Harel Group

Harel Group

Harel Group operates as one of Israel's largest insurance and investment houses, with the Hamburger family holding key leadership roles across the enterprise. Yair Hamburger serves as Chairman of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services, while Gideon Hamburger acts as President and Ben Hamburger holds the Vice Chairman position. The family's influence extends beyond firm governance: Gideon Hamburger presides over the Israel-Switzerland and Liechtenstein Chamber of Commerce, and Yair Hamburger chaired the Israel Insurance Association from 2016 to 2024. The firm deploys institutional capital across multiple asset classes, blending insurance liabilities with a diversified investment portfolio. Real asset holdings span mixed-use property in Israel, US residential projects in New York, and commercial real estate across Western Europe via a joint venture with LCN Capital Partners. Infrastructure investments include the Emek Habacha Wind Farm in the Golan Heights and a Poland wind energy project. On the venture capital side, Harel allocates to VC strategies, building exposure to Israel's technology ecosystem while also managing Gamla Harel Residential Real Estate Ltd. for domestic development. Team leadership extends beyond the Hamburger family to include CEO Nir Cohen, who runs Harel Insurance and Harel Investments, and former CEO Michel Siboni, who remains a director. Harel maintains a 'Platina Plus' ESG rating from Maala, Israel's corporate social responsibility standards body. The firm's philanthropic architecture includes the Hamburger Family Scholarship Fund and the M.E.H. Foundation (Keren HaMeah), operating in parallel with its commercial investment activities. The firm's dual character — regulated insurer and active direct investor — creates a distinct structure. Unlike pure family offices, Harel manages third-party policyholder capital alongside family-directed investments. This architecture forces a discipline that direct-investing family offices can often avoid: the entire portfolio must satisfy regulatory solvency requirements while pursuing the real asset and venture exposures that generate long-term outperformance.