Lev Avnerovich Leviev
| Lev Leviev | |
|---|---|
Leviev in 2012
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| Born |
Lev Leviev July 30, 1956 (age 60) Samarkand, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union |
| Residence | London, England, UK |
| Citizenship | Israeli |
| Occupation | Businessman, investor, philanthropist |
| Known for | Support of the Chabad movement |
| Net worth |
 US $ 1.1 billion(September 2016) |
| Spouse(s) | Olga Leviev |
| Children | 9 |
| Website | llddiamonds |
Lev Leviev (born July 30, 1956) is an Israeli businessman, philanthropist and investor, of Uzbek Bukhari Jewish background, Known as the "King of Diamonds". Lev Leviev has a net worth of $1.1 billion as of September 2016, he has been a major philanthropist for Hasidic Jewish causes in Eastern Europe and Israel. Beginning in the 1990s, Leviev avoided being directly involved with the Yeltsin family, and nurtured ties with Vladimir Putin. His diamond mining investments in Angola and his investments in Israeli settlements have been the target of protests. A prominent member of the Bukhari Jewish community, he is president of the World Congress of Bukharian Jews.
Leviev was born in Samarkand, Uzbek SSR in 1956, and today lives in London and Israel. His parents, Avner and Chana Leviev, were prominent members of the Bukharian Jewish community, and Leviev is a practicing Orthodox Jew. He is a supporter of the Chabad movement although he is a Sephardi Jew, brought up in the Sephardic liturgy. In 1971, when he was fifteen, his family emigrated 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.
After the Revolutions of 1989, 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.
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