A shipping inheritance put to work
Eyal Ofer's wealth began with the shipping business built by his father, Sammy Ofer, who started out in Haifa after the Second World War and over several decades assembled one of the largest privately owned fleets in the world. Sammy Ofer ran his companies from Israel, London and Monaco, and he divided his businesses between his two sons, Eyal and Idan, well before his death in 2011.
Eyal received the international shipping and real estate interests, and he has run them through a group of companies often referred to as the Zodiac Group or Ofer Global. Over the years he has expanded and diversified that inheritance, adding real estate in major cities, hotel and leisure assets and financial investments. The fortune is inherited at its root, but its present shape reflects decisions he has made since taking charge in the 1990s.
His brother Idan took the businesses based largely in Israel and elsewhere, including Israel Corporation and the Quantum Pacific shipping group, and the two branches now operate separately.
Shipping, property and investments
Eyal Ofer's main businesses include:
- Zodiac Maritime, a London based ship manager whose fleet carries containers, crude oil, chemicals, bulk cargoes and vehicles, many of them on long term charters
- Global Holdings, which holds real estate, hotel and other investments in Europe, the United States and Asia
- Financial holdings, including a long-standing family stake in the cruise operator Royal Caribbean, where the Ofer family has been among the significant shareholders
He has been involved in high profile residential developments in New York and London, often as a partner and investor rather than as the visible developer. In Manhattan, Global Holdings was a financial partner in 15 Central Park West, the limestone apartment building completed in 2008 that became one of the city's best known luxury addresses. The group's companies are private, and their finances are not published in detail.
He has said in interviews that he prefers to invest for the long term in physical assets such as ships and buildings, which fits the family's history in the shipping trade. Shipping is a cyclical industry in which charter rates and vessel prices can swing widely from one year to the next, and keeping many ships on long term contracts with large cargo owners has helped the business ride out weaker periods.
Haifa, London and Monaco
Eyal Ofer was born in Haifa, Israel, in 1950. He grew up around the shipping business, and after military service in Israel and his studies he joined his father's companies, working on ship management and finance, and gradually took on more responsibility as Sammy Ofer prepared to hand over the business.
He has lived for many years in Monaco, which was also his father's base. The family has long-standing ties to both Israel and Britain, and Eyal Ofer spends time in London, where Zodiac Maritime is headquartered.
He is married with children, and some members of the next generation have taken roles in the family businesses. He gives few interviews and seldom comments on his personal wealth, preferring to speak about the companies or about his charitable interests.
Patron of art and education
Ofer is best known publicly for his support of museums. In 2016 Tate Modern in London opened its new extension, and a suite of galleries was named after Eyal Ofer in recognition of his donation. He has also been closely involved with the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, one of the main art institutions in Israel, and has supported its exhibitions and its building projects.
Through the Eyal Ofer Family Foundation he funds cultural, educational and medical causes in Israel, Britain and elsewhere, as well as scholarships and research. The foundation has supported programs at universities and hospitals and has made gifts to arts organizations in New York and other cities.
His father was also a major donor in Israel and Britain, including gifts to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and to institutions in Haifa. Eyal Ofer has continued that pattern of large gifts, with a strong emphasis on art and design.