Ofer Nimrodi (; born May 23, 1957) is an Israeli

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

, businessman and former publisher.

Biography

Ofer Nimrodi, whose family was of Iraqi-Jewish origin, was born to Rivka and Yaakov Nimrodi in

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 ...

in 1957 while his father served as the Israeli

Military Attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

and Head of the Representation of the

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

to Iran. On completion of his mandate, the family stayed for several more years in Iran as Yaakov Nimrodi became a businessman. Later on they returned to

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 ...

, settling in

Savyon Savyon () is an affluent town in the Central District of Israel, bordering the cities of Kiryat Ono and Yehud. Ranked 10/10 on the Israeli socio-economic scale, it is one of the wealthiest municipalities in Israel. In it had a population of . ...

. In the IDF, Nimrodi served as an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

Commander in the

Artillery Corps Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

, and later as Commander of Brigade Support. He was discharged in 1979 and three years later fought in the

First Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...

. He graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from the

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 ...

Law School with an

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

, did his articles with the late Supreme Court Judge

Miriam Ben-Porat Miriam Ben-Porat (, née Shinezon, 26 April 1918 – 26 July 2012) was an Israeli jurist. She was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Israel and the State Comptroller of Israel from 1988–1998. Biography Miriam Shinezon (Ben-Porat) ...

(later the State Comptroller), and with the late Tel Aviv District Attorney Naomi Stern, and was admitted to the Israeli Bar. In 1989, he graduated from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

(HBS) with a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

Private life

Nimrodi, married for the second time, has six children. He lives in

in a mansion on a property of 7.5 acres. Nimrodi's sister, Ruth Nimrodi-Weissberg, was killed in the Sinai in 1996 when the vehicle she was traveling in drove over an old Egyptian mine in an unmarked

minefield A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...

. The Variety Israel center in Jerusalem, an organization for children with special needs, is named after her.

Business career

In 1988, Yaakov Nimrodi purchased the

Israel Land Development Company Israel Land Development Company (ILDC; , ''Hakhsharat HaYishuv'') is one of Israel's largest conglomerates, with fields including real estate, construction, energy and hotels. It was acquired in 1987 by Yaakov Nimrodi. History ILDC was founded ...

from the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

. A year later, Ofer was appointed its CEO. Israel Land Development Co. is a real estate company, established in 1909. In the late 1980s, businessman Yaakov Nimrodi acquired the company, and his son, Ofer Nimrodi , has served as CEO for many years. The Nimrodi family holds a 54% stake in the company. The Israel Land Development Co. has grown through its investments and activities in Poland, such as its 2022 investment of €1.5 million in subsidiary MLP Group, which then operated a single logistics center, on the outskirts of Warsaw. Presently, MLP boasts 20 parks across Poland, Austria, Germany, and Romania, with a market cap of €330 million, being publicly traded on the Polish Stock Exchange. The Israel Land Development Co.'s 41% ownership stake is currently valued at €140 million. In 1992, the family purchased the Ma'ariv newspaper, after the passing of its previous owner

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...

. Ofer was appointed Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. Nimrodi's entering the media field, and ''Maariv'' particularly, was considered outstanding since neither Nimrodi, nor any of the family members had ever been engaged in the field of journalism or any other media. The engagement of "tycoons" in the media world drew much criticism and hostility from the veteran "media dynasties" in Israel (Mozes of

Yedioth Ahronoth (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

and Shocken of

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 ...

) and led to fierce competition. This competition also brought the leading publishers to purchase other media such as cable TV channels, until a law passed that banned cross-ownership in the media field. In June 2011, The Israel Land Development Company sold the controlling shareholding of Ma'ariv to Discount Investment Corporation, a member of the IDB Group, controlled by

Nochi Dankner Nochi Dankner (; born 13 November 1954) is an Israeli businessman and a board member of the Jewish Agency for Israel. He was the controlling shareholder of the IDB Group. Dankner is also the founder and chairman of the Ganden Group - which led ...

. ILDC continues to hold a 27% stake in Ma'ariv. Nimrodi has greatly expanded ILDC's business abroad. The company engaged in the development of large residential real estate projects by building neighborhoods in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, commercial real estate through logistic parks in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, shopping malls in Romania,

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, and in hotels and resorts in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and Morocco. In 2010, the company entered another new field with the establishment of the Israel Land Development Company - Energy Ltd. The company purchased licenses and options for licenses for locating gas and oil in the Levant Basin of the Mediterranean (in Israel’s economic waters) and in the Adriatic Sea. The company began drilling in two of its leading licenses:

Sara and Myra Sara (or Sarah) and Myra (or Mira) () were two Israeli offshore drilling licenses located west of Netanya, Israel. The licenses expired on July 13, 2015. Exploratory drilling in the license area in 2012 was unsuccessful, but seismic studies ind ...

Criminal convictions

Nimrodi served an 8-month prison sentence during 1998-1999 for ordering illegal

wiretapping Wiretapping, also known as wire tapping or telephone tapping, is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connecti ...

while serving as the editor-in-chief of Ma'ariv. In 2000, he received a 25-month prison sentence for obstruction of justice, which was served concurrently with an originally suspended 12-month sentence handed for his 1998 conviction. The decision not to add the 12 months to his prison-time was criticized by the state prosecutor's office upon his release in 2002, expressing concerns that Nimrodi had recidivist tendencies.Haaretz report 2002
Ma'ariv owner and businessman Ofer Nimrodi released from prison (2002-03-20). Retrieved on 2013-04-27.

References

External links

ILDC Company websiteILDC Energy Company websiteNimrodi Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimrodi, Ofer 1957 births Living people Israeli businesspeople in real estate Harvard Business School alumni Iranian emigrants to Israel Iranian Jews Iraqi Jews Israeli Mizrahi Jews Israeli chief executives Israeli jurists Israeli people of Iranian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Israeli prisoners and detainees Israeli publishers (people) Maariv (newspaper) editors Tel Aviv University alumni People convicted of obstruction of justice Prisoners and detainees of Israel