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2025-12-01T10:54:34Z

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David: Created page with "The '''Mega Group''' was an informal group of influential Jewish entrepreneurs. It was founded in 1991 by Les Wexner and Charles Bronfman as the '''Study Grou..."

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Created page with "The '''Mega Group''' was an informal group of influential Jewish entrepreneurs. It was founded in 1991 by Les Wexner and Charles Bronfman as the '''Study Grou..."

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The '''Mega Group''' was an informal group of influential [[Jews|Jewish]] entrepreneurs. It was founded in 1991 by [[Les Wexner]] and [[Charles Bronfman]] as the '''Study Group'''. The group met twice yearly for [[philanthropy]] and Judaism seminars. It is said to have had up to 50 members, including [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] director [[Steven Spielberg]]. Wexner led the group with Bronfman, and it inspired several philanthropic initiatives such as the [[Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education]], [[Birthright Israel]], and support for the renewal of [[Hillel International]]. The group became known to a wider public through a ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' report in May 1998.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Lisa |title=Titans of Industry Join Forces To Work for Jewish Philanthropy |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB894240270899870000 |access-date=2024-02-28 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref>

As a [[Israel lobby in the United States|pro-Israel lobby]] group, the organization is also said to have tried to influence [[US foreign policy in the Middle East]]. In 2003, it employed [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] political consultant [[Frank Luntz]] to help the group mobilize support for Israel.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2021-06-08 |title=The Mogul and the Monster: Inside Jeffrey Epstein's Decades-Long Relationship With His Biggest Client |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/06/inside-jeffrey-epsteins-decades-long-relationship-with-his-biggest-client |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref> Under the name MEGA, the group is also said to have had contacts with the Israeli intelligence agency [[Mossad]] and to have served as a "vehicle for influence operations in the United States".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Former NSA counterspy says Jeffrey Epstein was part of Israeli network |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jan/10/inside-ring-former-nsa-counterspy-says-jeffrey-eps/ |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Washington Times |quote=Former National Security Agency counterspy John Schindler... said in a long report on his Top Secret Umbra blog this week that Epstein appears to have been part of a shadowy Israeli influence operation known as MEGA.}}</ref>

[[Jeffrey Epstein]] is said to have used the group to build up his network of high-ranking contacts in business, media, and politics. Wexner was Epstein's primary financial supporter yet later claimed to have known nothing of his criminal activities.<ref name=":0" />

== Members ==
The following were named as members of the group:<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
* [[Les Wexner]]
* [[Charles Bronfman]]
* [[Edgar Bronfman Sr.|Edgar Bronfman]]
* [[Max Fisher]]
* [[Michael Steinhardt]]
* [[Leonard Abramson]]
* [[Harvey Meyerhoff]]
* [[Laurence Tisch]]
* [[Charles Schusterman]]
* [[Steven Spielberg]]
* [[Lester Crown]]
* [[Marvin Lender]]
* [[Ronald Lauder]]

== References ==

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 * [[Les Wexner]]
 * [[Charles Bronfman]]
-* [[Edgar Bronfman Sr.|Edgar Bronfman]]
+* [[Edgar Miles Bronfman, Sr.|Edgar Bronfman]]
 * [[Max Fisher]]
 * [[Michael Steinhardt]]

The Mega Group - Revision history

David: /* Members */

David: Created page with "The '''Mega Group''' was an informal group of influential Jewish entrepreneurs. It was founded in 1991 by Les Wexner and Charles Bronfman as the '''Study Grou..."