Izak Parviz Nazarian ( ''Is'ḥaq Parvêz Nazariyân''; February 24, 1929 – August 23, 2017) was an Iranian-born American billionaire, businessman, investor, real-estate developer, and philanthropist. He was the managing partner of Omninet Capital, an investment vehicle and the first major investor in

Qualcomm Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...

Early life

Nazarian was born to a Persian-Jewish family in 1929 in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

.Tel Aviv University American Friends: "Passing the Torch: Izak Parviz Nazarian"
July 3, 2013Niv Elis
How an Iranian changed Israel’s electoral laws
''The Jerusalem Post'', 03/12/2014Araleh Weisberg
Nazarian’s mission
''

Israel HaYom ''Israel Hayom'' () is an Israeli Hebrew-language free daily newspaper. Distributed for free around Israel, it is the country's most widely distributed newspaper. Owned by the family of the late Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul and politica ...

'', June 24, 2012Humanitarian Award Recipients: Mr. Izak Parviz Nazarian
, Magbit Foundation, April 21, 2013 His father died when he was five years old.Tom Tugend
Iranian Jews struggle with segregation, presumption and assimilation -- how the stranger became the Angeleno
''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', February 22, 2007 His mother opened a sewing shop. He has a brother,

Younes Nazarian Younes Nazarian (January 26, 1931 March 18, 2022) was an Iranian-American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. An early investor in Qualcomm, he was the chairman of Nazarian Enterprises. He was also a major donor to charitable causes in C ...

.Yoav Yitzhak
Nazarian family negotiating to acquire Discount Bank
''

Globes A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe o ...

'', 01/02/2004 He grew up in Tehran, where he was educated at the Alliance Israelite Universal Elementary School and the Technical High School. In 1943, in the midst of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he worked as a waiter's assistant on a United States Army base in Iran. At the age of eighteen, Nazarian moved to Italy, where he became a member of the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

in 1947. On 17 May 1948, three days after Israel had become an independent nation, he moved to Israel, where he served in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

as a member of the 7th Armored Brigade. He was wounded in a mining explosion and stayed in hospital for five months. Unable to fight, he resumed his service in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

and became Israeli Foreign Minister

Golda Meir Golda Meir (; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was the prime minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and only female head of government. Born into a Jewish family in Kyiv, Kiev, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) ...

's chauffeur.

Career

Nazarian started a gravel transportation business shortly after his service with the IDF. He acquired trucks and hired drivers to move gravel to construction sites in Israel. He also owned a cement factory in

Yarka Yarka, officially Yirka (, ), is a Druze village and local council in the Northern District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 17,171, 98.8% of them members of the Druze community, with a small Muslim (1.0%) and Christian (0.1%) minorit ...

. He returned to Iran in 1957, where he expanded his construction business and oversaw the construction of many government buildings. He enjoyed close ties with the Shah,

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

. During the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

of 1979, his name was on the kill list. He went into exile in the United States, settling in Los Angeles. By 1985, he co-founded Omninet with Irwin M. Jacobs and

Andrew Viterbi Andrew James Viterbi (born Andrea Giacomo Viterbi, March 9, 1935) is an electrical engineer and businessman who co-founded Qualcomm Inc. and invented the Viterbi algorithm. He is the Presidential Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering at th ...

, initially to track the flow of trucks from one construction site to another. The start-up, which merged with

, became one of the world's largest chipmakers. As Nazarian was a major shareholder, he became a billionaire. Nazarian served as a managing partner of Omninet Capital, "a diversified investment firm in the fields of private equity, real estate and venture capital", and managing partner of Omninet Ventures.Izak Parviz Nazarian
''

Bloomberg Business ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'' He was also the chair of Stadco, "a leading producer of high-precision tooling and parts for the aerospace industry."

Philanthropy

Prior to 1979, Nazarian was an advocate of women's rights in Iran.American Friends of Tel Aviv University: Passing the Torch
/ref> Once in the United States, he worked with

Armand Hammer Armand Hammer (May 21, 1898 – December 10, 1990) was an American businessman and philanthropist. The son of a Russian Empire-born communist activist, Hammer trained as a physician before beginning his career in trade with the newly estab ...

to help Soviet Jews emigrate to Israel in the 1980s. He is a co-founder of the Iranian American Jewish Federation, headquartered in Los Angeles. Nazarian was the founder of the Magbit Foundation, a non-profit organization which gives scholarships to university students in Israel. He has made charitable contributions to

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 ...

(where he endowed the Chair for Modern Iranian Studies),

Ben-Gurion University Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli national founder David Ben-Gurion, the university was founded in 1969 and currently has f ...

Technion – Israel Institute of Technology The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a public university, public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 by Jews under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion is the oldest university in the coun ...

and the

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...

. He was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Tel Aviv University, where The Pouran and Izak Parviz Nazarian Building is named in honor of Nazarian and his wife.Tel Aviv University: Pouran and Izak Parviz Nazarian Building
/ref> Moreover, he was recognized as one of four "philanthropic visionaries" alongside

Guilford Glazer Guilford Glazer (July 17, 1921 – December 23, 2014) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist. Early life Glazer was born to a Jewish immigrant family Jona Goldrich Jona Goldrich (born Jona Goldreich; September 11, 1927 – June 26, 2016) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist. Born in Lviv, he emigrated to Israel in the midst of World War II, where he served in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War ...

and

Max Webb Max Webb (March 2, 1917 – October 23, 2018) was a Polish-born American real estate developer and philanthropist from Los Angeles, California. A Holocaust survivor born to a Jewish family, he was the co-founder of one of the largest real estate ...

by the American Friends of Tel Aviv University at the

Beverly Wilshire Hotel The Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, commonly known as the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, is a historic luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, it was completed in 1928. It ha ...

in 2013.Ryan Torok
Philanthropists honored for lifetime of giving
''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', June 27, 2013 In 2003, Nazarian founded the Citizens Empowerment Center in Israel (CECI), a non-partisan organization which promotes election reform in Israel.Tom Tugend
Israel’s electoral vote revision got boost from Los Angeles philanthropist
''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', March 14, 2014Tom Tugend
L.A. philanthropist gives boost to Israel’s electoral vote revision
''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', March 19, 2014 In 2009, he published an opinion piece entitled 'Israel must address flawed electoral system' in the ''

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...

''.Izak Parviz Nazarian
Israel must address flawed electoral system
''Jewish Telegraphic Agency'', February 27, 2009

Personal life and death

Nazarian and his wife, Pouran, had a son and three daughters, and they resided in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. His brother

was a businessman and philanthropist, an early investor in Qualcomm, and Chairman of Nazarian Enterprises. Nazarian died on August 23, 2017, in Los Angeles, California.

References

External links

Ominet CapitalMagbit Foundation
{{authority control 1929 births 2017 deaths American billionaires American company founders American construction businesspeople American manufacturing businesspeople American people of Iranian-Jewish descent American transportation businesspeople American venture capitalists Businesspeople from Los Angeles Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United States Haganah members Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian Jews Iranian philanthropists Iranian Zionists Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Israeli people wounded in the 1947–1949 Palestine war

Izak Izak (or Izaak also Izhak, Itzchak, Itzik, see more options below) is a given name which is an alternate spelling for Isaac. Online sites, such as "Think Baby Names" state that: :Izak \i-zak\ as a boy's name is a variant of Isaac (Hebrew), and the ...

Businesspeople from Tehran Businesspeople from Beverly Hills, California Philanthropists from California Tel Aviv University people