Morris Kahn

Morris Kahn
מוריס קאן
Born(1930-03-05)5 March 1930
Benoni, South Africa
Died1 January 2026(2026-01-01) (aged 95)
Israel
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFounder and chairman of Aurec Group
SpouseJackie Maloon (died 2011)
Children2, including Benjamin Kahn

Morris Kahn (Hebrew: מוריס קאן; 5 March 1930 – 1 January 2026) was an Israeli billionaire businessman. He was the founder of Golden Pages Israel, Amdocs, the Aurec Group, Coral World and other companies. Through Coral World, he founded several marine parks around the world, including an underwater observatory in Eilat, Israel.[1] As of August 2025, his net worth was estimated at US$1.1 billion.[2][3]

Early life

Morris Kahn was born in March 1930[4] in Benoni, South Africa, to a Jewish family from Lithuania. He is the eldest child of Philip and Beattie Kahn.[5] He was an active member of the Zionist youth group, Habonim.[6]

In 1956, Kahn moved from South Africa to Israel with his wife, Jacqueline (Jackie) Maloon, and their two sons, Benjamin and David.[7][8][9]

Business ventures

Kahn’s business career in Israel began with a few business ventures, including a bicycle factory in Beit Shemesh in partnership with Kibbutz Tzora; and a cattle company in the Northern Galilee.[9]

In 1978 Kahn and Shmuel Meitar founded the Aurec Group,[10] an Israeli-based private equity firm which started with investments in the cable and telecom sectors.[11] This led to the installation of a fiber optic cable from Israel to Italy, which connected Israel to the rest of the world.[10]

His first major success began with the establishment of the Golden Pages telephone directory in Israel in 1968,[12] which led to the co-founding of Amdocs in 1982,[13] together with Shmuel and Tzvi Meitar.[14][6] Amdocs provides customer relationship management and billing software for big telecommunications firms.[8] The company, which is traded on NASDAQ (revenue in fiscal 2015: $3.6 billion) currently serves more than 300 clients in more than 90 countries,[15] and has about 26,000 employees.[10]

Aurec also owned Golden Channels, Israel's first cable company, founded in 1989[12][16] and Golden Lines, Israel's first international communications company, founded in 1996.[12]

In 1997 the Aurec Group acquired 50% of Netcom, the launch of AIG Golden Insurance and Alpha Visa-Card.[12]

Kahn was a principal investor in Aurum Ventures and the clean tech water company Atlantium,[17] that uses UV rays to disinfect water,[6] and N-Trig, a manufacturer of multi-touch screens for computers. In 2016 Aurum Ventures invested $3 million in a new method of diagnosing cancer developed by Noklaiks (Nucleix) Israel.[18]

Time to Know is a digital education platform which Kahn first launched as a nonprofit organization focused on improving grade school education.[8]

Kahn, a former diver, founded Coral World International, a group of aquariums around the world in Eilat, Israel; Maui, Hawaii; Perth, Australia; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands;[19] Coral Island Nassau, The Bahamas; Oceanworld in Manly, Australia;[20] and elsewhere.[11]

Philanthropy

Kahn supported the work of Save a Child's Heart (SACH), an organization that brings Israeli doctors around the world to perform life-saving surgery and medical monitoring for children of all races, religions, nationalities, and economic status.[21][22]

The Morris Kahn Initiative is a $4 million program to help develop pioneering cancer research at Tel Aviv University. The initiative’s aim is to develop 3D cancer modeling of live cancer tumors.[23]

"Big Data Maccabi", founded with contributions from Kahn, aims to help medical professionals diagnose illness using the information collected during blood tests, imaging and other diagnostic testing.[24]

He supported Serious Fun, a camp for children with terminal illness, and a therapeutic horse-riding camp for the disabled.[8]

Kahn founded Zalul in 1999, a non-profit foundation which cleans bodies of water in Israel.[8]

Kahn was also the main donor of SpaceIL, the first private company that managed a lunar mission - Beresheet. Beresheet was the first Israeli mission in deep space, the spacecraft was launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 Launcher[25] and it was aimed to land on the Moon on 11 April 2019.[10] The attempt was unsuccessful, the spacecraft crashed into the Moon. The mission was still seen as a success.[26]

Kahn was a supporter of Ben-Gurion University and the National Institute for Biotechnology of the Negev.[27]

The Morris Kahn Institute for Human Immunology was funded by Kahn.[9]

In conjunction with the Weizman Institute, he founded the Kahn Family Research Center for Systems Biology of the Human Cell.[28]

Kahn supported the Morris Kahn and Maccabi Health Data Science Institute, to create a database for the 2.5 million members of the Maccabi Healthcare Services organization.[10]

He sponsored an Omo Valley and Jinka, Ethiopia-based project, Jinka Eye Camp, for volunteer Israeli surgeons to perform operations to restore eyesight to people living in rural villages suffering from eye diseases such as cataracts and trachoma.[29]

Personal life and death

Kahn was married to Jacqueline until her death in 2011.[9] They had two sons, David and Benjamin Kahn, a marine biologist, who was a Time Magazine hero for his work on the environment.[17]

Kahn lived in Beit Yanai, north of Tel Aviv.[27] He died in Israel on 1 January 2026, at the age of 95.[30][31]

Honours

Kahn was named honorary president of the 20th Maccabiah by Maccabi World Union in November 2016, and opened the Games in July 2017 in Jerusalem.[32]

Bar-Ilan University awarded Kahn an honorary doctorate for his support, bringing labs and equipment to the university.[33]

In 2018, Kahn was given a Bonei Zion Prize Lifetime Achievement Award. Kahn was awarded honorary doctorates by Tel Aviv University in 2023, and the University of Haifa in 2024.

References

  1. ^ "מוריס קאהן מונה לנשיא הכבוד של המכביה". www.one.co.il. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Forbes profile: Morris Kahn". Forbes. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  3. ^ "2024 Honorary Degree Recipients". University of Haifa - Board of Governors. June 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  4. ^ "AMDOCS (UK) LIMITED - Officers (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  5. ^ Slier, Lionel (10 July 2009). "Community Buzz" (PDF). South African Jewish Report. p. 7. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Georgi, Anat; Grimland, Guy (9 May 2017). "Confessions of a 'Start-up Junkie'". Haaretz. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  7. ^ http://www.sajr.co.za/docs/default-source/pdf/2009/10-july-2009.pdf
  8. ^ a b c d e "Israeli Billionaire Morris Kahn: Life Beyond the Sea". Forbes.com. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d "Morris Kahn: Serial entrepreneur, serial philanthropist" (PDF). Weizmann Institute. Spring 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Morris Kahn: Honorary Maccabiah president is a modern Maccabean hero". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Morris Kahn, The World's Richest People". Forbes. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  12. ^ a b c d "Morris Kahn - Aurec Group - Globes English". Globes (in Hebrew). 22 December 1999. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  13. ^ Schechter, Asher (29 September 2016). "Behind the Scenes at the Company Behind the Scenes". Haaretz. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  14. ^ Horesh, Hadar (29 October 2016). "Aurec Sells Off Last Israeli Asset Golden Pages". Haaretz. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  15. ^ "Amdocs Corporate Fact Sheet" (PDF). Amdocs. 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Cable TV Council Approves Idan Cable Network Sale to Golden Channels, Fishman - Globes English". Globes (in Hebrew). 5 March 1998. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Israel's 10 richest men and women". Israel21c. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  18. ^ וינרב, גלי (23 May 2016). "אורבימד, זהר זיסאפל ומוריס קאהן משקיעים בחברה לאבחון סרטן - גלובס". Globes. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  19. ^ "Coral World St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands". Coral World. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  20. ^ "Coral World International - Company Profile". Coral World. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  21. ^ "לפחות העולם רואה ומבין ממה אנחנו עשויים באמת". Ynet (in Hebrew). 12 April 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  22. ^ "Saving children in Tanzania". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  23. ^ "Curing cancer in three dimensions?". english.tau.ac.il. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  24. ^ יסעור, מיטל (19 December 2016). "111 איש אותרו כבעלי סיכון לחלות בסרטן המעי הגס". Israel HaYom. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  25. ^ "Israeli Google Lunar XPRIZE Team Is First to Sign Launch Agreement For Private Mission to the Moon On SpaceX Falcon 9". Google Lunar XPRIZE. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  26. ^ "Israeli spacecraft Beresheet crashes as moon landing fails in final moments". 11 April 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Drilling and diving with Israel's Top 10". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  28. ^ "Gut Bacteria, Artificial Sweeteners, and Glucose Intolerance". Newswise. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  29. ^ "Israeli doctors give the gift of sight". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  30. ^ "Billionaire philanthropist Morris Kahn dies at 95". Times of Israel. 1 January 2026. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  31. ^ "Morris Kahn, Jewish billionaire owner of Amdocs and SpaceIL founder, dead at 96". The Jerusalem Post. 1 January 2026. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  32. ^ "Morris Kahn named honorary Maccabiah president". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  33. ^ "Morris Kahn" (PDF). Bar-Ilan University. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
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