Three Times Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was born on 21 October 1949 in Tel Aviv, Isreal. Benjamin is also known by nickname as Bibi.
He grew up in Jerusalem with his two brothers Iddo Netanyahu and Yonatan Netanyahu. He spent most of his teen years living in the Philadelphia area. His father, noted Jewish historian Benzion Netanyahu, worked as a professor, and his mother, Zila Netanyahu, serve as housewives. His older brother Yonathan Netanyahu (Yoni) died a National Hero rescuing hostages from the Entebbe Airport in 1976, and his younger brother Iddo Netanyahu is a radiologist and writer.
71-year-old Benjamin attended Henrietta Szold Elementary School when he was in Jerusalem. His family moved to Philadelphia, United States, in 1963, and he enrolled at ‘Cheltenham High School’ from where he graduated in 1967. He then left for Israel to enlist in the Israeli Army.
He returned to the US in late 1972 and enrolled at the 'Massachusetts Institute of Technology' to study architecture. However, he went back to Israel in 1973 to fight in the 'Yom Kippur War' for a 40-day period. Again, he returned to the US to complete his studies and earned an S.B. degree in architecture in 1975 and received an S.M. degree from the 'MIT Sloan School of Management' in 1977. At the same time, he also studied political science at ‘Harvard University.’
Benjamin Netanyahu has a height of 6 feet or 1.80 m.
Is Benjamin Netanyahu Married?
Benjamin Netanyahu is currently married to Sara Netanyahu since 1991. From their marriage, the couple has been blessed with two children Yair and Avner.
Netanyahu has a daughter, Noa, from his previous marriage with Miriam Weizmann in 1972, which ended in 1978. He was also married to Fleur Caters from 1981 to 1984.
Talking about his current married life, Benjamin first met Sara when she worked as an air hostess.
Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu (©: cdni.rt.com)
For many of Benjamin's choice, Sara decides political decision and appointment for him. She chooses the workers, the people around him, the staff, his secretary. On 21 June 2018, Sara was charged with fraud over the misuse of public funds.
Benjamin's oldest son, Yair, who is very active on social media and often defends his father's policies, posted a picture of the Hindu goddess Durga, with Liat Ben Ari's face, the prosecutor in his father's corruption cases, superimposed over the goddess' face.
How Much Is Benjamin Netanyahu Net Worth?
Benjamin Netanyahu is an Israeli politician and the three times Prime Minister of Isreal who has acquired a net worth of $11 million.
Benjamin Netanyahu trained as a combat soldier in the ‘Israeli Defense Forces’ and was on the team that rescued a hijacked jet plane at the Tel Aviv airport in 1972. During the rescue mission, he was shot in the shoulder.
After completing Benjamin's education, he was appointed as a management consultant for the ‘Boston Consulting Group’ in Massachusetts, where he worked from 1976 to 1978. In 1978, Benjamin returned to Israel, and over a period of time, he started connecting with several Israeli politicians.
In 1982, prominent politician Moshe Arens selected Benjamin as his Deputy Chief of Mission at the ‘Israeli Embassy’ in Washington, D.C., which he held until 1984. He was elected a Knesset member by the ‘Likud Party’ in 1988 and served as deputy minister for foreign affairs. He was chosen as the party’s prime ministerial candidate in the 1996 Israeli legislative election. He won the election, defeating incumbent ‘Labor’ candidate Shimon Peres and assumed office on 18 June 1996.
Benjamin signed the ‘Hebron’ and ‘Wye Accords,’ expanded government privatization, liberalized currency regulations, and reduced deficits during his term. Ehud Barak defeated him in the 1999 elections. Following his defeat, he retired from politics and served as a senior consultant with Israeli communications equipment developer ‘BATM’ for two years.
After the losses, Benjamin returned to politics in 2002 and served as the minister of foreign affairs from November 2002 to February 2003. He then became the minister of finance, serving in this position till August 2005. During his term as the finance minister, he implemented several economic reforms to restore Israel’s economy. Benjamin introduced reforms in the banking system and was also in favor of more liberalized markets.
Following the elections in February 2009, Benjamin was elected as the prime minister once again. He kept the minister of economic strategy, minister of health, and minister for senior citizens. After the victory in the 2013 elections, he was elected as the prime minister for a third term. He was also elected as the prime minister for the fourth term after the 2015 election. Since 2016, Netanyahu has been under investigation by the Israeli police for several alleged corruption scandals.