Nathan Kirsh (born 6 January 1932) is a business magnate born in Potchefstroom, South Africa, with a property empire spanning Australia, Swaziland, and the UK. He has Swazi citizenship, and according to Forbes he is the wealthiest person in Swaziland. He also has residency status in the UK and the US.
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Education
Kirsh grew up in a Jewish family in Potchefstroom, where he attended and matriculated from Potchefstroom Boys High in 1949 before obtaining a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Witwatersrand and an honorary doctorate from the University of Swaziland.
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Commercial
Kirsh left South Africa permanently for Swaziland in 1986 after a business partnership between his company, Kirsh Industries, and Sanlam, one of South Africa’s leading financial services groups, unravelled.
His main holding group, Kirsh Holdings Group, owns Swazi Plaza Properties â€" his biggest interest in that country â€" in a 50/50 partnership with the government-owned Swaziland Industrial Development Company (SIDC).
Kirsh owns Ki Corporation, a Liberian-domiciled company held by the Eurona Foundation. The Eurona Foundation is a trust organised in Liechtenstein. Kirsh and Prince Michael von Liechtenstein are the two trustees of the foundation. The Eurona Foundation also majority owns (84.5%) another of Kirsh’s companies, Mira Mag, which in turn owns a significant stake in Israeli security company, Magal Security Systems.
Through Kifin Limited, part of Ki Corporation, Kirsh holds a 29.9% stake in London-based property developer Minerva. Kirsh recently made British headlines for an attempted takeover bid of Minerva, although he pulled out in early January 2010. “The offer was made at 50p a share in cash, valuing Minerva at about £85m, and needed 50 per cent of stock.†However, the offer was considered to undervalue the company.
Kirsh's companies are registered in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands and Liberia, listed on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s tax-haven "Grey list".
KiFin Limited's deputy chairman is Ron Sandler, who was the government-appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Northern Rock through 2011 and an advisor to former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Sandler told The Independent that he was a “sounding board†and advisor to Nathan Kirsh.
As of 2012, Kirsh had a 63% stake in Jetro Holdings, a holding company that owns 86 Restaurant Depot stores plus 10 Jetro Cash & Carry stores. It is believed that the company earned $6.5 billion in revenue in 2011. On or around the time of his purchase of Restaurant Depot, Kirsh solicited capital from Warren Buffett, but Buffett turned him down.
Since 2012, Kirsh has continued to work in real estate. According to Kirsh, real estate "is the only sector where 'stupid people' can make money."
Controversies
Magal Securities
Kirsh is the largest shareholder of Magal Security Systems, with a beneficial ownership of 24.2%. He is also a director of the company. Magal Security Systems develops and supplies control systems and intrusion detection systems and is the main supplier of electronic fences for the security fence project in the West Bank. Magal won 80% of the bids published by the Israeli Ministry of Defence for the installation of intrusion detection systems along the security fence. The company has been criticized by several NGO bodies, which have expressed concern that the company is involved in constructing the security fence which was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in July 2004.
Personal life
Kirsh is married to Frances Kerr, and they have three children, one son, Philip Kirsh, and two daughters. They live in London, England.
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