Stef Wertheimer
| Stef Wertheimer | |
|---|---|
Stef Wertheimer
|
|
| Born |
16 July 1926 Kippenheim, Germany |
| Occupation | Honorary Chairman, IMC |
| Net worth |
 US$ 5.6 billion (2015) |
| Stef Wertheimer | |
|---|---|
| Year of aliyah | 1937 |
| Knessets | 9 |
| Faction represented in Knesset | |
| 1977–1978 | Democratic Movement for Change |
| 1978–1981 | Shinui |
Stefan "Stef" Wertheimer (Hebrew: סטף ורטהיימר, born 16 July 1926) is a German-born Israeli industrialist, investor, philanthropist and former politician. He is a former Member of the Knesset, and is well known for founding industrial parks in Israel and neighboring countries. The Wertheimers are Israel’s richest family as of 2013.
Wertheimer was born in Kippenheim, Germany. His family fled to Israel in 1937 to escape Nazism and settled in Tel Aviv.
He studied in the Tel-Nordau School but dropped out of school at age 16 and started working in a camera repair store. At the same time, he began studying optics with Professor Emanuel Goldberg, a researcher and inventor who contributed significantly to different aspects of imaging technology in the first half of the twentieth century.
In 1943, during World War II, Wertheimer joined the British Royal Air Force. Wertheimer served as an optical equipment technician. He was sent to Bahrain where he repaired optical equipment installed in Britain's military aircraft.
In 1945 he joined the Palmach, where he served as a technical officer in the German Unit – a special guerilla force trained with British cooperation to participate in combat operations against the German army, should it reach Palestine. In 1947, he joined the Haganah and worked in the development and improvement of cannons. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, he served as a technical officer in the Yiftach Brigade.
After the war, Wertheimer started working at RAFAEL, only to be dismissed shortly thereafter because of his lack of formal education.
In 1952, Wertheimer started his own business in the backyard of his home in Nahariya, a small metal shop and tool making company called ISCAR. The company quickly became a success and attracted the interest of Discount Investments, who later became a minority investor in the company. Today, ISCAR is one of the world's largest (by sales) manufacturers of carbide industrial-cutting tools, which are used by carmakers like General Motors and Ford. ISCAR branches exist in over 50 countries worldwide and the company employs nearly 6,000 people.
...
Wikipedia