Younes Nazarian

Younes Nazarian is an Iranian-born American businessman, investor and philanthropist. An early investor in Qualcomm, he is the Chairman of Nazarian Enterprises. He is a major donor to charitable causes in California and Israel.

Early life

Younes Nazarian was born in Iran.^[1] His father died when he was three years old.^[1] After losing his fortune amassed as a construction contractor during the Iranian Revolution of 1979,^[2] he immigrated to the United States with his brother Izak Parviz Nazarian, settling in Beverly Hills, California.^[1][3]

Career

In 1980, borrowing against monies owed to their confiscated Iranian business by European companies, Younes and his brother were able to purchase precision tool manufacturer, Standard Tool & Die (Stadco).^[2] Younes believed that Standard Tool would benefit from the U.S. space shuttle program.^[2] Younes, his brother, and his nephew-in-law Neil Kadisha then bought into Omninet, a technology company that had developed a wireless protocol that enabled trucking companies to keep track of their vehicles.^[2] Recognizing its potential, he presented the technology to Qualcomm founder Irwin M. Jacobs who offered Younes a major stake in Qualcomm in exchange for Omninet.^[2][4] He later served on its Board of Directors.^[4]

He serves as the Chairman of Nazarian Enterprises, a diversified investment vehicle.^[3] He is the co-owner of Stadco, a manufacturer of aerospace products.^[3] He serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors of ANG, Inc., a manufacturer of military products headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire.^[3]

Philanthropy

He is the founder of the Younes & Soraya Family Foundation and its Israeli sister organization, the Ima Foundation.^[5]

He serves on the Board of Directors for the Friends of IDF, a fundraising non-profit organization for the Israel Defense Forces.^[3] He is the former Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and the Haifa Foundation.^[3] He serves on the Board of Directors of the Sapir Academic College,^[3] where the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Academic Library is named in his honor.^[6] The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Pre-Academic Library Of the Ima Foundation at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is also named in his honor.^[7] In 2007, he donated $119,000 to the University of Haifa in the form of 119 scholarships of $1,000 to commemorate the Israeli casualties of the 2006 Lebanon War.^[1] That same year, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from the university.^[3] Additionally, he serves as a member of the "Public Standing from abroad" on its Board of Governors.^[8]

He endowed the Beit Midrash Fellowship at the Milken Community High School in Bel Air.^[3] He has also endowed the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).^[3] The Nazarian Pavilion in the Doheny Library on the campus of the University of Southern California (USC) was also built as a result of a charitable gift from Nazarian.^[3]

He is the former Chairman of the Habib Levy Cultural & Educational Foundation. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federation and Jewish Television Network.^[3] He has served at the Sinai Temple, a Conservative synagogue in Westwood.^[3]

He serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Middle East Public Policy at the RAND Corporation.^[3] He was a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2011.^[3]

Personal life

He is married to Soraya Nazarian, a sculptor.^[1] They have four children, including David Nazarian and Sam Nazarian.^[1]

References

External links

• The Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA
• The Younes and Soraya Pre-Academic Library of the Ima Foundation at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem