Migdal Insurance Company

Shlomo Eliahu is the controlling shareholder of Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. through his private holding entity, Eliahu Issues Ltd. He built his position over a decade, ultimately acquiring full control from previous Italian co-owner Assicurazioni Generali in 2012. The structure places an insurance company with significant public float under the umbrella of a closely held investment vehicle.

Migdal owns two notable Manhattan office properties: 100 Wall Street and 1350 Avenue of the Americas. These are held directly on the insurance company's balance sheet, reflecting a long-term, buy-and-hold approach to gateway-city commercial real estate. The assets function as an inflation hedge and geographic diversifier against the firm's domestic liability profile.

Migdal operates primarily as a regulated Israeli life and general insurer, but its investment portfolio extends well beyond matching bonds to liabilities. The firm makes direct, concentrated bets in global real estate and has filed claims in distressed situations like the Celsius Network bankruptcy. This blends an insurer's balance-sheet discipline with the opportunistic posture of a family-backed investment office.

Eliahu was already a substantial minority shareholder when Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali decided to exit its controlling position. He acquired the remaining shares in a transaction completed in 2012, giving him majority voting control through Eliahu Issues Ltd. The deal was one of the most significant shifts in Israeli financial services ownership in the last two decades.

Migdal's disclosed investment posture centers on fixed income, real estate, and opportunistic credit. There is no public track record of direct venture capital or Israeli tech-startup investing at scale, which distinguishes it from many other large Israeli institutional pools that actively deploy into the local innovation economy.