Raphael Recanati

Raphael Recanati
Born 1924
Salonika, Greece
Died 1999
New York City, U.S.
Cause of death heart attack
Residence Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Herzliya, Tel Aviv District, Israel
Nationality Israel & United States
Occupation Businessman, banker, philanthropist
Spouse(s) Dina Hettena
Children 2 sons
Parent(s) Leon Yehuda Recanati
Relatives Leon Recanati (nephew)

Raphael Recanati (1924-1999) was a Greek-born Israeli-American businessman, banker, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chairman of the Overseas Shipholding Group. He was the chairman of the Israel Discount Bank from 1982 to 1986. He made large donations to civic and education organizations in New York City and Israel.

Early life

Raphael Recanati was born in 1924 in Salonika, Greece,[1][2] the son of Leon Yehuda Recanati, and of Italian and Spanish ancestry.[3] He moved to Mandatory Palestine with his family in 1935, where he was educated.[1] Meanwhile, his family founded the Israel Discount Bank in 1935.[1]

Recanati served in the Palmach, when he helped bring Egyptian Jews into Palestine (modern-day Israel).[1]

Career

Recanati founded the Israel-America Shipping Line, later known as the Overseas Shipholding Group, in 1948.[1] He served as its founding chairman.[1] He subsequently served as the "chairman of its finance and development committee".[1]

Recanati served as the Managing Director of his family bank, the Israeli Discount Bank, in 1965.[4] By then, the bank had an office in New York City.[4] By 1970, he founded its investment banking subsidiary.[1] He subsequently co-founded two more subsidiaries, the Discount Investment Corporation and the PEC Israel Economic Corporation New York.[1] He served as the chairman of the Israel Discount Bank from 1982 to 1986.[2]

In 1986, Recanati was suspended by the Bank of Israel over his role in the 1983 Israel bank stock crisis.[5] The suspension was recommended by its chairman, Michael Bruno, and twelve ministers.[5] Meanwhile, he was tried and sentenced to an eight-year prison sentence in Jerusalem over allegations of fraud.[2] However, he was acquitted on trial.[2]

Recanati subsequently founded a subsidiary of his family bank in New York City known as the Israel Discount Bank of New York.[2]

Philanthropy

Recanati was a large Jewish philanthropist in New York City and Israel.

In New York City, Recanati made large charitable contributions to the Beth Israel Medical Center, a hospital based in New York City where the Recanati Cardiology Research Fund and the Recanati/Horowitz Cardiology Diagnostic Research Fund are named in his honor.[1] Additionally, he endowed the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital.[6] Further donations went to the UJA-Federation of New York.[1]

Recanati supported education. He endowed the Recanati Israel Student Exchange Fellowships at Yeshiva University, where he was a guardian.[1] He also endowed the Recanati course at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.[1] Additionally, he endowed the Dana and Raphael Recanati Professorship in Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, which is held by Professor Jerome Groopman.[7]

In Israel, Recanati served on the boards of trustees of the Weizmann Institute of Science, the American Friends of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and the American Friends of Tel Aviv University, where he endowed the Recanati School of Business.[1][1] He also endowed the Raphael Recanati Genetic Institute at the Beilinson Hospital, in the Petah Tikva-based Rabin Medical Center.[8]

Personal life

Recanati married Dina Hettena.[1] They had two sons, Oudi and Michael.[1] They resided on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, and in Herzliya near Tel Aviv in Israel.[1]

Death and legacy

Recanati died of a heart attack in 1999.[1][9] He was seventy-five years old.[2][10]

The Raphael Recanati International School at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya was named in his honor.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Saxon, Wolfgang (June 2, 1999). "Raphael Recanati, Philanthropist, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Obituaries: Raphael Recanati; Israeli Banker, Shipping Magnate". The Los Angeles Times. June 1, 1999. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  3. ↑ Alex Roland; W. Jeffrey Bolster; Alexander Keyssar (2008). The Way of the Ship: America's Maritime History Reenvisoned, 1600-2000. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 401–402. ISBN 978-0-470-13600-3. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 "15 Foreign Banks Have NY Headquarters". Oshkosh Daily Northwestern. Oshkosh, Wisconsin. March 20, 1965. p. 16. Retrieved March 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. (registration required (help)).
  5. 1 2 "Israeli Cabinet order banker suspended". The San Bernardino County Sun. San Bernardino, California. July 14, 1986. p. 3. Retrieved March 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. (registration required (help)).
  6. ↑ "The Recanati / Miller Transplantation Institute". Mount Sinai Hospital. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Dina and Raphael Recanati Professor of Medicine". Harvard Catalyst. Harvard University. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  8. ↑ "The Raphael Recanati Genetic Institute - Beilinson". Rabin Medical Center. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  9. ↑ Nitzan, Jonathan; Bichler, Shimshon (2001). The Global Political Economy of Israel: From War Profits to Peace Dividends. London, United Kingdom: Pluto Press. p. 306. ISBN 9780745316758. OCLC 225932782.
  10. ↑ "Raphael Recanati". The Daily Herald. Chicago, Illinois. June 6, 1999. p. 17. Retrieved March 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. (registration required (help)).
  11. ↑ "Raphael Recanati (1924-1999)". IDC Herziya. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
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