July 16, 1926
Stef Wertheimer is born in Kippenheim, Germany. He immigrates to Mandate Palestine in 1937 with his family and becomes one of Israel’s wealthiest citizens with a net worth of $5 billion. A member of the Palmach, he serves in the British Royal Air Force in 1943 as an optical technician, thus gaining expertise with tools and machinery.
In 1952, Wertheimer, then a young businessman, founds a metal tool fabrication company in his garage and names it Iscar Metalworking. He eventually moves its operations to the western Galilee, and the company’s headquarters are still located there. Since its inception, the company has grown from a small, single-facility operation in Israel to a multinational corporation with representation in more than 50 countries.
In 2006, Berkshire Hathaway, the American conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett, purchases 80% of the company’s shares for $4 billion. It is the first time that Berkshire Hathaway purchases a company outside the United States. On May 1, 2013, Buffett purchases the remaining 20% of the company’s shares for $2 billion.
A philanthropist and ardent peace activist, Wertheimer dedicates more than $100 million of his own money to build industrial parks in the Galilee that provide rent-free workspaces for industrial start-ups in economically disadvantaged Arab areas. In 2010, he is honored with the Oslo Business for Peace Award for the projects.