Shari Arison Biography

Shari Arison (born 1957) is an American-born Israeli businesswoman and philanthropist, one of Israel's wealthiest women. She is the owner of several business companies, the largest among them Bank Hapoalim, and of several philanthropic organizations that are subsidiaries of The Ted Arison Family Foundation. Shari is one of The B Team B Leaders.

According to Forbes, she is the richest woman in the Middle East, and the only woman to be ranked in the region's top-20 richest people in 2007. As of 2011 Forbes estimated her fortune at US$5.1 billion, making her the 200th-wealthiest person in the world, and the third-wealthiest in Israel.

Biography

Arison was born in New York, and is the daughter of the businessman Ted Arison and Mina Arison Sapir. She has an older brother, Micky. In 1966 her parents divorced, and she moved to reside with her mother in Israel. At the age of 12 she returned to the US to live with her father, and five years later she returned to Israel in order to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces.

Arison is the mother of four children. She has been married three times, most recently to businessman Ofer Glazer. In 1999 Arison's father died, and bequeathed her 35 percent of his possessions. In 2003, she caused a big wave of protest after 900 workers were fired from Bank Hapoalim.

In 2005, she was voted the 56th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.

In March 2009, Arison sponsored Israel's third annual "Good Deeds Day" in which her non-profit organization, Ruach Tova, inspired thousands of Israelis to get involved in volunteering across the country. As part of the event, which took place near Tel Aviv, a Palestinian youth orchestra performed in an hour-long concert in honor of Holocaust survivors. They played classical Arabic tunes and songs of peace, but upon the group's return to Jenin, authorities condemned the orchestra's leader for her "exploitation of the children for political purposes." The event garnered lots of media attention from around the world. Following the concert to celebrate "Good Deeds Day", the orchestra conductor was expelled from her hometown of Jenin.

Arison was awarded the America"Israel Friendship League's Partners for Democracy award in 2010.

See also

• Arison family