Israel’s Mystery Benefactor – Tom Tugend

The mystery man of the Israeli economy, as he was dubbed by the country’s media, is alive and well and living in Los Angeles. His name is Elliott Broidy, and in the last two years he has raised $800 million to boost private enterprise in the Jewish state. Broidy, who founded Broidy Capital Management in 1991, proposed to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2002 to establish a large private equity fund for investments in Israel. “Charity is charity and business is business,” Broidy remembers Sharon telling him. “Do something that makes sense and a profit for your investors.”
Broidy established Markstone Capital Group and set a goal of raising $500 million. The New York State Common Retirement Fund signed on for $200 million. The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPers) put in $50 million, and additional amounts came from similar funds in Oregon, New Mexico, North Carolina, and New York City. With the pension funds as a solid base, corporate and private investors, foundations, banks, and insurance companies in the U.S. and Israel swelled the pot. Markstone raised $800 million between 2003 and 2005, with 90% coming from American investors and 10% from Israelis.

( SPME Editor’s Note: Mr. Broidy is a contributor to Scholars for Peace in the Middle East)