Nationality Israeli-American Spouse Adele Alagem | Role Entrepreneur Name Beny Alagem | |
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Residence Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, USA Occupation Entrepreneur, business executive, hotelier, philanthropist | ||
Binyamin "Beny" Alagem (Hebrew: בנימין אלג'ם) (born 1953 in Israel) is an Israeli American entrepreneur, business executive, hotelier and philanthropist. He is the founder and former Chief Executive of Packard Bell Computers. He is the owner of the Beverly Hilton Hotel and the Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, California.
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Early life
Beny Alagem was born in Israel. He was a tank driver. Alagem studied at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona where he met fellow Israeli immigrants Jason Barzilay and Alex Sandel. In 1983, Alagem would partner up with Sandel and Barzilay to start Cal-Abco, a wholesaler of computer parts. In 1986, all three then invested into creating Packard Bell. As of 1995, Cal-Abco was still intact and was listed in the Packard Bell prospectus as a supplier of parts to Packard Bell with a shared credit line between the two companies.
Career
Alagem founded Packard Bell, a personal computer manufacturer, in 1986. He served as its Chief Executive and President until 1998, when he resigned after he disagreed with NEC and Groupe Bull, the two other main shareholders. In January 1999, he acquired the rights to the AST Research name from Samsung.
Alagem serves as the Chairman of the Alagem Capital Group, an asset management firm headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In December 2003, Alagem purchased the Beverly Hilton Hotel from entertainer Merv Griffin for US$130 million through Oasis West Realty LLC, where he serves as Chief Executive Officer. He proceeded to renovate it for an extra US$90 million. He is overseeing the development of the Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria with Guggenheim Partners, which is scheduled to be dedicated in 2017. Designed by the architectural firm Gensler, it is adjacent to the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills will be the first new luxury hotel for the brand on the West Coast.
Philanthropy
Alagem was appointed an Honorary Ambassador of the City of Tel Aviv in 1995. He serves as an honorary member of the Board of Directors of the Israeli-American Council (IAC). Indeed, he has been described by The Jewish Daily Forward as one of the "major donors" to the IAC. For example, he underwrote the entire cost of the Council Leadership Gala on March 11, 2012. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the American Friends of The Citizens' Empowerment Center in Israel, a non-profit organization headquartered in Beverly Hills which promotes peace in Israel through research and education.
In 2004, Alagem held a fundraiser for the March of the Living, a non-profit organization which annual funds trips for 18,000 students to see the horror of the Auschwitz concentration camp, followed by trip to Israel on Independence Day. The event, which took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and was attended by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Israeli ministers Ehud Olmert and Avraham Hirschenson, raised US$1 million.
Alagem co-chaired a fundraiser for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on December 17, 2009. It raised US$5.2 million for the Israel Defense Forces.
Alagem was the recipient of the Philanthropic Leadership Award from the Board of Governors of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 2016.
Personal life
Alagem has a wife, Adele. They owned a three-bedroom apartment at 15 Central Park West on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which he sold for a US$4 million profit to investor Stuart Peterson. They reside in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California. In 2011, they attended a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. According to the Center for Investigative Reporting, Alagem uses "at least 2 million" gallons of water per year to irrigate his Bel Air estate.