Israeli businessman Eliezer Fishman has died at the age of 80. The former controlling shareholder of "Globes" was one of Israel's most successful and best-known businesspeople with an empire spanning real estate, retail and the media, before it all unraveled into Israel's largest-ever bankruptcy last decade.
Born in the Soviet Union in 1943, he was brought to Israel as a young child by his parents. He opened a small accountancy firm in Tel Aviv before moving into finance in the 1980s. He bought his stake in "Globes" in 1985 and became its controlling shareholder in 1998, until his bankruptcy in 2017.
In the 1990s Fishman moved into real estate and retail and became one of the country's wealthiest people. In real estate he owned Industrial Buildings Ltd. and Jerusalem Economic Co., which merged into Mivne. His retail activities included Home Center, Toys R Us, Globebrands, Greenberg supermarkets, Zer4U, and Ten gas stations. His debts grew to NIS 4 billion, mainly to the banks, and it was eventually the Israel Tax Authority that forced him to declare bankruptcy and negotiate a debt settlement in 2017.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 15, 2024.
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