Name Alex Shnaider Role Entrepreneur | ||
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Similar People Christijan Albers, Tiago Monteiro, Narain Karthikeyan | ||
Alexander Yevseyevich "Alex" Shnaider (Russian: Алекса́ндр Евсе́евич "А́лекс" Шнайдер; Hebrew: אלכסנדר (אלכס) שניידר; born 3 August 1968) is a Russian-born Canadian entrepreneur and former commodities trader. He is co-founder with Eduard Shifrin of the Midland Group.
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Early life
Shnaider moved with his family to Israel when he was 4, and then to Canada when he was 13. He graduated from York University in Toronto in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in economics.
Midland Group
In 1994, Shnaider co-founded Midland Group—originally a steel producer—with former business partner Eduard Shifrin. The company operated in Ukraine before government-owned steel factories were privatized. In 1999, Midland Resources began buying shares in the Zaporizhstal steel mill. By 2001, Shnaider’s consortium had bought 93 per cent of the mill for $70 million.
According to the Panama Papers, in 2010, Shnaider sold at least half of Midland's ownership in Zaporizhstal to buyers financed by Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, who were then themselves acquired by the development bank.
Sports investments
Shnaider bought Jordan Grand Prix from Eddie Jordan in February 2005 for approximately US$50 million, and renamed it Midland F1 Racing for the 2006 Formula One season. On 9 September 2006, the team was sold to Spyker Cars.
In December 2007, Shnaider bought Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv for an estimated 12 million euros. On 4 August 2009, Shnaider sold the club to Canadian property developer Mitchell Goldhar, after investing $20 million in the club. Goldhar took on Shnaider’s 80 per cent stake in the club by agreeing to take on its financial commitments; he also paid $750,000 to the Maccabi Tel Aviv sports foundation for its 20 percent stake.
Real estate
Shnaider partnered with Donald Trump in the construction of the Trump International Hotel and Tower, which is in Toronto. Donald Trump is a minority shareholder in the project. Shnaider has reportedly decided to keep the penthouse suite for himself, at an estimated value of $20 million. The building and Shnaider have been named as key links in a financial connection between Trump and the Russian government. Shnaider reportedly used proceeds from the sale of his Ukrainian steel mill to partially meet cost overruns at the Toronto Trump Tower.
In March 2010, Shnaider invested in a property consortium that bought Toronto's King Edward Hotel for $50 million. The asset was purchased in a distressed sale from Lehman Brothers. Shnaider originally invested alongside three other real estate companies, Skyline International Development Inc., Dundee KE Inc., and Serruya Realty Group Inc. However, on 1 August 2012, Omni Hotels & Resorts CEO James D. Caldwell also took a stake in the hotel; and on 24 November 2015, Omni Hotels and Resorts announced that it had bought the other parties out and fully owned the hotel.
In 2011, Shnaider formed a Delton Retail fund, a property group, with N3 Real Estate, owned by Dutch businessman A.D.G van Dam.
On 30 December 2015, Shnaider invested NIS₪39 million in Mishorim Development Ltd., a real estate company controlled by developer Gil Blutrich. Shnaider had already invested alongside Blutrich in the King Edward Hotel, which Blutrich invested in via Skyline International Development Inc., a Mishorim subsidiary.
Personal life
Shnaider is married to Simona Shnaider (née Birshtein). They have three daughters. In August 2016, they sold their home in Bridle Path, Toronto, for $22 million.
Schnaider is President of the Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario.