Morris Kahn
Morris Kahn | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 5, 1930 Benoni, South Africa |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, philanthropist |
| Known for | Founder of Golden Pages Israel, Amdocs, Aurec Group, Coral World marine parks |
| Notable work | Amdocs, Golden Pages Israel, Coral World marine parks |
Morris Kahn (; born 5 March 1930) is an Israeli billionaire entrepreneur known for founding Golden Pages Israel, Amdocs, the Aurec Group, and Coral World marine parks, which include an underwater observatory located in Eilat, Israel. As of August 2025, his net worth is estimated at approximately US$1.1 billion.
Early life
Kahn was born in March 1930 in Benoni, South Africa, as the eldest son of Lithuanian-Jewish parents Philip and Beattie Kahn. During his youth, he was actively involved in the Zionist youth organization Habonim Dror.
In 1956, he made aliyah to Israel with his wife Jacqueline (Jackie) Maloon and their two sons, Benjamin and David.
Business ventures
Kahn’s entrepreneurial journey in Israel began with several ventures including a bicycle manufacturing plant in Beit Shemesh, operated in partnership with Kibbutz Tzora, as well as a cattle business in the Northern Galilee region.
In 1978, together with Shmuel Meitar, Kahn established the Aurec Group, a private equity firm focused initially on investments in cable and telecommunications. One of their early projects involved laying a fiber optic cable connecting Israel to Italy and integrating it into the global communications network.
His breakthrough came with the creation of Israel’s Golden Pages telephone directory in 1968. This success paved the way for co-founding Amdocs in 1982 alongside Shmuel and Tzvi Meitar. Amdocs specializes in customer relationship management and billing software solutions for leading telecom companies worldwide. Listed on NASDAQ, Amdocs reported revenues of $3.6 billion in fiscal year 2015, serves over 300 clients across more than 90 countries, and employs about 26,000 staff members.
Aurec Group’s portfolio also includes Golden Channels, Israel’s pioneering cable television company founded in 1989, and Golden Lines, the nation's first international communications firm launched in 1996. In 1997, Aurec acquired a 50% stake in Netcom and initiated ventures such as AIG Golden Insurance and Alpha Visa-Card.
Kahn is a key investor in Aurum Ventures and supports clean technology water company Atlantium, which employs ultraviolet light for water purification. He is also involved with N-Trig, a manufacturer specializing in multi-touch screen technology. In 2016, Aurum Ventures invested $3 million into Noklaiks (Nucleix), an Israeli startup focused on cancer diagnostics.
He founded Time to Know, a nonprofit digital education platform aimed at enhancing elementary school learning experiences.
A former diving enthusiast, Kahn created Coral World International, a global aquarium enterprise with locations including Eilat (Israel), Maui (Hawaii), Perth (Australia), St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands), Nassau (Bahamas), Oceanworld in Manly (Australia), among others.
Philanthropy
Kahn actively supports Save a Child's Heart (SACH), an organization that facilitates Israeli medical teams traveling worldwide to perform critical surgeries on children irrespective of nationality or religion.
The Morris Kahn Initiative at Tel Aviv University is a $4 million program dedicated to developing advanced 3D cancer models from live tumor samples.
He contributed to the "Big Data Maccabi" project, which assists healthcare providers by utilizing data analytics from blood tests and imaging to improve disease diagnosis.
Kahn is also a benefactor of Serious Fun, a camp designed for children with terminal illnesses, as well as a therapeutic horseback riding program for individuals with disabilities.
In 1999, he established Zalul, a nonprofit committed to cleaning and preserving Israel’s water resources.
As the principal supporter of SpaceIL, Kahn played a crucial role in Israel’s first private lunar mission—Beresheet—launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Although the spacecraft crash-landed during its Moon landing attempt in 2019, the mission was widely recognized as an achievement.
His philanthropic contributions extend to Ben-Gurion University and the National Institute for Biotechnology of the Negev.
Kahn financed the Morris Kahn Institute for Human Immunology and co-founded the Kahn Family Research Center for Systems Biology of the Human Cell with the Weizmann Institute of Science.
He also supports the Morris Kahn and Maccabi Health Data Science Institute, which develops comprehensive databases covering Maccabi Healthcare Services’ membership of 2.5 million people.
Additionally, Kahn funds the Jinka Eye Camp located in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, enabling Israeli ophthalmologists to restore vision for rural populations affected by cataracts and trachoma.
Honours
In November 2016, Kahn was appointed honorary president of the 20th Maccabiah by the Maccabi World Union, and he officially inaugurated the Games in Jerusalem in July 2017.
Bar-Ilan University conferred upon him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his contributions toward establishing laboratories and supplying equipment. He was also awarded honorary doctorates from Tel Aviv University in 2023 and from the University of Haifa in 2024.
In 2018, Kahn received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bonei Zion Prize.
Personal life
Kahn is the father of two sons, David and Benjamin Kahn, the latter being a marine biologist acknowledged by Time Magazine for his environmental initiatives.
He was married to Jacqueline until her death in 2011 and currently lives in Beit Yanai, located north of Tel Aviv.