25 Facts About Arnon Milchan

Arnon Milchan is an Israeli businessman, film producer and spy.

Arnon Milchan has been involved in over 130 full-length motion pictures and is the founder of production company Regency Enterprises.

Arnon Milchan was an Israeli intelligence operative from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.

Arnon Milchan was born in Rehovot, then-British Mandate of Palestine, to a Jewish family.

Arnon Milchan's mother was 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.

Arnon Milchan was first married to French model, Brigitte Genmaire, and later divorced.

Elinor Arnon Milchan is a professional photographer and Alexandra is a film producer.

Arnon Milchan later married South African retired professional tennis player Amanda Coetzer and had two children with her.

Arnon Milchan's father owned a fertilizer company, which Milchan inherited at the age of 21 upon his father's sudden death.

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

Arnon Milchan developed close friendships with Robert De Niro, and directors Roman Polanski, Sergio Leone, Terry Gilliam and Oliver Stone.

Arnon Milchan started his own production company in 1991 called New Regency Productions.

Arnon Milchan 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.

Arnon Milchan is married to former South African tennis professional Amanda Coetzer.

Arnon Milchan is owner of the network which transmits Israeli television programming to the United States and Canada.

Arnon Milchan is a part owner of Israel's TV Channel 10, and a former owner of Puma, the international sportswear line.

The biography Confidential, which is largely sympathetic to Arnon Milchan, revealed in detail how he involved himself in espionage, big-ticket arms-dealing, and obtaining sensitive technology and materials for Israel's nuclear weapons program.

Arnon Milchan's activities included "buying components to build and maintain Israel's nuclear arsenal" and supervising "government-backed accounts and front companies that financed the special needs of the entirety of Israel's intelligence operations outside the country".

When I was at the Ministry of Defense, Arnon Milchan was involved in numerous defense-related procurement activities and intelligence operations.

Arnon Milchan's strength is in making connections at the highest levels.

Arnon Milchan's activities gave us a huge advantage, strategically, diplomatically and technologically.

Arnon Milchan acknowledged that he was a secret arms dealer for the Israeli government and claimed to have used his connections to promote the apartheid regime in South Africa in exchange for it helping Israel to acquire uranium for its nuclear program.

The recommendation in the case, nicknamed "Case 1000", relates to alleged bribes Arnon Milchan provided to Netanyahu in exchange for special tax exemption legislation believed to benefit Arnon Milchan in his homeland of Israel.

The proposed legislation, nicknamed "Arnon Milchan's Law", dates back to 2013 and was an alleged ploy to extend Arnon Milchan's status as a returning resident to allow him to take advantage of tax breaks.

Arnon Milchan had held fundraisers for Netanyahu, which included a 2014 event at a residence on Carbon Beach in Malibu that controversially inconvenienced residents and commuters with hours of unexpected lane blockages on Pacific Coast Highway, despite being a private event.