Arnon Milchan
Arnon Milchan (Hebrew: ארנון מילצ'ן; December 6, 1944) is an Israeli billionaire businessman, film producer and former spy. He has been involved in over 130 full-length motion pictures[1] and is the founder of production company Regency Enterprises. Regency's film credits include 12 Years a Slave, JFK, Heat, Fight Club, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Milchan has earned two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Picture, for L.A. Confidential and The Revenant. Milchan was also an Israeli intelligence operative from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.[2][3]
Arnon Milchan
December 6, 1944
Businessman, film producer
Founder of Regency Enterprises
Brigitte Genmaire (divorced)
Amanda Coetzer
5
Biography[edit]
Milchan was born in Rehovot, Mandatory Palestine, to a Jewish family.[6][7] He has a sister named Dalia. His mother was descended from European Jewish disciples of the rabbi Vilna Gaon who came to Palestine in the early 19th century, and he is the eighth generation of his family in the country.
Milchan was first married to French model Brigitte Genmaire and later divorced. The couple had three children, Elinor, Alexandra, and Yariv. Elinor Milchan is a professional photographer and Alexandra is a film producer.[8] He later married South African retired professional tennis player Amanda Coetzer and had two children with her (Shimon and Olivia).
Allegedly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry three times in 2014 to arrange a long-term visa for Milchan to live in the United States,[9][10] but the bribery charges against Netanyahu have since been called into question.[11] Milchan does not live in Israel and has not been there since 2016.[12]
Business career[edit]
His father owned a fertilizer company,[13] which Milchan inherited at the age of 21 upon his father's sudden death. Over the years, Milchan turned the company into a successful chemical business.[14] He also earned a degree from the London School of Economics, before he and his company (Milchan Brothers Ltd.) were recruited to Lekem, a secret Israeli intelligence organization responsible for obtaining technology and material for Israel's nuclear program, and other highly secretive programs.[15]
Controversy[edit]
In February 2018, Israeli Police recommended that Arnon Milchan, alongside Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, be charged with bribery.[20] The recommendation in the case, nicknamed "Case 1000", relates to alleged bribes Milchan provided to Netanyahu in exchange for special tax exemption legislation believed to benefit Milchan in his homeland of Israel.[21] The proposed legislation, nicknamed "Milchan's Law", dates back to 2013 and was an alleged ploy to extend Milchan's status as a returning resident to allow him to take advantage of tax breaks. According to the police, the gifts from Milchan were worth more than 1 million shekels.[22] Milchan had held fundraisers for Netanyahu, which included a 2014 event at a residence on Carbon Beach in Malibu that controversially inconvenienced residents and commuters with hours of unexpected lane blockages on Pacific Coast Highway, despite being a private event.[23][24]
On June 25, 2023, Milchan began his first day of testimony as a prosecution witness in Case 1000 and acknowledged that he gave the Netanyahu family numerous gifts and used code names for the gifts which were exchanged as well.[19] However, Milchan also claimed he never thought the gifts would qualify as legal issues, as they were requests which were related to his friendship with the Netanyahus and not demands.[19] Due to his health, Milchan did not appear in-person at the Jerusalem courthouse and gave video testimony from a courthouse in Brighton, United Kingdom.[19]
Art collecting[edit]
Milchan is an art collector, and in April 2015, CNBC ranked him at No. 3 in their list of "Hollywood's top 10 art collectors" with a collection valued at $600 million, equal with George Lucas, ranked No. 2, but some way behind David Geffen at No. 1, with a collection valued at $2.3 billion.[25]