Benzion Schalom Eliezer Freshwater
Benzion Schalom Eliezer Freshwater (born April 1948).
Contents
Early life
Benzion Shalom Eliezer Freshwater[1] is the son of Osias Freshwater (1897–1976), born in the village of Sassov, Galicia, Poland, who emigrated to England in 1939. His wife and three children died in the Holocaust. In 1947 he married Nechama Golda Stempel née Halberstam, widowed daughter of Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam, the second Bobover Rebbe, and they had two sons, Benzion and Solomon. Shlomo and Benzion Freshwater are thus descendants of the Bobov dynasty.
Osias built up Daejan Holdings into one of London's largest private landlords and his sons, Benzion and Rabbi Shlomo are now Executive Directors.[2]
Career
As of 2008 he had 279 directorships[3] but operates mainly through Daejan Holdings plc, a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange, in which his family has a 79% stake.[4] Daejan's UK portfolio is managed by Highdorn, part of the Freshwater Group of Companies.
In the Sunday Times Rich List his fortune has risen from £1 billion in 2009 to £1.6 billion in 2016.[4][5] According to the 2020 edition his net worth was estimated at £2.054 billion.[6]
Philanthropic activities
He is a trustee of Mayfair Charities Limited, a registered charity which disbursed £8,553,000 in 2007-8 to "organisations and institutions engaged in the provision of education and promotion of religious observance within the tenets of orthodox Judaism and for the relief of poverty."[7]
It is reported that Benzion and Shlomo have provided 'generous backing and support' to the Bobov-45 fraction of the Bobov sect for renovation of a school in Borough Park, Brooklyn.[8]
The Yeshiva World reports:
- This upcoming Sunday, Feb 17th, will be an emotional one for benefactors and supporters of Bobov-45 as the Kehilla celebrates the culmination of an extensive project that saw the community purchase and renovate the future home of its girls school and the thousands of students who receive an exceptional education in this Beis Chinuch. The 150,000 SF building located on 15th avenue in Borough Park is the largest of its kind for any institution in the neighborhood and will be able to meet the school’s growing need for space. With nearly 4,000 students enrolled in the Bobov-45 school system, the community was faced with an increasing need for space. To that end, a $7-million building was purchased on behalf of the Talmud Torah and another $4-million home was acquired for the Yeshiva boys.[8]
Affiliations
Charitable Trustee
- The Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations Appointed Trustee 29 August 2013
- Regent Charities Limited
- Sassov Beis Hamedrash
- Service to the Aged
- The Raphael Freshwater Memorial Association
- Beth Jacob Grammar School for Girls Limited
- Mayfair Charities Limited
- Pardes House and Beis Yaacov Primary Schools Foundation
Company director
See also
- Top 100 philanthropists in the UK - The Sunday Times Giving List 2022
- Charitable spending of the largest 100 UK family foundations
- The Sunday Times Rich List 2022
Resources
Notes
- ↑ Charity Commission tells Jewish charity to appoint at least one 'fully independent' trustee. Thirdsector.co.uk
- ↑ History February 28, 2009 }}
- ↑ Property Evening Standard, 30 November 2007. Retrieved from the Internet Archive of 5 November 2008.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rich List. Business.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
- ↑ The Sunday Times Rich List 2017 Archive
- ↑ Rich List 2020: profiles 51-100, featuring Bernie Ecclestone, The Sunday Times.
- ↑ https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00927985
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/general/1680535/today-bobov-45-readies-for-ceremony-celebrating-rededication-of-massive-150000-square-ft-school-building-video-photos.html
