Benzion Shalom Eliezer Freshwater (born 1948) is a British billionaire property investor of Haredi Jewish descent.
Benzion Freshwater | |
|---|---|
| Born | Benzion Shalom Eliezer Freshwater 1948 (age 75–76) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Property developer |
| Relatives | Ben Zion Halberstam (grandfather) |
Early life
editBenzion Shalom Eliezer Freshwater[1] is the son of Osias Freshwater (1897–1976), born in the village of Staszów, Galicia, Poland, who emigrated to England in 1939. His wife and three children were murdered in the Holocaust. In 1947 he married Nechama Golda Stempel née Halberstam, widowed daughter of Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam, the second Bobover Rebbe, and they had two sons, Benzion and Solomon. Osias built up Daejan Holdings into one of London's largest private landlords and his sons, Benzion and Rabbi Shlomo are now Executive Directors.[2]
Career
editHe has 279 directorships[3] but operates mainly through Daejan Holdings plc, a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange, in which his family has a 79% stake.[4] Daejan's UK portfolio is managed by Highdorn, part of the Freshwater Group of Companies. The group has been embroiled in controversy, failing to follow correct housing procedures on multiple occasions. In 2022 they were fined £30k after failing to license a property. [5]
In the Sunday Times Rich List his fortune has risen from £1 billion in 2009 to £1.6 billion in 2016.[4][6] According to the 2020 edition his net worth was estimated at £2.054 billion.[7]
He is a trustee of Mayfair Charities Limited, a registered charity which disbursed £8,553,000 in 2007-8 to "organisations and institutions engaged in the provision of education and promotion of religious observance within the tenets of orthodox Judaism and for the relief of poverty."[8]
References
edit- ^ Pudelek, Jenna. "Charity Commission tells Jewish charity to appoint at least one 'fully independent' trustee". 16 December 2013. Thirdsector.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ [1] Archived February 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2] Archived November 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Rich List". The Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved 2015-07-16. (subscription required)
- ^ [3] December 2, 2022
- ^ "The Sunday Times Rich List 2017". nuk-rich-list-ui-2017-uk-prod.eu-west-1.elasticbeanstalk.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
- ^ Times, The Sunday. "Rich List 2020: profiles 51-100, featuring Bernie Ecclestone". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
- ^ "Benzion Freshwater, registered charity no. 255281". Charity Commission for England and Wales.