Stef Wertheimer, one of Israel’s richest men, dies at 98

(JTA) — Stef Wertheimer, one of Israel’s richest men and a former lawmaker, has died at 98.

Wertheimer’s granddaughter Maya Wertheimer, an Israeli actress and model, posted on social media Wednesday morning that he had died in his sleep.

“The man who taught me what derech eretz was and lessons on love,” she wrote, using a Hebrew term connoting common decency. “May we be able to do a tenth of the good you did. May we continue your legacy. You are my hero grandpa.”

Wertheimer became one of the wealthiest men in Israel in 2006 when he sold 80% of his Iscar metalworking company for $4 billion to the billionaire investor Warren Buffett. He later sold the remainder to Buffett for an additional $2 billion. Bloomberg estimated his net worth at his death to be close to $10 billion.

Wertheimer came from humble beginnings. He was born in 1926, and in 1937, he and his family fled the Nazis. They emigrated to Palestine, settling in Tel Aviv. Wertheimer served as a technician in the British Royal Air Force in World War II and then in the Palmach, the elite Jewish militia. He fought in Israel’s War of Independence, according to Haaretz.

Wertheimer started his company, Iscar, which is short for Israel Carbides, in the backyard of his home in the northern Israeli city of Nahariya in 1952. From 1977 to 1981, Wertheimer also served in a centrist party in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and founded the northern Israeli town of Kfar Vradim. He was also known for his philanthropy and for investing in the creation of industrial parks around the country that he hoped would advance Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eulogized Wertheimer as “a man of industry, vision and the Land of Israel” in a statement. He called Wertheimer “one of those who built the country, and a pillar of Israeli industry,” and said he “left behind a legacy of initiative, giving and abiding faith in the power of humanity to create and to do good.”

In 1991, Wertheimer was awarded the Israel Prize for his “contribution to society and the state,” according to Bloomberg. He was also honored in a torch-lighting ceremony for Israel’s 58th Independence Day in 2006.

He was married to Miriam Wertheimer until her death in 1989. Together, they had four children including a son, Eitan Wertheimer, who died in 2022. He is survived by his remaining children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.