Shari Arison is an American-born Israeli businesswoman and philanthropist, one of Israel's wealthiest women. She is the owner of several business companies, the largest among them Bank Hapoalim, and of several philanthropic organizations that are subsidiaries of The Ted Arison Family Foundation. Shari is one of The B Team B Leaders.
Background
Arison was born on September 9, 1957 in New York, New York, United States. She is the daughter of the businessman Ted Arison and Mina Arison Sapir. She has an older brother, Micky. In 1966 her parents divorced, and she moved to reside with her mother in Israel. At the age of twelve, she returned to the United States to live with her father, and five years later she returned to Israel in order to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces.
Education
Shari Arison attended Miami Dade College.
Career
In 1999 Arison's father died, and bequeathed her 35 percent of his possessions. In 2003, she caused a big wave of protest after 900 workers were fired from Bank Hapoalim.
In 2005, she was voted the 56th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
In March 2009, Arison sponsored Israel’s third annual “Good Deeds Day” in which her non-profit organization, Ruach Tova, inspired thousands of Israelis to get involved in volunteering across the country. As part of the event, which took place near Tel Aviv, a Palestinian youth orchestra performed in an hour-long concert in honor of Holocaust survivors. They played classical Arabic tunes and songs of peace, but upon the group’s return to Jenin, authorities condemned the orchestra’s leader for her so-called “exploitation of the children for political purposes”. The event garnered lots of media attention from around the world. Following the concert to celebrate “Good Deeds Day”, the orchestra conductor was expelled from her hometown of Jenin.
Arison was awarded the America–Israel Friendship League's Partners for Democracy award in 2010.
The richest woman in Israel is a big shareholder in Carnival Cruises, owner of Costa Concordia, the ship that crashed off the coast of Italy. She inherited her shares in Carnival, Israel's Bank Hapoalim, and infrastructure behemoth Shikun u'Binui Holdings Ltd from her late father Ted Arison. Last year she bought up her brother's shares in Arison Holdings, the investment company her father left to them. The Tel Aviv-based billionaire controls her investments and philanthropy through the Arison Group and Ted Arison Family Foundation, which each year contributes to hundreds of nonprofits involved in health, education, disabilities and research. Arison has tried to position herself as a force for good in business. She has invested in a number of green projects, including a massive desalination plant and a green shopping mall in Israel, and started Miya in 2006, a $100 million venture dedicated to maximizing the efficiency of large urban water systems. She also launched International Good Deeds Day to advocate community service, and in 2009 published the book Birth: When the Spiritual and the Material Come Together.
Achievements
Connections
Arison is the mother of four children. She has been married three times, most recently to businessman Ofer Glazer.