麻豆APP

Arnon Milchan Photo by Baruch Ilana.

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Arnon Milchan

Arnon Milchan is an Israeli businessman, film producer and spy. He was born in the British Protectorate of Palestine, current day Israel. He was born on 6th December 1944 ,in Rehovot, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel), to a Jewish family.

He is a descendant of an Israeli family that has lived in the region for more than 500 years.

He owns businesses that have helped build Israel’s agricultural industry into a world power and helped the desert to bloom.

He also invested Puma athletic shoe company, quintupling his initial investment before selling his stake in 2002. He controls more than 30 companies in 17 countries, with interests ranging from aerospace and automobiles to stereos.

He has partnered with some of the most powerful business leaders in the world, including Murdoch, Kerry Packer, Johann Rupert and Nelson Peltz, just to name a few.

His life long passion and fame has been drawn from the movies, and made a name for himself in the lucrative industry, however Milchan’s life is about a lot more than just movies.

Below are some of the interesting facts about this controversial Hollywood billionaire

1.Born to a Jewish Family

He was born  on 6th December 1944 in the British Protectorate of Palestine, current day Israel.

His mother a descended from European Jewish disciples of the rabbi Vilna Gaon who came to Palestine in the early 19th century, and he is the eighth generation of his family in the country.

His father, Dov Milchan was  born in the year 1912 and died in the year 1965 when he was just 21 year old. Shoshana Milchan is the mother of Arnon.

2.He  was Educated at the Prestigious London School of Economics

He earned a Bachelor鈥檚 degree from London School of Economics and Political Science.

3.He is Married to South African Tennis Champion

His first wife was Brigitte Genmaire who was a French model. They got married just after ten days of interaction with each other but the marriage ended soon.

The couple had three children, Elinor, Alexandra, and Yariv. Elinor Milchan is a professional photographer. While the daughter Alexandra Milchan is also an indie film producer.
He then married Amanda Coetzer, a renowned former South African tennis player. She was born on 22nd October, 1971. She is the daughter of Nico Coetzer and Suska Coetzer.

4.He Turned Around his Fathers Fertilizer Company

He inherited his fathers fertilizer production company at the age of 21 and his first business venture was transforming his father’s modest business into one of his country’s largest Agro-chemical companies.

This early achievement brought reputation in the international marketplace as a keen businessman. It also earned him respect from the political elites who would in future require his endorsements. 

5.He was Recruited to Lekem in the 1960s

Together with his Company, Milchan Brothers Ltd were recruited to Israel’s’ top secret Israeli intelligence organization, where he was charged with the responsibility of for obtaining technology and material for Israel’s nuclear program, and other highly secretive millitary programs.

It came to the public limelight in 1985 after indictment of Dr. Richard Kelly Smyth, an aerospace executive and scientist who had made illegal shipments of Krytrons from US to Israel. Milchan’s companies were  adversely dragged into the scandal.

6.He has produced Award winning Movies 

Milchan became involved in the American movie business in 1977, after an introduction to American producer Elliot Kastner.

He started off in Hollywood as a venture capitalist providing finance to production directors.

After a success in financing projects  in the film Industry he started his own company New Regency Productions in 1991.

Through partnership with Warner Bros, and later with Rupert Murdoch at 20th Century Fox, and other business ventures, such as Puma AG, he produced over 130 films.

He was a producer on two more recent Oscar-winners for Best Picture, 12 Years a Slave in 2014 and Birdman in 2015, but he was not listed as a producer in the nominees list.

7.He is a Renown  Producer in Hollywood

Milchan, a billionaire had already had a full life before he came to Hollywood, where early successes like 鈥淏razil鈥� and 鈥淧retty Woman鈥� led him to found New Regency Productions as a company that would champion uncompromising new voices. Recent years have brought successes like 鈥淏irdman鈥� and 鈥淭he Revenant鈥� as well as controversies, including a lawsuit over the flop of 鈥淩ules Don鈥檛 Apply鈥� and a lingering attachment to an Israeli political scandal. Still, his output has continued unabated with films like the Queen behind-the-music tale 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody鈥� and starry Steve McQueen project 鈥淲idows.鈥� Meanwhile, 鈥淧retty Woman鈥� opened on Broadway with New Regency on the list of producers.

8.He Owns a Media Houses both in the US and Israel

Milchan is also the owner of the WTA broadcasting rights and the owner of the Israeli network which transmits Israeli television programming to the United States and Canada.

He is also a partner in Israel’s all-news cable Channel 10.

9.He was the witness behind the Controversial Case 1000 and “Milchan’s Law”

In February 2018, Israeli Police recommended that Arnon Milchan, alongside Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, be charged with bribery.
The recommendation in the case, nicknamed “Case 1000”, relates to alleged bribes Milchan provided to Netanyahu in exchange for special tax exemption legislation believed to benefit Milchan.

In 2013 Israel passed legislation that extended Milchan’s status as a returning resident to allow him to take advantage of tax breaks and exemptions.
The proposed legislation, popularly known as “Milchan’s Law” according to the polices passed in in exchange of bribing Netanyahu with highly priced gifts

10.He was is Listed as the 290th Richest Person in the World by Forbes

Through his company, in partnership with Warner Brothers, and later with Rupert Murdoch at 20th Century Fox, and other business ventures, such as Puma, Milchan has attained a net worth estimated at about $3.8 billion as of 2012.

This estimation is disputed by the authors Doron and Gelman in Confidential, and considered too low. Their dispute is based on the fact that Forbes only estimate his transparent assets (Regency Enterprises/ New Regency) and does not his non-transparent assets into consideration. Non-transparent assets are for example accounts held in dozens of banks around the world. Those accounts were fueled by commissions coming from selling weapons to Iran, South Africa and Taiwan. Money earned in those countries were for Milchan’s own account.

The money Milchan received by brokering weapons for the State of Israel were put into offshore accounts to serve special purposes for the State of Israel.