Daniel Och Biography

Daniel Och (born 1961) is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, a global hedge fund and alternative asset management firm.

As of March 5, 2008, Och's net worth was $3.6 billion, the 296th on The World's Billionaires list published by Forbes. He was the highest paid executive on Executive Pay's Pay Rankings In 2008.

Early life

Och is the son of Golda and Dr. Michael Och. Och grew up in South Orange, New Jersey and attended the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union (since renamed Golda Och Academy, in honor of his mother) in West Orange, New Jersey, a Jewish day school founded by his parents. In December 2010, Och donated $15 million to the school, effectively doubling its endowment.

Och has a B.S. in Economics with a concentration in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Career

In 1982, Och began his career at Goldman Sachs in the Risk Arbitrage Department. He was later the Head of Proprietary Trading in the Equities Division and Co-Head of U.S. Equities Trading. He worked at Goldman Sachs for 11 years.

In 1994, Och founded Och-Ziff Capital Management Group with $100 million initial investment from the Ziff brothers (see Dirk Edward Ziff, Daniel M. Ziff, Robert D. Ziff), heirs to publishing magnate William Bernard Ziff, Jr. Och-Ziff completed an initial public offering in 2007, listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange initially at a price of $32.00. The company's stock has declined significantly since the IPO, reaching its year-to-date low of $3.98 on November 20, 2008.

Philanthropy and political constibutions

Och sits on the board of Endeavor. He is the Vice Chair of Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable organization fighting poverty in New York City. Since 2008, Och has served as the chair of the Birthright Israel Foundation.

In 2008, Och donated $28,500 to Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Personal life

Och is married with three children. Och's personal interests include philanthropy, skiing, and history.