| Adam Milstein | |||||||||||
| Birth Date: | [1] | ||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Haifa, Israel | ||||||||||
| Citizenship: | American, Israeli | ||||||||||
| Education: | Technion (BSc) USC (MBA) | ||||||||||
| Occupation: | Real estate investor | ||||||||||
| Children: | 3 | ||||||||||
| Chairman of the Israeli-American Council Managing Partner of Hager Pacific Properties | |||||||||||
| Spouse: | Gila Milstein | ||||||||||
| Criminal Charges: | Tax fraud (2009) | ||||||||||
| Criminal Status: | Convicted | ||||||||||
| Module: |
| ||||||||||
Adam Milstein (Hebrew: אדם מילשטיין; born 1952) is an Israeli-American investor and philanthropist. He is a managing partner at Hager Pacific Properties.
In 2000, Milstein and his wife Gila founded the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation. He is a co-founder of the Israeli-American Council, where he currently serves as chairman emeritus and board member. He was Chairman of the Board of IAC from 2015 to 2019.[2]
Milstein was born in Haifa, Israel, the eldest child of Eva (née Temkin), a homemaker, and Hillel Milstein, a real estate developer.[3]
In 1971, Milstein was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces and served during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Afterwards he enrolled in the Technion, where he graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business and economics. While in college, he worked with his father to expand their real estate construction and development business.[3]
In 1974, Milstein married Gila Elgrably in Haifa.[3] In 1981, the family moved to the United States. In 1983, Milstein received an MBA from the University of Southern California.[4] He started working in commercial real estate as a sales agent.[5]
Milstein is a managing partner of Hager Pacific Properties, overseeing the firm's financing, disposition and accounting.[6] The firm specializes in acquiring, rehabilitating and repositioning industrial, retail, office and multi-family properties.[7] In 2007, Milstein co-founded the Israeli-American Council (IAC).[8]
In 2000, Milstein and his wife Gila founded the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation (MFF). The organization sponsors education of students and young professionals to identify with their Jewish roots, and gain knowledge to advocate for the State of Israel and the Jewish people.[9]
Milstein is a co-founder of the Israeli-American Council.[8] [10] [11] [12] In 2015, he was named chairman of the group.[13] [14] [15]
Milstein also sits on the boards of StandWithUs, Hasbara Fellowships, and PragerU.[16] He previously served on the boards of Israel on Campus Coalition, Jewish Funders Network, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) National Council.[17]
In June 2015, Milstein joined with Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban to organize the inaugural Campus Maccabees summit, which opposes anti-Semitic groups and activities on college campuses in the United States.[18] Milstein strongly opposes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement,[19] [20] and has had several op-ed pieces published on this subject.[21] [22]
Milstein and his wife Gila are co-founders of Sifriyat Pijama B'America, which provides free monthly books in Hebrew to Israeli-Jewish American families in the United States. In 2016, they started "The Impact Forum," an initiative which “fights antisemitism, strengthens the state of Israel, and protects American democracy.”[23] [24]
In 2016, The Jerusalem Post selected Milstein for its list of the world's 50 most influential Jews.[1] [25] In 2015 and 2016, Algemeiner Journal named Milstein to its list, "The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life."[26] [27]
Gil Troy identifies Milstein as a contemporary leader of cultural Zionism in his book The Zionist Ideas; Visions for the Jewish Homeland — Then, Now, Tomorrow (2018). The section on Milstein presents his "vision of Israeliness to invigorate Zionism and Jewish identity—in Israel and abroad."[28]
In 2019, Milstein withdrew from speaking at that year's AIPAC conference, amidst controversy over remarks he made on Twitter about Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.[29]
Milstein and his wife Gila live in Encino, California. They have three daughters and three grandchildren.[30]
In 2009, Milstein pleaded guilty to tax evasion involving his donations to the Spinka Hasidic sect. Milstein served three months in prison, 600 hours of community service, and paid a $30,000 fine.[31] [32]