Izek Shomof (born July 28, 1959) is an Israeli-born, American real estate developer, investor, one-time film producer and former restaurateur. Born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, he dropped out of high school to open restaurants and an autoshop. Since the 1990s, he has restored many historic buildings in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

. He has been honored for his philanthropic work in reducing homelessness in Los Angeles.

Early life

Izek Shomof was born July 28, 1959, in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. His parents, Hanana and Sara Shomof, owned a bar in Tel Aviv until they emigrated to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, in 1973. His brother, Jacob, owned a restaurant in Los Angeles. Shomof went to high school in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

from 14 to 16, when he dropped out.

Career

After working in his brother's restaurant, Shomof opened his own restaurant, Tony's Burger, in Downtown Los Angeles, at 16. By the age of 18, he had owned three restaurants, and he opened an autoshop on

Pico Boulevard Pico Boulevard is a major Los Angeles street that runs from the Pacific Ocean at Appian Way in Santa Monica to Central Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. It is named after Pío Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta C ...

called Star Auto Body. Shomofs elder brother purchased Spring Tower Lofts located at 639 South Spring Street in the

Spring Street Financial District Spring Street in Los Angeles is one of the oldest streets in the city. Along Spring Street in Downtown Los Angeles, from just north of Fourth Street to just south of Seventh Street is the NRHP-listed Spring Street Financial District, nicknamed ...

for US$1 million in 1991. and brought his 2 brothers in as partners one of them being Izek. Izek later converted it in 2000 to 36 lofts being first to use the adaptive reuse ordinance. Meanwhile, he also acquired and restored the Premiere Towers at 621 South Spring Street. As an investor, Shomof acquired the historic Leland Hotel, the King Edward Hotel, the

Hotel Alexandria The Hotel Alexandria is a historic building constructed as a luxury hotel at the beginning of the 20th century in what was then the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its elegant design and the fact that its public rooms sat disused for dec ...

, the Baltimore Hotel in 2012. Additionally, he acquired the Hayward Hotel, The City Lofts, The Corporation Building, Property in China Town and other Office/retail buildings throughout Los Angeles. Shomof produced ''

For the Love of Money "For the Love of Money" is a soul, funk song that was written and composed by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Anthony Jackson; it was recorded by Philadelphia soul group The O'Jays for the album '' Ship Ahoy.'' Produced by Gamble and Huff for P ...

'', a crime film starring

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American retired actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank ...

and

Edward Furlong Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor and former teen idol. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's 1991 science fiction action film '' Terminato ...

, in 2012. In 2013, Shomof purchased the Sears, Roebuck & Company Mail Order Building in

Boyle Heights, Los Angeles Boyle Heights is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, located east of the Los Angeles River. It is one of the city's most notable and historic Chicano/Mexican American communities, and is home to cultural landmarks like Mariachi Plaza and ...

for US$29 million from Mark Weinstein, another developer. Shomof expressed his intention to transform the building to 1,030 apartments, 200,000SF of creative office and 100,000SF of retail shopping/restaurants. Shomof secured entitlements for a 34-story tower at 4th and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, and subsequently sold the site to SCG America, a subsidiary of

Shanghai Construction Group Shanghai Construction (Group) Corporation (SCG) is a Chinese construction and engineering company, ranked as the 16th largest construction company in the world based on 2011 revenues. The group's listed arm Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd. ...

, for $32 million in 2015. Shomof purchased the Rialto Theatre in

South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 26,943, up from 25,619 at the 2020 census. It is located in the Western San Gabriel Valley. It is in area and lies betwe ...

, in 2015. Additionally, he made a US$80 million bid on the

Revel Atlantic City Ocean Casino Resort (formerly Revel Casino Hotel) is a resort, hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. It is the northernmost casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, located on of land, adjacent to the Showboat Hotel. It ...

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

Philanthropy

Shomof believes homelessness must end on

Skid Row A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...

, as it is "inhumane". With his business partner

Leo Pustilnikov Leo is the Latin word for lion. It most often refers to: * Leo (constellation), a constellation of stars in the night sky * Leo (astrology), an astrological sign of the zodiac * Leo (given name), a given name in several languages, usually masc ...

, Shomof was honored by the

LAMP Community LAMP Community (originally the Los Angeles Men's Place) is a Los Angeles–based nonprofit organization located in Skid Row that seeks to permanently end homelessness, improve health, and build self-sufficiency among men and women living with sever ...

, a non-profit organization which aims to prevent homelessness in Los Angeles, in 2015.

Personal life

Shomof has a wife, Aline, and five children. They reside 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 ...

. He collects cars, and has over 100 cars in his collection ranging from old American Muscle to brand-new exotic supercars. Shomof owns a Ford GT 40 signed by Carroll Shelby and a newer Ford GT.

References

External links

*
Izek Shomof's Instagram
on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

LAMP Community: Video Honoring Izek Shomof & Leo Pustilnikov
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shomof, Izek Living people Film people from Tel Aviv Film people from Beverly Hills, California Israeli emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from Los Angeles American restaurateurs Israeli film producers Film producers from California American businesspeople in real estate Philanthropists from California 21st-century American Jews 1959 births