The turnaround revealed today by "Globes" -- the sale of the Israel Corporation to the Ofer brothers and not to Potash Corp of Saskatchewan – turns the spotlight on a family that prefers to conduct its affairs in the shadows. The Ofer family, along with the Recanatis and the Arisons, are a wealth league of their own. Wealth that is measured in billions of dollars.
In July 1998, "Forbes" estimated Sammy and Yuli Ofer’s wealth at $1.5 billion, up from $1 billion the year before. "Forbes" primarily listed the family’s holdings abroad, real estate in London and New York, and the shipping business. The 50% upgrade in the valuation in one year stems from a leap in the value of shares in the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, traded in the US at market cap of $6 billion.
The foreign shipping activity is managed by Sammy Ofer and his sons. Yuli Ofer (75 years old) manages the businesses in Israel, primarily cargo shipping, real estate and banking.
"Forbes" notes that Yuli Ofer is a philanthropist who donates $3 million annually (among other causes to Navy commando soldiers), and an art collector who doesn’t hesitate to write a $20 million check for a Picasso.
Even today, after accumulating quite a few assets, and despite rumors that management of the group has been transferred to the next generation, Ofer still visits the construction sites of projects in which the group is involved.
Acquiring the Israel Corp will put the family in a concern that includes chemicals (Israel Chemicals trades at a market value of $1.1 billion), energy (Oil Refineries), and, of course, the shipping company Zim, of which Israel Corp holds 49%. The Ofer family, which holds competing cargo shipping activity in Israel, has been eyeing that holding for quite some time.
The most significant holding the Ofer family has until now in an Israeli company is control of Mizrahi Bank. The Wertheimer-Ofer group, which also includes businessman Moise Wertheim and the late Abe Feinberg (the owner of Coca Cola Israel), bought the controlling share in Israel’s fourth largest bank in 1995. The group now holds 52% of the bank which it purchased for NIS 900 million.
The Ofer family has also recently gotten into high tech and ecology. In March 1997, the family purchased the government fund Yozma for $50 million. Yozma is involved in some of the most promising start-up investments in the past decade.
In the energy field, Yuli Ofer recently competed in the tender for the establishment of a private electricity station in the Ramat Hovav industrial zone. The tender was won by Gad Zeevi, and Ofer appealed the decision.
Published by Israel's Business Arena January 14, 1999