Jacob Engel
Jacob Engel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Zagreb, Croatia |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Chairman of Engelinvest Group; founder of Elenilto Group and Tenlot |
| Notable work | Founder of Dalton (security doors and intercom systems company) |
Jacob Engel () is an Israeli billionaire involved in sectors such as real estate, infrastructure, technology, and mining. He holds the position of chairman at Engelinvest Group.
Biography
Born in Zagreb, Croatia, Engel relocated to Israel when he was two years old. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. His entrepreneurial journey began with Dalton, a company specializing in security doors and intercom systems, which he eventually sold. Subsequently, Engel ventured into real estate development, constructing tens of thousands of apartments during the 1990s to accommodate immigrants arriving from the former Soviet Union, generating revenues amounting to billions of shekels.
In 1991, Engel took his firm public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the name Lagna Resources; this entity later secured listings on the Nasdaq in 1997 and London's AIM market in 2005. He broadened his real estate activities into Eastern Europe by developing and selling residential properties across countries including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Serbia. In 2007, Lagna was sold to Azorim for NIS 430 million.
That same year marked the establishment of Engelinvest Group by Engel, focusing on real estate ventures with a significant emphasis on the United Kingdom market in partnership with Hezi Hermoni. This collaboration resulted in a property portfolio valued at several hundred million pounds. Engelinvest Renewal concentrates on residential developments primarily located in central Israel, with thousands of housing units currently underway. Between 2021 and 2022, Bank Leumi and Shamrock Holdings became investors in the group.
Engel also founded Elenilto Group in 2007 to engage in mining operations. By 2008, Elenilto had acquired controlling interests in copper and gold mines within Tanzania and held mining licenses for various minerals—including chromium, copper, iron, gold, and zinc—in countries such as Albania, Congo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Israel, Liberia, and Tanzania. The company additionally managed gravel and sand quarries throughout Eastern Europe and Israel. Elenilto secured a significant iron ore mining contract in Liberia in 2010 but divested this asset by 2011.
In 2015, Engel initiated Tenlot, a technology platform dedicated to gaming and lottery services licensed by governments across Latin America and Africa. In 2020, White Sands Industries—a subsidiary of Elenilto—won a $570 million contract to operate the Hanaton quarry in Israel for a duration of twenty years. Engel is also a prominent investor in Atooro Fund, which supports emerging technology enterprises.
Personal life
Jacob Engel is married with four children and lives in Ramat HaSharon.