Arnon Milchan
Arnon Milchan | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 6, 1944 Rehovot, Mandatory Palestine |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, film producer, ex-intelligence agent |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Known for | Founder of Regency Enterprises; producer of over 130 films including L.A. Confidential, The Revenant, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman |
Arnon Milchan (; born December 6, 1944) is an Israeli billionaire entrepreneur, film producer, and ex-intelligence agent. Having contributed to more than 130 feature films, he established the production company Regency Enterprises. Among Regency's notable projects are 12 Years a Slave, JFK, Heat, Fight Club, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Milchan received two Academy Award for Best Picture nominations for producing L.A. Confidential and The Revenant. Additionally, he was involved in producing Best Picture nominees such as The Big Short, 12 Years a Slave, and Birdman, with the latter two winning the award consecutively. Between the mid-1960s and mid-1980s, Milchan worked as an operative for Israeli intelligence.
By January 2024, Forbes valued Milchan’s fortune at approximately US$3.3 billion, placing him 937th worldwide and ranking him as the 13th richest individual in Israel.
Early life
Milchan was born in Rehovot, Mandatory Palestine, into a Jewish family. He has one sister named Dalia. His maternal lineage traces back to European Jewish followers of rabbi Vilna Gaon who settled in Palestine during the early 1800s; Milchan is the eighth generation of his family to live in the area.
Business career
At age 21, Milchan took over his father’s fertilizer enterprise and successfully expanded it into a thriving chemical company. He completed his education at the London School of Economics. Subsequently, his firm, Milchan Brothers Ltd., was enlisted by Lekem, an Israeli intelligence organization responsible for securing technology for Israel’s nuclear initiatives and other covert operations.
Film production career
Milchan ventured into filmmaking in 1977 after forming a connection with American producer Elliot Kastner. In 1981, he collaborated with Sydney Pollack on the American miniseries Masada. Over time, he cultivated strong professional relationships with directors such as Martin Scorsese, alongside personal friendships with actors and filmmakers including Robert De Niro, Roman Polanski, Sergio Leone, Terry Gilliam, and Oliver Stone. In 1991, he launched New Regency Productions. Through Regency’s alliances with studios like Warner Bros. and later 20th Century Fox under Rupert Murdoch, as well as business ventures including investments in Puma AG, Milchan accumulated an estimated net worth of $5.1 billion.
His production credits exceed 130 titles, featuring films such as Noah (2014), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Brazil (1985), Pretty Woman (1990), JFK (1991), Under Siege (1992), Natural Born Killers (1994), Heat (1995), L.A. Confidential (1997), Fight Club (1999), Unfaithful (2002), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005), and Knight and Day (2010). Although not credited as a nominee, he contributed to Oscar-winning Best Pictures such as 12 Years a Slave and Birdman.
Milchan holds the broadcasting rights for the WTA. His former spouse is model Brigitte Genmaire; he is currently married to former South African tennis player Amanda Coetzer. He owns a distribution network that supplies Israeli television content to audiences in the US and Canada, maintains partial ownership of Israel's TV Channel 10, and previously owned Puma sportswear.
Intelligence career
Questions regarding Milchan's participation in arms trafficking and intelligence activities emerged following the 1985 indictment of Dr. Richard Kelly Smyth, an aerospace executive convicted of illegally exporting Krytrons—components essential for nuclear weapon detonators—through one of Milchan's enterprises. These allegations largely remained unconfirmed rumors until biographers Meir Doron and Joseph Gelman released the unauthorized biography Confidential in 2011. The publication exposed Milchan’s involvement in espionage, arms trading, and procuring advanced technology for Israel's nuclear weapons program. It revealed that until the mid-1980s, Milchan operated as a dedicated agent for Israel’s clandestine intelligence organization, Lekem, managing government-funded accounts and front companies that supported Israeli intelligence missions overseas.[1]
Israeli President Shimon Peres, who initially recruited Milchan, spoke about his critical strategic contributions:
On November 25, 2013, Milchan publicly acknowledged the principal assertions made in Confidential during an appearance on Israel’s Channel 2 documentary show Uvda, attracting global media attention.[2]
Peres recounted recruiting Milchan in the 1960s for the Israeli Bureau of Scientific Relations (LEKEM or LAKAM), a secret agency dedicated to acquiring military technologies and conducting scientific espionage. Milchan confessed to acting as a covert arms supplier for Israel and utilizing his network to support South Africa’s apartheid government in exchange for uranium crucial to Israel’s nuclear arsenal.[3]
In June 2023, Milchan disclosed his close friendship with future Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing their relationship as "like brothers," forged during their intelligence service tenure.[4]
Controversy
In February 2018, Israeli Police recommended bribery charges against Arnon Milchan and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in "Case 1000," which involved alleged illicit gifts from Milchan to Netanyahu in return for favorable tax legislation benefiting Milchan within Israel. This law, colloquially known as "Milchan's Law," was designed to prolong Milchan's status as a returning resident to secure tax advantages. Authorities indicated that the value of gifts from Milchan surpassed one million shekels. Additionally, Milchan organized fundraising events for Netanyahu, including a private 2014 gathering in Malibu that caused notable disturbances locally. Excerpts from Milchan's police interrogation were included in the 2024 documentary The Bibi Files.
On June 25, 2023, Milchan commenced testimony as a prosecution witness in Case 1000, acknowledging he provided the Netanyahu family with presents such as cigars, champagne, and jewelry, often under code names. He insisted these acts were friendly gestures rather than bribes. Due to health concerns, Milchan gave his testimony remotely via video link from a courthouse in Brighton, United Kingdom, instead of appearing personally in Jerusalem.
Personal life
Milchan's first marriage was to French model Brigitte Genmaire, and together they had three children: Elinor, Alexandra, and Yariv. Elinor has pursued a career in professional photography, while Alexandra works as a film producer. Subsequently, Milchan wed South African former tennis professional Amanda Coetzer, with whom he has two children named Shimon and Olivia.
In 2014, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have requested U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on three occasions to facilitate a long-term U.S. visa for Milchan. Since 2016, Milchan has not maintained residence in Israel.
Art collecting
Milchan is recognized as an influential art collector. In April 2015, CNBC placed him third on their list of "Hollywood's top 10 art collectors," estimating his collection's worth at $600 million. This valuation is similar to that of George Lucas, though it trails behind David Geffen, whose collection was appraised at $2.3 billion.
Production companies
- Embassy International Pictures N.V. (1982–1989)
- Regency International Pictures (1989–1991)
- Alcor Films (1991–1995)
- Regency Enterprises (1991–present)
- New Regency Productions (1991–present)
Producer
Executive Producer
Searchlight Pictures (formerly Fox Searchlight Pictures)]
Executive Producer
| Year | Title | Director | |
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| 1999 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Michael Hoffman | |
| 2005 | "Bee Season" | "Scott McGehee" "David Siegel" |
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| "Street Kings" | "David Ayer" | "2008" | |
| "True Story" | "Rupert Goold" | "2015" |
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20th Century Studios]
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Warner Bros.]
Producer
Co-produced with 20th Century Fox || -|}Executive producer
| Year | Film title | Filmmaker | Comments |
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| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Switch | Blake Edwards |
| JFK | Oliver Stone | |
| 1992 | Memoirs of an Invisible Man | John Carpenter |
| 1993 | Falling Down | Joel Schumacher |
| Free Willy | Simon Wincer | |
| The Nutcracker | Emile Ardolino | |
| 1994 | Natural Born Killers | Oliver Stone |
| Second Best | Chris Menges | |
| The New Age | Michael Tolkin | |
| Cobb | Ron Shelton | |
| 1995 | Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | Dwight H. Little |
| Heat | Michael Mann | |
| 1996 | Tin Cup | Ron Shelton |
| 1997 | Free Willy 3: The Rescue | Sam Pillsbury |
| Breaking Up | Robert Greenwald | |
| 1998 | City of Angels | Brad Silberling |
| Goodbye Lover | Roland Joffé |
TriStar Pictures
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Man on Fire | Élie Chouraqui | |
| 1989 | Who's Harry Crumb? | Paul Flaherty | |
| 1990 | Q&A | Sidney Lumet | |
| 1996 | The Mirror Has Two Faces | Barbra Streisand | Released via Sony Pictures Releasing |
Others
Producer
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
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| 1977 |
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Shapira Films |
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Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
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Distributed by Columbia Pictures |
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USA Films distribution |
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Paramount Pictures distribution |
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Paramount Pictures release |
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Remi Weekes |
Netflix platform release |
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Focus Features and Universal Pictures distribution |
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Available on Hulu and Amazon Prime Video |
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Distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures |
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Apple TV+ release platform |
Executive producer
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | ||||
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| The Medusa Touch | Jack Gold | ITC Entertainment |-
2018 |The Girl in the Spider's Web | Fede Álvarez | Sony Pictures Releasing |- rowspan=2 |2019 |The Lighthouse | Robert Eggers | A24 / Focus Features / Universal Pictures |- |
Little Women | Greta Gerwig | Sony Pictures Releasing |-
2021 |Everybody's Talking About Jamie | Jonathan Butterell | Amazon Studios |- 2023 |Occupied City | Steve McQueen | A24 / mk2 Films |} Miscellaneous crew 1977 || Black Joy || Presenter |- 1978 || The Medusa Touch || Credited as In association with |- 1985 || Brazil || rowspan="2"| Presenter |- 1987 || Man on Fire || Presenter role |} Actor
TelevisionExecutive producer
Producer
See alsoFurther reading
External links
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- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
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- 1944 births
- Alumni of the London School of Economics
- Children's and Family Emmy Award winners
- Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award
- Israeli art collectors
- Israeli billionaires
- Israeli businesspeople
- Israeli film producers
- Israeli Jews
- People from Rehovot
- Israeli people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
- Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent
- Israeli spies
- Golden Globe Award–winning producers
- Living people
- Pages with reference errors