Global, Chairman, Zodiac Maritime Ltd and Chairman, Global Holdings[1]
Net worth $8.7 billion (March 2015)[1]
Children 4
Parent(s) Sammy Ofer
Aviva Ofer
Relatives Yuli Ofer (uncle)
Idan Ofer (younger brother)[2]

Eyal Ofer (born 1950) is a Monaco-based Israeli real estate and shipping magnate as well as a major philanthropist. He is the Chairman of Ofer Global, Zodiac Maritime Ltd and Global Holdings.

Early life

Eyal Ofer was born in 1950 in Haifa, Israel.[1][3] His father, Sammy Ofer, was a Romanian-born Israeli shipping magnate and Israel's richest man.[1][4][5] He graduated from Atlantic College, an international boarding school affiliated with the United World Colleges, based in St Donat's Castle, Wales.[6] He served as an intelligence officer in the Israeli Air Force from 1967 to 1973.[3][6] He then studied the Law in London.[3]

Career

Eyal Ofer’s business interests are concentrated in shipping and global real estate within the Ofer Global group.[7]

Property

In 1980, he moved to New York City and invested in properties on Park Avenue South, which he rented to law firms and public relations firms through his real estate company, Miller Global Properties.[3][6] He still serves as its co-Chairman.[8] He also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Deerbrook Limited from 1991 to 2011.[6] In 2000, he redeveloped the Mayflower hotel into 15 Central Park West, a luxury apartment building, with the Zeckendorf family and Goldman Sachs.[5][3]

He serves as the Chairman of Global Holdings, of which Eastgate Realty and Miller Global Properties are subsidiaries.[4][8] He is the investor behind the redevelopment of Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center into luxury apartments with Jack Rudin.[3] He is also developing 50 United Nations Plaza and 18 Gramercy Park with the Zeckendorf family.[3]

Shipping

Eyal Ofer started his career in international maritime transportation in all the major shipping segments in the 1980s.[6]

He serves as the Chairman of Zodiac Maritime Ltd, a privately-held London-based shipping corporation with a fleet of more than 130 vessels.[1] He is also the Principal of OMNI Offshore Terminals, a provider of floating production storage and offloading (FSO & FPSO) assets to the offshore oil and gas industry. Founded 26 years ago, the Singapore–headquartered company has delivered 23 conversion projects, 2 FPSO and 21 FSO.[9] He has been a Director of Royal Caribbean Cruises since May 1995 and holds a significant stake in the company.[6][10]

In 2014, he received an honorary lifetime membership of the Baltic Exchange in London in recognition of his contribution to shipping in the UK and global maritime trade.[6] He spoke at the Milken Institute Global Conference both in 2012 and 2013.[11][12]

Later that year, Lloyd’s List named him in the top 10 most influential people in the shipping industry.[13]

According to Forbes, Ofer has a net worth of $8.7 billion, as of March 2015.[1]

Philanthropy

He was one of the donors to the Gloriana during the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012.[4]

In 2013, he donated £10 million to Tate Modern, a museum of modern art based in London.[14][15] As a result, an exhibition on the third floor bears his name.[4]

In December 2013, Eyal Ofer donated £1.5m to the National Maritime Museum to allow it to keep two 18th century George Stubbs paintings (Portrait of a Large Dog and The Kongouro from New Holland) in the UK after a public appeal by David Attenborough.[16]

Personal life

He is married with four children.[1] They reside in Monte Carlo, Monaco.[1] In 2008, they resided in West London and had a home in Herzliya Pituah near Tel Aviv.[5] He also owns an apartment at 15 Central Park West, a luxury building he developed located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.[3] He has built up a significant collection of contemporary and modern art, having also inherited half of his father's "vast collection".[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Eyal Ofer". Forbes. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Eyal Ofer, Zodiac Group". Lloyd's List. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Craig Karmin, Developers Team Up With a Man Behind the Scenes, The Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2013
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 James Pickford, Eyal Ofer donates £10m to Tate Modern extension, Financial Times, July 2, 2013
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Rotem Starkman, Anat Georgi, Be smart, work hard - and be born into the right family, Haaretz, April 3, 2008
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Bloomberg: Eyal M. Ofer
  7. ↑ "Bloomberg Billionaires: Eyal Ofer". Bloomberg Billionaires. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Global Holdings Inc: Miller Global Properties
  9. ↑ "Omni Offshore Terminals". Total World Energy. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  10. ↑ Royal Caribbean Cruises: Board of Directors: Eyal Ofer
  11. ↑ 2012 Milken Institute Global Conference: Eyal Ofer
  12. ↑ 2013 Milken Institute Global Conference: Eyal Ofer
  13. ↑ "Eyal Ofer, Zodiac Group". Lloyd's List. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  14. ↑ Mark Brown, Tate Modern receives £10m gift from Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer, The Guardian, 2 July 2013
  15. ↑ Ellie Armon Azoulay, Israeli tycoon Eyal Ofer donates £10 million to London's Tate Modern, Haaretz, 04.07.2013
  16. ↑ "George Stubbs' kangaroo and dingo paintings to stay in UK", BBC News Online; Entertainment & Arts, 6 November 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2015