Richard Deitch is Significantly Wealthier Than Udi Recanati: A Capital Comparison
The gap between the American who became the main owner of Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Israeli businessman is vast, despite the financial backing from the Recanati family. How will this affect the club?
The deal in which Richard Deitch acquired Udi Recanati's shares in Maccabi Tel Aviv raises the obvious question again: which of the two has deeper pockets? According to estimates, the answer is clear — and by a large margin.
Deitch, 61, owns VR Capital Group, an asset management company he founded in 1998. In 2017, it was reported that the company managed assets totaling 4.4 billion dollars for institutional investors, family funds, and private investors.
Deitch made his fortune in the financial world. He worked at Credit Suisse, was one of the founders of Renaissance Capital in Moscow, and later founded VR Capital, which specialized in investments in distressed debt. According to estimates, his personal wealth stands at about 2 billion dollars.
Recanati, 76, comes from the prominent Recanati family and is one of the leading businessmen in Israel. He served in senior management positions at Discount Bank and IDB, and later founded "Naftali Investments," which invested, among others, in Mobileye, RGE, Channel 13, and other companies.
According to estimates, Recanati's personal wealth stands at about 210 million dollars. However, the Recanati family holds assets and investments in much larger volumes through private investment companies and family funds.
The numbers illustrate the size of the gap: Deitch's estimated personal wealth, about 2 billion dollars, is almost ten times larger than that of Recanati. On the other hand, Recanati comes with significant family backing and a long history of investments in Israeli businesses.
The bottom line: the deal between them not only changes the balance of power at Maccabi Tel Aviv, it also brings together two businessmen with capital of very different scales. According to estimates, Deitch is about 1.79 billion dollars richer than Recanati, representing a huge gap in favor of Deitch regarding personal wealth.
