Lev Leviev
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| Lev Leviev | |
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| Born | July 30, 1956 Tashkent, Former Soviet Union |
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| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | Olga |
| Children | 9 |
Lev Avnerovich Leviev (born on July 30, 1956 in Tashkent, Soviet Union) is a Chabad Orthodox Bukharian Jewish billionaire who lives in London. Leviev is ranked 210th among the world’s wealthiest people, with an estimated personal net worth of $6.5 billion [1], although his associates put the figure closer to $8 billion.[2]
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Biography
Lev Leviev was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 1956. His parents, Avner and Chana Leviev, were prominent members of the Bukharian Jewish community. In 1971, when he was fifteen, his family immigrated from Uzbekistan to Israel. Shortly afterwards, Leviev began to work as an apprentice in a diamond polishing plant, learning the 11 steps of the diamond cutting process. After serving in the Israel Defense Forces, he established his own diamond polishing plant.
With the fall of Communism in the early 1990s, Leviev expanded his business endeavors into Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. He received the blessings for success in business and personal support of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson for his philanthropic activities, which include "an army of some 10,000 Jewish functionaries from Ukraine to Azerbaijan, including 300 rabbis. Most of the 300 rabbis are Chabadniks" - adherents of the Brooklyn-based Chabad Hasidic group. In particular he sponsors many of the activities of the Jewish Learning Initiative.
Leviev lives in Hampstead, London, with his wife Olga and their daughter, Ruthie [1]
Business interests
He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Africa Israel Investments Limited, an investment company with enterprises in Israel and around the globe aiming for a market value of $7 billion by the end of 2007. Leviev purchased the company a decade ago for $400 million. It is his only publicly traded company.
Lev Leviev has investments in the diamond industry, real estate and chemicals. He owns Israel Plus, an Israeli Russian-language TV channel, and is chairman of Africa Israel Investments, an international holding and investment company involved in residential real estate, shopping malls, energy, fashion, telecom, and media. Leviev owns diamond mines in Russia and Africa, and is a major competitor to the De Beers international diamond cartel.
Leviev is a major supporter of Jewish philanthropic causes and president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS (FJC), an umbrella body representing Jewish communities across the former Soviet Union. He is the founder of the Ohr Avner Foundation (named for Leviev's father).
In 2005, Leviev's company completed a $230 million 5,800 apartment project in Modi'in Illit, for the Haredi sector.
Leviev recently opened a luxury jewelry store on Old Bond Street in London. He has plans to invest billions in the Far East, and is considering investments in Argentina, Brazil and Russia.[3]
Israeli settlements
Leviev is involved in the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Leviev’s Danya Cebus company, a subsidiary of Africa-Israel, subcontracted the construction of Mattityahu East on the land of the Palestinian village of Bil'in to Shaya Boymelgreen. Danya Cebus is also building part of Har Homa, the strategic settlement block that divides Jerusalem from Bethlehem, and Maale Adumim which divides the northern and southern West Bank.[4] In 1999, Leviev's company Danya Cebus announced plans to build new homes in the settlement of Ariel[5], which reaches up to 13 miles inside the West Bank, cutting off the northern West Bank from the rest of the West Bank. It is not clear if this construction was implemented. Through another subsidiary, LIDAR, Leviev appears to be the sole realtor/developer of the settlement of Zufim, built on the agricultural lands of the village of Jayyous.[6]
Leviev is also a major funder of the Land Redemption Fund, which, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, has used large sums of money to secure Palestinian land in places like Bil'in and Jayyous for settlement expansion.[7] The Land Redemption Fund and related groups have faced allegations of the use of fraud[8] and violence[9][10] to secure land.
Leviev's involvement in Israeli settlement construction has drawn protests outside a Leviev-owned jewelry store in New York City, and has impelled Oxfam to make it clear that Leviev has not donated to the charity.[11][12]
In a press release, a spokesperson for Leviev described the protests as "politically motivated" and accused protesters of "deliberately neglect[ing]... extensive humanitarian and philanthropic work, which includes building schools, orphanages, and fostering economic development in communities around the world."[13]
References
- ^ a b Haaretz
- ^ "The Missionary Mogul", The New York Times Magazine
- ^ Africa Israel is to Africa and Israel as Apple is to fruit - Haaretz - Israel News
- ^ Africa-Israel to complete building of two Heftsiba projects | Jerusalem Post
- ^ $50 Million Private Investment In Ariel. | Israel Business Today | Find Articles at BNET.com
- ^ http://www.webadmin.co.il/clients/lider/
- ^ :: APN :: Hot Issues
- ^ Documents reveal W. Bank settlement Modi'in Illit built illegally - Haaretz - Israel News
- ^ Adalah-NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East - Home
- ^ Update From Jayyous: ISRAELI SETTLEMENT SEIZES PALESTINIAN FARMLAND | World War 4 Report
- ^ Diamond Mogul Receives Angry Valentine - Forward.com"
- ^ Breaking News - JTA, Jewish & Israel News
- ^ The Jewish Chronicle
