Jew of the Week: Alexander Mashkevich

Mineral Baron, Media Baron

Alexander Mashkevich

Alexander Mashkevich (b. 1954) One of Kazakhstan’s “Trio” of super-rich men, he owns major reserves of natural resources, particularly aluminum and gas, all over the world. Mashkevich spends much of his time in Israel, where he is the 5th richest man with an estimated $3.5 billion. A very bright individual, he was made dean of a university at age 26. He is currently the president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress and a close friend of Shimon Peres (current President of Israel) and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazabayev. His most recent move was to found a Jewish version of Al-Jazeera.

 

Words of the Week

The Jewish people are a single unit, as it says [Vayikra 19:18]: “You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the members of your people.” It is as if you were cutting meat and the knife slipped and cut your hand. Would that hand cut your other hand in revenge?
– Talmud Yerushalmi, Nedarim 9:4