Dan David

Dan David (Hebrew: דן דוד‎; ‎23 May 1929 – 6 September 2011) was a Romanian-born Israeli businessman and philanthropist.

Biography

Dan David was born to a Jewish family in Bucharest, Romania. He joined a Zionist youth movement at the age of 16. After studying economics at university, he worked for Romanian television and became a press photographer. In 1958, his newspaper asked him to travel to West Germany on an assignment. When he requested an exit permit, he was accused of being a Zionist activist and was fired from his job.^[1]

He left Romania for Paris in August 1960, later settling in Israel. The following year, he traveled to Europe. With a $200,000 loan from a cousin, he won the franchise for Photo-Me International automated photography booths in certain countries. He opened branches in Israel, Spain, Romania and Italy, eventually taking over the company.^[2] When David was chairman^[3] of Photo-Me in 1999, his and board-member Serge Crasnianski's shares were valued at 210 and 200 million pounds, respectively.^[4]

David died in London on September 6, 2011.^[5]

Dan David Prize

In 2000, David founded the Dan David Foundation with a $100 million endowment. The Foundation, together with Tel Aviv University, awards the Dan David Prize (first awarded in 2002), which consists of annual awards of three prizes of $1 million each awarded to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution in the fields of science, technology, culture or social welfare.^[6]

References

1. ^ Businessman-philanthropist Dan David dies in London
2. ^ "The true worth of Dan David". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/923356.html. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
3. ^ Cope, Nigel (2000-08-05). "Institutions demand a boardroom clear-out at Photo-Me". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/institutions-demand-a-boardroom-clearout-at-photome-711985.html. Retrieved 15 September 2010. "Dan David, the 71-year-old chairman... Serge Crasnianski, the chief executive" 
4. ^ "Business: The Economy UK Net millionaires boom". BBC News. 1999-10-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/464208.stm. Retrieved 15 September 2010. 
5. ^ Businessman-philanthropist Dan David dies in London
6. ^ http://www.dandavidprize.org Dan David Prize

External links

• Official Dan David Prize website, including complete list of all laureates by year.

Persondata
Name	David, Dan
Alternative names
Short description	Businessman and philanthropist
Date of birth	23 May 1929
Place of birth	Bucharest, Romania
Date of death	6 September 2011
Place of death	London, England, UK