Warren Buffett famously said that he wanted to leave his kids ''enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing.'' Buffett, the man with the Cherry Coke, the man with Iscar Ltd., and one of the richest men in the world. Buffett decided to donate most of his wealth to charity, and to leave his children “enough to do anything,” as he said. He is not the only American billionaire who has chosen to do this. Bill Gates, Microsoft founder and Buffett’s good friend has as well. Among Israel’s rich, this worldview is far less common. Other than David Azrieli, who is only semi-Israeli, there are no billionaires (at least in shekels) who have chosen to donate most of their wealth to charity rather than to their descendants.
Even Dan Propper (72), son of the founders of Osem Investments Ltd. (controlled by Nestlé SA (SWX:NESN)) (TASE: OSEM), the local food giant, prefers to leave his wealth to his children. Last week, following the sale of all his shares in the company, he said: “already a few years ago I transferred my stock in Osem to my four children, and now the time has come to allow each one to develop his or her own platform.”
Propper, as mentioned, sold his remaining shares, 5%, to Osem partner Nestlé (the Swiss food giant), for NIS 503.1 million. “Globes” has found that, in addition to this sale, between 2003-2005 Propper sold shares for NIS 53 million, and, factoring in his share of the dividends that the company paid out over the past decade (NIS 66 million between 2004-2013), Propper accrued about half a billion shekels net (after taxes).
Gad Propper (69), Dan’s younger and only brother, also parted with his shares in the company his parents built, and, in February of last year, he sold his remaining shares (5%) to Nestlé for NIS 371.8 million. Osem’s stock, as illustrated by the difference between the two sales, increased about 40% in value during this time.
Over the past five years, the stock has doubled in value. Osem is currently trading at a value of NIS 9 billion. Dan continues to serve a chairman at Osem, and Gad continues to serve on the board of directors. Gad did not admit to transferring stock to his children, but there is little doubt that he will leave all his wealth to his two children. Gad, who over the past decade sold additional shares for NIS 49.4 million, and whose share of the dividend was the same as his brother’s (NIS 66 million), accrued NIS 400 million net.
The sales of the two brothers’ shares effectively turn their six children, whom “Globes” features here, into actual millionaires, and not just “on paper.” It is worth mentioning that not one of the heirs, who take great care to avoid the media, has worked a single day at Osem. And this not an accident. Dan Propper decided long ago that he would not let his children, or Gad’s, work at the company, in order to avoid inheritance disputes and family feuds among members of the third generation.
And, indeed, it seems that there have been no inheritance disputes in the Propper family. Because Dan has four children, it is reasonable to assume that each will receive at least NIS 100-120 million ($30-$35 million), and in Gad’s case, being the father of two, it seems that each will inherit at least NIS 200 million ($60 million).
So, who are these six young heirs? Let’s begin with Dan Propper’s children. His eldest daughter is Ariella (40), a psychologist. His second daughter, Leora (39), is a lawyer. Leora previously served briefly as VP Trade at drugstore chain New-Pharm, and before that as Category Manager at Reckitt Benckiser Israel.
Dan’s two other children are 37-year-old twins, Tamar and Guy. Tamar is a mechanical engineer, a profession that, to some degree, continues her father’s (who trained as a chemical and food-technology engineer), and Guy has served for the past three years as VP Business Development at none other than Tnuva Food Industries Ltd. Tunva’s decision to appoint Guy, who holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Ben Gurion University, to this position, served as a signal that they would not enter the dry goods market. Before Tnuva, Propper Jr. was partner at Tefen Operations Management Consulting Ltd. (TASE: TEFN), the most senior position he held after his nine years there. Guy, who is described as “pleasant and kind, like his father,” is still single, and enjoys windsurfing.
A famous aunt
Gad Propper has a son and a daughter. Ron, the eldest, is founder and VP Business Development at Roshumbo Games, a young technology company that develops social games, primarily for social networks, like Facebook. The company’s first game, which has already been launched on Facebook, is called SHOBO.
Before Roshumbo, Propper Jr. was CEO of GadPro Technologies, his family’s high-tech investment fund. In addition, Propper is partner in the successful Jaffa bar Saloona. He is married and lives in the village of Atzmon-Segev, in northern Israel.
Gad’s daughter is Anat Propper-Goldenberg (42), who was born in London. She is a painter, and you can learn about her from her website. Anat studied Industrial Design at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, and drawing and painting in New York. Her third, self-titled solo show was held last year in Paris. Previously, she had a solo show in Israel, titled “Perversion of the Scar.”
In an interview with BigTime Magazine at the time of the exhibition, she said, “We didn’t have an endless supply of candy, and no one brought tons of candy home.” She continued: “Until age 10, we lived in a middle-class, academic neighborhood, and only when I was 12-13 did I realize that I came from a more wealthy family. Then, we moved to a different house in Ramat Hasharon, in a neighborhood that is considered more snobby, and, there, kids had opinions from home about who’s rich and who isn't. One day, someone just came up and told me: “You guys have a lot of money.”
And, one more thing, Ron and Anat have a famous aunt - Israeli actress Hanna Laslo. Laslo and Gad’s wife, Eti, are sisters.
The Propper children each chose a completely different professional direction, but the sale of their fathers’ shares gives them all something in common: they are all millionaires.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 2, 2013
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