| Jacob Engel | |
| Native Name: | יעקב אנגל |
| Birth Place: | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Nationality: | Israeli |
| Occupation: | Businessman |
| Known For: | Chairman of Engelinvest Group |
| Children: | 4 |
Jacob Engel (Hebrew: יעקב אנגל) is an Israeli businessman primarily involved in the real estate, infrastructure, technology, and mining fields; chairman of Engelinvest Group.[1] [2] [3]
Engel was born in Zagreb, Croatia. At the age of two, he immigrated to Israel with his family. They initially lived in Ma'abara at Kfar Hasidim[1] and moved to Krayot near Haifa.[4] He earned a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. His first business venture was Dalton, a company that developed security doors and Intercom; after a few years, he sold the company,[3] and Engel became a property developer. During the 1990s post-Soviet aliyah, he built tens of thousands of apartments for the new immigrants[5] in billions of shekels.[6] [7] [8] In 1991, he listed his company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the name Lagna Resources; in 1997, it was registered at the Nasdaq, New York.[3] in 2005, it was registered as an IPO at the London AIM Stock market.[9] His next initiative was property development in Eastern Europe; he constructed and sold tens of thousands of residential units in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Serbia.[5] In 2007, he sold the Lagna company to Azorim for NIS 430 million.[10] [11]
In 2007, Engel founded the Engelinvest group focused on real estate opportunities and investments and began investing in real estate in the United Kingdom with Hezi Hermoni, creating a portfolio valued in hundreds of millions of pounds [12] and also established Engelinvest Renewal, which develops residential projects mainly in central Israel. The company has a portfolio of projects with thousands of residential units. In 2021 and 2022, it was joined by Bank Leumi [13] and Shamrock Holdings.[14] in 2007, Engel founded Elenilto Group, which is involved in the mining sector. 2008, the company acquired 75 percent of Tanzania’s copper mines and 72 of its gold and copper mine franchises.[15] The company also had chromium, copper, iron, gold, and zinc mining licenses for over 9,000 square kilometers in Albania, Congo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Israel, Liberia, and Tanzania.[16] It operated gravel and sand quarries in Eastern Europe and the south and center of Israel.[15] In 2010, Elenilto won one of the world’s most significant iron ore mining tenders in Liberia.[17] [16] In 2011, the company sold it.[18] In 2015, Engel established Tenlot, a company that acts as a technology platform for gaming and lottery activity. It has government licenses and operates in Latin America and Africa.[19] In 2020, White Sands Industries, a subsidiary of Elenilto Group, won an Israel Land Authority tender to operate the Hanaton quarry for 20 years, it will pay $570 Million.[20] Engel, the leading investor in Atooro Fund, invests in technology and start-up companies.[21]
Jacob Engel is married, is a father to four children, and lives in Ramat HaSharon.[1]