Arnon Milchan

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Arnon Milchan (also: Arnon Milchen ; born December 6, 1944 in Rechovot ) is an Israeli businessman and film producer . He has made over 100 films including Once Upon a Time in America , Brazil , The War of the Roses , Pretty Woman , LA Confidential and Fight Club . He also worked for the Israeli intelligence service and supported Israel's nuclear weapons program.

Career

After studying biochemistry , Arnon Milchan graduated from the London School of Economics and took his first steps in the business world in the family-owned company in Israel that made fertilizers. He converted this into a successful chemical company.

Regency Enterprises

Milchan is the head of Regency Enterprises , one of the most important production companies in the film industry, and has worked as (executive) producer on various films. His successes include numerous modern celluloid classics, including the Oliver Stone films JFK - Tatort Dallas , Between Heaven and Hell and Natural Born Killers , Danny De Vito's The War of the Roses , Joel Schumacher's Falling Down - A normal day in the cinema very successful films Free Willy and Free Willy 2 - Liberty in Peril , as well as Sommersby with Richard Gere and Jodie Foster and Pretty Woman . In 1998 and 2016 he was nominated for an Oscar in the category Best Film . In 2016 he won a British Academy Film Award for The Revenant . There are also other awards and nominations.

Political and intelligence activities

Milchan is a strong supporter of Israeli politics and is a friend of Shimon Peres , Rupert Murdoch and James Packer . In the 1970s and 1980s he worked as a middleman between Israel and various arms companies, for example to promote Israel's nuclear weapons program ; this brought him the charge of being an arms dealer . He won, among others, Sydney Pollack as a supporter.

Milchan also worked for the Israeli intelligence service Mossad from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.

In their biography Confidential: The Life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon Arnon Milchan , the authors Meir Doron and Joseph Gelman explain that Milchan was a full member of LAKAM in the mid-1980s ("full-fledged operative for Israel's top- secret intelligence agency, Lakam ") and accounts that were set up to finance the special needs of all Israeli intelligence operations outside the country (" government-backed accounts and front companies that financed, the special needs of the entirety of Israel's intelligence operations outside the country. '”These“ special services ”, according to the authors, would have included the purchase of components to build up Israel's nuclear arsenal.

In 1985 Richard Kelly Smyth's illegal delivery of crytrons via Milchan's company raised suspicions of an arms trade. Milchan denied claims that he profited from the trade. He said he had put aside funds from the transactions to enable the Israeli prime minister to fund decisions that disrupted operations without formal budgeting and cabinet approval or press leaks.

Milchan declined to authorize his biography, which was based, among other things, on Shimon Perez, who had said in an interview that he had "recruited" Milchan.

“Arnon is a special man. It was I who recruited him […] When I was at the Ministry of Defense, Arnon was involved in numerous defense-related procurement activities and intelligence operations. His strength is in making connections at the highest levels [...] His activities gave us a huge advantage, strategically, diplomatically and technologically. "

“Arnon is a special person. I recruited him [...] When I was in charge of the Department of Defense, Arnon was involved in a variety of defense-related procurement activities and intelligence operations. His strength is the creation of personal connections at the highest levels [...] His work gave us a huge advantage, strategically, diplomatically and technologically. "

After 1973 Milchan brokered conventional weapons and crytrons . Current activities were not reported by the authors.

In 2013 Milchan confirmed in a documentary in front of the camera that most parts of the presentation in Confidential were correct. Milchan also said he had used links to support the apartheid system in South Africa in exchange for helping Israel get uranium for its nuclear program.

In 2009 he founded an anti-terror company.

Bribery investigation

In February 2018, the Israeli police investigated Milchan on suspicion of illegal gifts because this Prime Minister had given Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife cigars and champagne worth around one million shekels for years - Milchan and others received in return. a. a new US visa and allegedly also legal regulations that allowed him to avoid taxes, the "Milchan's law".

Fortune and art collection

With its various activities he has a personal fortune of about 3.6 billion US dollars ( Forbes established December 2018).

Milchan is also a leading art collector. In April 2015 it was ranked 3rd on CNBC's list of “Hollywood's top 10 art collectors”. His collection is said to be valued at $ 600 million.

Private

Arnon Milchan is married to former South African tennis player Amanda Coetzer . His first marriage to the former mannequin Brigitte Genmaire has two sons and a daughter.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Secondary literature

  • Meir Doron, Joseph Gelman: Confidential The Life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon - Arnon Milchan. Gefen Books, New York, 2011.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Antony Loewenstein: How James Packer's gifts helped land the Israeli PM in hot water. February 14, 2018, accessed August 25, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan says he spied for Israel. - Report on bbc.com of November 26, 2013, in which Milchan denies the allegation of arms trafficking; accessed on June 28, 2017.
  3. ^ The "Pretty Woman" producer who bought weapons for Israel - report on spiegel.de from November 27, 2013; accessed on June 28, 2017.
  4. ↑ Stuart Winer: Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan reveals past as secret agent. Retrieved August 25, 2019 (American English).
  5. ↑ Michael Cieply: New Book Tells Tale of Israeli Arms Dealer in Hollywood . In: The New York Times , July 17, 2011. 
  6. ↑ 'Hollywood Producer Was An Israeli Nuclear Agent' . In: Haaretz.com .
  7. ↑ Confidential: The Life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon Arnon Milchan. P. 11.
  8. ↑ Michael Cieply: New Book Tells Tale of Israeli Arms Dealer in Hollywood . In: The New York Times . July 17, 2011 ( nytimes.com [accessed August 25, 2019]).
  9. ^ David Caspi: Arnon Milchan Admits to Arms Dealing in the '70s . In: The Hollywood Reporter , November 21, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013. 
  10. ↑ Harriet Sherwood: Arnon Milchan reveals past as Israeli spy . In: The Guardian .
  11. ↑ Israel's police recommend charges against Netanyahu . The world . February 13, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  12. ↑ Debra Kamin, Debra Kamin: Israeli Police Recommend Arnon Milchan, Benjamin Netanyahu Be Charged With Bribery. In: Variety. February 13, 2018, accessed August 25, 2019 .
  13. ^ Israeli Police Recommend Charging Producer Arnon Milchan With Bribery. Accessed August 25, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Arnon Milchan . In: Forbes . ( forbes.com [accessed December 4, 2018]).
  15. ↑ Christina Cheddar Berk: Hollywood's top 10 art collectors. April 29, 2015, accessed August 25, 2019 .
  16. ^ Biography Arnon Milchan (English).
personal data
SURNAME Milchan, Arnon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Milchen, Arnon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Israeli film producer
DATE OF BIRTH December 6, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Rechovot