Isaac Tshuva, the Everyman
Isaac Tshuva, the Israeli energy king whose $2 billion net worth makes him the country’s sixth-richest citizen, is not one for opulence.
Yes, at 61, Tshuva owns the Delek Group, which helped discover the Tamar field, 7.7 trillion cubic feet of gas near the Haifa coast that could help wean Israel from imported coal and gas. His global empire also includes, but is not limited to, luxury apartment towers in cities as varied as Los Angeles and Singapore, power plants, gas stations and New York’s Plaza Hotel.
But Tshuva’s idiosyncrasies suggest he’s more of an everyman. According to a profile in this week’s Bloomberg Businessweek, the Libyan-born, Israeli-bred billionaire:
- Eschews ties
- Drives his own car (a beige 2008 Cadillac Sedan)
- Is just as comfortable with a fancy PowerPoint presentation as he is with a table surface and a handful of sugar packets to illustrate which gas deposits he owns in Israel
- Works at an office located between an IKEA and a brewery
- Refuses to wear a watch because, at his bar mitzvah, his parents couldn’t afford one
Considering the magnates controlling America’s most powerful companies, Tshuva’s lifestyle is certainly worth consideration.
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