Haim Saban
Haim Saban ( Hebrew חיים סבן; * October 15, 1944 in Alexandria , Egypt ) is one of the largest media entrepreneurs in the world and a billionaire . He has both Israeli and US citizenship .
Life
As the son of Jewish parents, he grew up in poor conditions in Egypt. His father sold office supplies, his mother was a tailor. When he was 12 years old, his family moved to Tel Aviv . He first tried his hand at organizing concerts in Israel , but in 1973 was insolvent after a concert flop. According to some sources, he also tried his hand at playing bass in a band during this time.
Despite high debts, he moved to Paris and tried his hand at producing music for TV films ( Dallas (1978), TV series). 1983, after initial successes, he went with 500,000 US dollars to Los Angeles . There he first imported Japanese cartoons . In 1993 he made his breakthrough with the Power Rangers . In 1995 he founded a joint venture with Rupert Murdoch and started the children's channel Fox Kids .
He is considered a good friend of ex-US President Bill Clinton . In Israel he has sympathy for Shimon Peres and the Labor Party . In the 2012 presidential election campaign, he clearly sided with Barack Obama and, in a guest article for the New York Times, highlighted his ties to Israel, which the conservative side often questioned.
By taking over shares in the KirchMedia Group ( see also: Leo Kirch ) in August 2003, he was also one of the most influential people in the German media landscape; among other things, he was the main shareholder of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. In December 2006 Saban and the investors around him sold the shares in ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG to a consortium of Permira and KKR at a high profit .
In January 2006, an application for the takeover of ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG by Axel Springer Verlag was rejected by the Federal Cartel Office on the grounds of a potential " duopoly position " with the Bertelsmann Group (joint TV market share: 40%).
In the period up to August 2005, Saban's media group made a huge plus, which brought the media mogul a huge profit: he and his partners invested an estimated EUR 800 million in 2003 including a later capital increase, the market value in August 2005 was almost 2.5 billion EUR. He was able to achieve a similar success in 2001 when he sold the Fox Family , a family channel set up together with Rupert Murdoch , to Walt Disney for $ 5.3 billion (then approx. EUR 5.6 billion).
Filmography (selection)
- 1984: Münchhausen's Adventure on the Moon (Le secret des sélénites)
Web links
- Saban Capital Group Inc. homepage
- Haim Saban in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Literature by and about Haim Saban in the catalog of the German National Library
- I'll surprise everyone , Haim Saban in Der Spiegel , issue 19/2004
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Saban, Haim |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Saban, Chaim; חיים סבן (Hebrew) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Israeli-American media entrepreneur, billionaire |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 15, 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Alexandria , Egypt |