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Iscar
Iscar is a corporate investor based in Tefen, founded 1952; the Altss profile covers its classification, headquarters, registration, AUM band, and key contacts...
Iscar
Iscar is a corporate investor based in Tefen, Israel. It focuses on investments in the Middle East region.
General information
Firm type
Corporate Investor
Year founded
1952
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Middle East
Country
Israel
City
Tefen
Corporate office
Tefen, Israel
Principals
Stef Wertheimer
Founder
Jacob Harpaz
CEO, IMC Group
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Iscar?
The Wertheimer family allocates its capital through a corporate-investor structure tied to the IMC Group, with CEO Jacob Harpaz — a company veteran who worked alongside founder Stef Wertheimer for decades — overseeing operations. No dedicated family-office investment committee is publicly identified. The family's posture is hands-on industrial ownership rather than third-party fund management.
How is Iscar related to Berkshire Hathaway?
Berkshire Hathaway acquired 80% of the IMC Group from the Wertheimer family in 2006 for $4 billion and purchased the remaining 20% in 2013 for $2.05 billion. Iscar now operates as a wholly owned Berkshire subsidiary. The Wertheimer family's investment capital is managed separately from Iscar's corporate balance sheet, though the family maintains influence through long-standing operational relationships.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The Wertheimer family's wealth originates from the two-stage sale of Iscar Metalworking Companies to Berkshire Hathaway. The first $4 billion tranche closed in 2006 for an 80% stake, and Warren Buffett paid a further $2.05 billion for the remainder in 2013 — totaling over $6 billion. The company itself was built over 54 years from a single workshop to a multinational manufacturer of carbide cutting tools.
What investment structures does Iscar use — direct, fund commitments, or both?
Iscar invests directly, not through fund commitments. Its known deployment vehicles are joint ventures with industrial partners — Blades Technology Ltd. with Pratt & Whitney and Techjet Aerofoils with Rolls-Royce — and direct ownership of industrial parks and real estate. There is no public evidence of the family acting as a limited partner in third-party funds.
Which sectors does Iscar explicitly avoid?
The firm has shown no appetite for financial services, enterprise software, consumer internet, or life sciences. Its observable portfolio is confined to precision manufacturing, aerospace components, industrial real estate, and economic-development infrastructure in Israel and Turkey — a narrow, hard-asset mandate with no disclosed diversification into intangible-asset sectors.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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