Record number of Israelis on Forbes list

Shari Arison

They watch the world through the windows of villas and luxury towers, travel in cars which cost as much as your mortgage, and an overdraft is like science fiction to them. Forbes Magazine published its annual World's Billionaires list this week, which includes 17 Israelis whose fortune amounts to $1 billion or more.

Last year's list of the richest people on the planet had 16 Israelis in it.

The American business magazine's prestigious list is comprised this year of 1,426 billionaires, whose total net worth is $5.4 trillion – like a super power.

The country which supplied the highest number of representatives is the United States, with 442 billionaires laughing all the way to the bank. The Middle East and Africa settled for just 103 billionaires – but one-sixth of them are from Israel.

Idan Ofer, the son of late shipping tycoon Sammy Ofer, tops the list of Israeli billionaires with a net worth of $6.5 billion, which places him at the 182nd place on the global list.

He is followed by his brother, Eyal Ofer, with a fortune of $6 billion (198th place). The top three is rounded out by Stef Wertheimer, founder of the Iscar company, with a net worth of $4.4 billion (286th place).

Only one woman appears on the Israeli list – Bank Hapoalim and Shikun & Binui owner Shari Arison, whose net worth is estimated at $4.2 billion. She shares the fourth place on the Israeli list and 308th place on the global list with filmmaker Arnon Milchan, who has the same fortune.

The other Israelis who made it to the prestigious list include Beny Steinmetz and Dan Gertler ($4.1 billion, 316th place) and Dan Gertler ($2.2 billion, 670th place) of the diamond industry, real estate tycoon Yitzhak Tshuva ($2.2 billion, 670th place), Africa Israel owner Lev Leviev ($1.5 billion, 974th place), gaming site Playtech founder Teddy Sagi ($1.8 billion, 831st place), Check Point founder Gil Shwed ($1.65 billion, 922nd place), ECI Telecom owner Shaul Shani ($1.3 billion, 1,107th place) and high-tech moguls Morris Kahn and Marius Nacht, who share the 1,342nd place with a net worth of $1 billion each.

Despite these imaginary sums, the Israeli fortune is still far away from the world's biggest billionaires. The richest man on the planet, according to Frobes, is Carlos Slim of Mexico, with a net worth of $73 billion.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates is second with a fortune of $67 billion, followed by Amancio Ortega, owner of the Zara fashion chain, who has a net worth of $57 billion.