Abraham Ungar (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: רמי אונגר; born 12 October 1946) is an Israeli businessman.

Biography

Abraham (Rami) Ungar graduated from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

with a degree in law in 1971. The following year, he founded Ray Car Ltd. Ungar is married to Yael, who is involved in his business endeavors. The couple has two sons and resides in

Kfar Shmaryahu Kfar Shmaryahu (, ) is a local council in Israel, within the Tel Aviv District. History Kfar Shmaryahu was founded in May 1937, during the Fifth Aliyah. The founding members were German-Jewish immigrants, who named the village after Shmaryahu ...

, a town in central Israel.

Business career

Ungar's business career began in the late 1960s with a venture in importing air conditioning systems for trailers and caravans. He became the first Israeli importer of

Autobianchi Autobianchi () was an Italian automobile manufacturer, created jointly by Bianchi (company), Bianchi, Pirelli and Fiat in 1955. Autobianchi produced only a handful of models during its lifetime, which were almost exclusively small cars, with the b ...

automobiles, later expanding to

Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...

vehicles. In the early 1980s, Ungar entered into a partnership with

Ezer Weizman Ezer Weizman (, ; 15 June 1924 – 24 April 2005) was an Israeli major general and politician who served as the president of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air ...

, focusing on the importation of automobiles, shipping, and real estate. Ungar became a major figure in the Israeli automotive industry, acquiring rights for various brands including

Daihatsu is a Japanese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. One of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers, the company was known for building three-wheeled vehicles and off-road vehicle ...

and

Kia Kia Corporation (, formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工業) and Kia Motors Corporation) is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second larges ...

. His company, Ray Shipping, owned over 60 vessels by 2010, with a focus on automobile transportation. A shipping and construction magnate, he was listed by

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

in 2019 as one of the 20 richest men in Israel. '' Forbes Israel'' put his net worth at USD 3.25 billion in its 2022 list of 100 richest Israelis. Ungar is the partial owner of the

vehicle carrier Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

Galaxy Leader ''Galaxy Leader'' is a roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier built in 2002 at Stocznia Gdynia in Gdynia, Poland. It was operated by the Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen, and owned by Galaxy Maritime Ltd., which in turn is owned by Ray Car Carrie ...

'' hijacked by

Houthi The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydi Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadership being drawn largely ...

militants in the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

on November 19, 2023, during the

2023 Israel-Hamas war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. Ungar has been involved in legal disputes over the importation rights for Kia vehicles in Israel. A disagreement with Michael Levi, the previous Kia importer, was resolved in Ungar's favor in the 1990s. Ungar holds significant real estate assets in Israel, Eastern Europe, and the United States. He is a founder of the "Fire" real estate fund, managed by Shlomo Grofman.

Views and opinions

Politically, Ungar was associated with the Gil (''Pensioners of Israel'') party and developed connections with notable political figures. In 1984, he co-founded the Yahad (''Together'') party with

Benjamin Ben-Eliezer Binyamin "Fuad" Ben-Eliezer (, ; 12 February 1936 – 28 August 2016) was an Iraqi-born Israeli politician and general. He served as a member of the Knesset between 1984 and 2014, and held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Indust ...

, and

Shlomo Amar Shlomo Moshe Amar (; ; born April 1, 1948)Gantz, Nesanel. "A Chief Rabbi of the Past and Future". ''Ami (magazine), Ami'', November 5, 2014, pp. 26-27. is the former Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel. He served in the po ...

, serving as its treasurer. Ungar has made significant financial contributions to the party.

Awards and honors

He received a ''

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'' doctorate from the

Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy (NVNA) (Bulgarian: ''Висше Военноморско Училище "Никола Йонков Вапцаров", ВВМУ'') is the oldest technical educational institution in the Republic of Bulgaria. Its histo ...

, Bulgaria, in 2014. Ungar is a donor and hundreds of graduates work in his firms.

References

External links

Ray Car Carriers Ltd.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ungar, Abraham Living people Israeli businesspeople in shipping Israeli billionaires 1946 births Tel Aviv University alumni