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

ZE Records ZE Records was originally a New York-based record label, started in 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban. It was reestablished by Esteban in 2003. History Michael Zilkha (b. 1954) is a British-born Oxford graduate of Iraqi descent, the ...

Early life

He was born in 1954, the son of

Selim Zilkha Selim Zilkha (born 1927) is 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 Baghdad to an Iraqi Jewish family ...

, the founder of

Mothercare Mothercare plc is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to eight years of age. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap I ...

, 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 1902 ...

, a 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 educate ...

(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 derives from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the 1066 Norman Conquest, as d ...

and

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, t ...

Career

In 1978, he co-founded

with Michel Esteban, 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 in July 2005 and renamed Horizon Wind Energy, and co-owner of Zilkha Biomass Energy. In 1998, Zilkha and his father sold the Houston-based Zilkha Energy to

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

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. ...

, 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'', ''The Best American Short Stories'' (1993, 2006, 2012, 2020), and ...

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