1. Stef Wertheimer was an Israeli billionaire industrialist, investor, philanthropist and politician.
21 Facts About Stef Wertheimer
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Stef Wertheimer was a member of the Knesset, and was known for founding industrial parks in Israel and neighboring countries.
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Stef Wertheimer was born in Kippenheim, Germany, to a Jewish family.
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Stef Wertheimer's family fled to Mandatory Palestine in 1937 to escape Nazism.
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Stef Wertheimer studied in the Tel-Nordau School in Tel Aviv but dropped out of school at age 16 and started working in a camera repair store.
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In 1943, during World War II, Stef Wertheimer enlisted in the British Royal Air Force, serving as an optical equipment technician.
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Stef Wertheimer was sent to Bahrain where he repaired optical equipment installed in British military aircraft.
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Stef Wertheimer was arrested by the British during Operation Agatha in 1946 and detained for four months.
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Stef Wertheimer was married with four children and lived in Tel Aviv.
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In 2018, Eitan Wertheimer purchased a house for his father, Stef, for 20 million ILS.
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On 26 March 2025, Stef Wertheimer died at the age of 98.
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In 1952, Stef Wertheimer started his own business in the backyard of his home in Nahariya, a small metal shop and tool-making company called ISCAR.
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Stef Wertheimer quickly became a success and attracted the interest of Discount Investments, who later became a minority investor in the company.
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Stef Wertheimer's vision included building an additional 100 industrial parks that will employ Israelis and Palestinians.
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Stef Wertheimer wasn't confining his idea to Israel though, and had plans underway in Turkey and Jordan.
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In 1977, Stef Wertheimer was amongst the founding members of the Democratic Movement for Change, a new centrist political party.
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The party was highly successful, winning 15 seats in the 1977 elections, with Stef Wertheimer taking one of the seats.
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Stef Wertheimer remained active in bridging gaps between the Jewish and Arab populations of Israel, particularly by boosting Arab participation in the country's high-tech sector.
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Stef Wertheimer endorsed her alliance with Labor, the Zionist Union, in 2015.
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In 1991, Stef Wertheimer was awarded the Israel Prize for his special contribution to society and the State of Israel.
21.
Stef Wertheimer received the Oslo Business for Peace Award in 2010, which is given to leaders in the private sector who have demonstrated transformative and positive change through ethical business practices.