Michael Zilkha (born 1954) is a British-born entrepreneur, the co-founder of

ZE Records ZE Records was a New York–based record label, started in 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban, and closed in 1984. It was reestablished by Esteban in 2003; its website was last updated in 2019. History Michael Zilkha (b. 1954) is a Br ...

Early life

He was born in 1954, the son of

Selim Zilkha Selim Khedouri Zilkha (7 April 1927 – 16 September 2022) was an Iraqi-born British entrepreneur, who founded Mothercare, one of the UK's largest retail chains until it was put into administration in 2019. Early life Zilkha was born in 1927 in B ...

, the founder of

Mothercare Mothercare plc is a global brand for products for parents and young children. The company's shares are listed on AIM in London. Mothercare was founded in the United Kingdom in 1961, and specialized in products for expectant mothers and in ge ...

, one of the UK's largest retail chains (and the grandson of

Khedouri Zilkha Khedouri Aboody Zilkha (1884–1956) was an Iraqi-Jewish banker. Early life Khedouri Zilkha was born in Baghdad in 1884 (or 1886), the only son of the textile merchant Aboudi Zilkha (1862–1904). Career He started as a banker in Baghdad in 190 ...

, a Jewish banker) and Diane Bashi. His parents had divorced by 1962, when his mother married the British politician

Harold Lever Norman Harold Lever, Baron Lever of Manchester, PC (15 January 19146 August 1995) was a British barrister and Labour Party politician. Early life He was born in Manchester, the son of a Jewish textile merchant from Lithuania, and was educated ...

(later Harold Lever, Baron Lever of Manchester). He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Flemin ...

Career

In 1978, he co-founded

with

Michel Esteban Michel Antoine Gaston Esteban (born 7 May 1951) is a French record producer, record company executive, cultural center director and former magazine editor, who founded the Paris shop Harry Cover in 1973, was influential in the early development ...

, which he co-owned until 1986. From 1986 to 1998, he was co-owner and executive vice president of Zilkha Energy, and from 1998 to 2005 president and co-owner of Zilkha Renewable Energy, until it was bought by

Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...

in July 2005 and renamed

Horizon Wind Energy EDP Renewables North America (former names: Zilkha Renewable Energy and Horizon Wind Energy) and its subsidiaries develop, construct, own, and operate wind farms and solar parks throughout North America. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with 58 ...

, and co-owner of Zilkha Biomass Energy. In 1998, Zilkha and his father sold the Houston-based Zilkha Energy to

Sonat Sonat, Inc., was a large Fortune 500 American energy holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The company was founded in 1928 and was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "SNT". Sonat was primarily ...

for $1 billion, which in turn was later acquired by

El Paso Corporation El Paso Corporation was a provider of natural gas and related energy products and was one of North America's largest natural gas producers until its acquisition by Kinder Morgan in 2012. It was headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States. Prio ...

, of which the Zilkhas became major shareholders. In 2019, Zilkha inaugurated Ze Books, described as a new small press that will publish "literary mix-tapes from visionary writers, artists, and musicians". Inaugural authors included

Glenn O'Brien Glenn O'Brien (March 2, 1947 – April 7, 2017) was an American writer who focused largely on the subjects of art, music, and fashion. He was featured for many years as "The Style Guy" in ''GQ'' magazine and published a book with that title. He ...

, Jonathan Wells and

Mary Gaitskill Mary Gaitskill (born November 11, 1954) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. Her work has appeared in ''The New Yorker'', ''Harper's Magazine'', ''Esquire (magazine), Esquire'', ''The Best American Short Stories'' (1993, 20 ...

Personal life

In 1983, Zilkha married the singer Cristina Monet-Palaci. They divorced in 1990. He is married to Cornelia "Nina" O'Leary, a descendant of

Hugh Roy Cullen Hugh Roy Cullen (July 3, 1881 – July 4, 1957) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Cullen was heavily involved in the petroleum industry having struck oil near Texas in 1928. He was a large supporter of multiple educational institu ...

, and they have a son.

References

External links

Ze Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zilkha, Michael Living people 1954 births British record producers English people of Iraqi-Jewish descent

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People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford