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Adam Neumann Photo By Anna Frodesiak –

Top 10 Most Famous Israeli Entrepreneurs

Consider a world without drip irrigation, flash memory, voicemail, cherry tomatoes, computer firewalls, and other technological advances invented in Israel. There would be few new products, little innovation, and little improvement in the standard of living.

However, Israeli high-tech entrepreneurship continues to stand out globally, with the most start-ups per capita1 and the third-highest global ranking in venture capital investments.

Tel Aviv, Israel’s capital, isn’t the next Silicon Valley, but it has more Nasdaq-listed companies than all but two other countries – the US and China – and the most venture capital.

Some are even referring to Tel Aviv as the “future Silicon Valley,” with companies such as Google, Nielsen, and Nvidia establishing incubators, accelerators, and competitions all over Israel.

Let’s look at the ten most famous Israeli entrepreneurs.

1. Ami James

Ami James is an Israeli tattoo artist, television personality, and entrepreneur who grew up in the United States.

James, who suffers from severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), says he was drawn to painting and tattooing at a young age because his father had tattoos and was also a painter.

He co-owns the Miami Beach, Florida tattoo shop Love Hate Tattoos, which was featured on the TLC reality television show Miami Ink with Chris Nez. 305 Tattoo, aka Miami Ink, rose to prominence in the tattoo world for one reason: great artists such as James Ami.

He is also a founding member of the Love Hate Tattoos Foundation. Aside from the DeVille clothing company, which he co-owns with Nez and Jesse Fleet, James also co-owns the Miami nightclub Love Hate Lounge with Nez and two other close friends.

James did not stop there, on May 9, 2013, he co-founded Tattoodo, an online platform for getting a custom tattoo design.

2. Yossi Vardi

Yossi Vardi Photo By Web Summit –

Joseph “Yossi” Vardi is an Israeli entrepreneur and investor who is widely regarded as one of the country’s first high-tech entrepreneurs.

Over the past 47 years, he has founded or assisted in the formation of over 85 high-tech companies in a variety of fields, including software, energy, Internet, mobile, electro-optics, and water technology.

One of his possibly most famous investments was in ICQ, the first popular internet instant messaging service, which was purchased by AOL in 1998 and renamed AOL Messenger.

Numerous local and international business publications have covered his entrepreneurial achievements.

He has received numerous awards for his accomplishments, including the Prime Minister’s Israel hi-tech award for life achievement, Entrepreneur of the Year, Wall Street Journal Europe’s “Tech’s Top 25,” and the TechCrunch Europe 2009 “Best investor personality” award.

3. Adam Neumann

Adam Neumann is a billionaire Israeli businessman who founded one of the world’s most talked-about startups.

Despite starting several unsuccessful businesses, Adam struck gold in 2010 when he founded WeWork. The company was valued at $47 billion in January 2019 before plummeting from a staggering peak valuation.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Neumann has been busy investing in other companies, most recently cannabis firm InterCure, in the hopes of inspiring new businesses and ideas.

His net worth is expected to be around US$1.6 billion in 2021.

4. Amir Gal-Or

Amir Gal-Or Photo By Marjie Hadad –

Amir Gal-Or is an Israeli businessman who previously served in the Israeli Air Force as a pilot.

Gal-career Or’s as a private entrepreneur began in 1990, after completing seven years of army service, at the Technion incubator.

On his return to Haifa, he founded two material companies: TAN, which develops high-grade refractory ceramic oxides, and a joint venture with Paz Oil Company, Israel’s largest fuels company.

In 1998, Gal-Or made the transition to venture capital and helped found the well-known Infinity Group, of which he is also a managing partner.

Infinity, which is backed by China Development Bank and Clal Industries, manages over US$1.5 billion and operates 23 funds, incubators, and accelerators across China.

The fund’s notable exits include Galileo, Saifun, Shopping.com, ShellCase, Scitex Vision, Digital China, WLCSP, Bazun, and ITS.

5. Avishai Abrahami

Avishai is a seasoned technology entrepreneur and developer who helped Wix.com grow from a small start-up in 2006 to the world’s leading do-it-yourself web publishing platform.

Wix.com Ltd. is an Israeli software company that is publicly traded in the United States and adds artistic, handmade illustrations to your website, removing the complexities of website creation.

Avishai has been the driving force behind the release of over 15 software products that have since been used by millions of people worldwide, in addition to his many successful business ventures.

6. Teddy Sagi

Teddy Sagi, another Tel Aviv native, is an Israeli billionaire businessman based in London and Cyprus who made his mark on the international tech scene before the age of 30.

His company, Playtech, rose to prominence as the world’s leading provider of online gaming software, as well as the leasing of designs and software to businesses all over the world.

Despite selling his remaining shares in Playtech, the billionaire has since purchased significant stakes in Market Tech, a real estate venture with properties in several European and Middle Eastern cities.

Camden Market, London’s fourth-largest attraction, is one of Teddy’s largest holdings, with 100,000 visitors every weekend.

Sagi has also founded LABS, a co-working space, and owns a controlling stake in cyber security behemoth KAPE.

7. Beny Alagem

Binyamin “Beny” Alagem is a former tank driver who is now an Israeli-American entrepreneur, business executive, hotelier, and philanthropist.

He is the former CEO and founder of Packard Bell Computers, a personal computer manufacturer which he founded in 1986.

Alagem purchased the Beverly Hilton Hotel from entertainer Merv Griffin for US$130 million in 2003, and he currently serves as its Chief Executive Officer.
In Beverly Hills, California, he owns the Beverly Hilton Hotel and the Waldorf Astoria.

The Waldorf Astoria is known for setting several global precedents, including being the first hotel to have electricity on every floor, the first to have en suite baths, and the first to provide 24-hour room service.

8. Aaron Shaked

Aaron Shaked, along with his brother Avi, has had a significant impact on the gambling industry through the establishment of 888 Holdings.

888 Holdings is the owner of software solutions that offer a variety of virtual online gaming services via the Internet, such as casino and games, poker, bingo, sport, emerging offerings, and brand licensing revenue on third-party platforms.

The two were able to create one of the first successful online casinos after years of hard work and revolutionary ideas. 

9. Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons Photo By Toronto Social Review –

Gene Simmons, born Chaim Witz, is an Israeli-American singer-songwriter and musician.

He is also a successful entrepreneur, going by his stage name The Demon.

Aide from being Kiss’s marketing genius, he has started a restaurant chain, a financial services management company, reality shows, owned a football team, is a best-selling entrepreneurship author, and is a well-known business lecturer.

Kiss is believed to have licensed its name to over 3,000 different product categories, ranging from lunch boxes to comic books to credit cards. It’s nearly a billion-dollar brand.

10. Shai Agassi

Shai Agassi Photo By Eirik Solheim –

Shai Agassi is an Israeli entrepreneur who founded Better Place, a company that developed and sold electric car battery charging and switching services.

Agassi co-founded several other companies with his father, Reuven Agassi, including Quicksoft Ltd., a leading multimedia software localization and distribution company in the Israeli market, TopManage, a developer of small business software that was also acquired by SAP in April 2002 and Quicksoft Media, a multimedia production company that ceased operations in 1995.