OY, BRITANNIA!

 

 

'Survivor' tycoon moves to Britain

 

 

Israel's richest man emigrates to Britain
— and buys a £35m, bullet-proof mansion
The Independent Tuesday, 8 January 2008

By ANDY McSMITH

TYCOON LEVIEV: Would you buy a diamond ring from this man?

LONDON — Lev Leviev, who until a week ago was classified as
the richest man in Israel, has joined the growing list of Israeli
billionaires who have made their homes in London, where wealthy
foreigners are not asked to pay tax on income earned overseas.

This month, Mr. Leviev officially moved into a bullet-proof house
in Hampstead, which he bought for £35m ($75 million). His near
neighbors include several other mega-rich Israeli tycoons who
prefer UK tax rates. In Israel, they are liable for tax on all their
income, no matter where it is from.

Mr. Leviev is famous in international circles as the man who broke
the cartel controlled by the multinational diamond company,
De Beers, by buying up diamond mines in Russia, Angola and
Namibia. It is said that one third of all the diamonds sold
anywhere in the world are cut and polished by his company.

Joined by other Israeli tycoons

Recently, he also went on a worldwide property buying spree,
and opened a jewelery shop in New York's Madison Avenue.
His acquisitions included the former New York Times building,
for which he paid almost £300m ($650 million).

News of his departure has shocked the Israeli business community
and created a political headache for its government, because of
the drain of wealth from Tel Aviv to London. Among those who
have made their homes in London are Zvi Meitar, the founder of
one of Israel's biggest law firms; Benny Steinmitz, a diamond
dealer and property tycoon; Yigal Zilka, head of Queenco Leisure
International; and the real estate developer, Sammy Shimon.
Mr. Leviev's departure knocked 11 percent off the stock market
value of his company, Africa-Israel Investments. Officially, his
spokesman has said that the multinational nature of Mr. Leviev's
business meant he has spent more time in London than Tel Aviv
over the past year. Unofficially, another motive for moving is a
dispute with the government over his 2002 tax bill.

Wallowing in riches

His wife, Olga, and his two youngest children, aged 15 and 13,
have also moved to London. Their other seven children have
stayed in Israel, where their daughter Tzvia Leviev-Alazarov,
will take charge of the family's Israeli interests. Just before he left,
Mr. Leviev sold his private jet and he is reported to have bought
a bigger one.

Last September, Forbes magazine listed Mr. Leviev as the 12th
richest man in the Middle East, with a fortune of just over £2bn
$425 billion). He is thought to have grown richer since. He is a
friend of the Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich, and introducedhim to Avram Grant, who was appointed manager of Chelsea football club last September.

Until now, Mr. Leviev's life has been a success story that would
have delighted Israel's founding fathers. His family, who are strict
Bukharian Orthodox Jews, arrived penniless, in 1971, from Uzbekistan, then part of the Soviet Union. His grandfather had been deported to Siberia. Soon after reaching Israel, Mr. Leviev left school to become a diamond cutter, and upheld a family tradition by
circumcising his sons, and the sons of work colleagues.