Pittsburgh native Fisher, who made his fortune in Midwestern gas stations and real estate, advised Republican presidents from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush on the Middle East and Jewish issues. He helped persuade Nixon to airlift arms to Israel during the October 1973 war. As a philanthropist devoted to Jewish causes, he raised hundreds of millions of dollars for Israel and chaired the Jewish Agency board.
Photo: Max Fisher with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2001 (Amos Ben Gershom, Israeli Government Press Office)