Len Blavatnik (Wikipedia)
Jewish billionaire and philanthropists Len Blavatnik and Henry Swieca may be quitting some of America’s most prestigious Ivy League schools due to their failure to adequately deal with the proliferation of hatred towards Israel and Jews in general in the aftermath of the barbaric October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel. In fact, many students at these schools have been blatantly voicing their support for Hamas and for the destruction of Israel as a nation. Well, Swieca already has quit one.
Henry Swieca, the founder and CEO of Talpion Fund Management, and a graduate of Columbia’s business school, resigned from the Columbia University board of directors explaining, “To my deep regret the reputation and integrity of Columbia University, and by extension, Columbia Business School, have been significantly compromised by a moral cowardice that appears beyond repair.”
In an angry letter to the school he wrote, “This is abhorrent. Any other minority group on campus would never have to face anything close to this level of intimidation and hatred of Jewish and pro-Israel students experience.”
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at office@jewishbusinessnews.com.
Thank you.
Henry Swieca, echoing what was said about the Holocaust, added, “To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.”
Henry Swieca was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City, to two Holocaust survivors from Poland.
Len Blavatnik joined fellow Jewish donor Marc Rowan, Apollo CEO, in announcing his anger at the Ivy League school the University of Pennsylvania. and threatened to cut the school off financially if it did not take action against the anti-Israel groups.
In a letter explaining his decision, as cited in the New York Post, Len Blavatnik wrote, “The university’s condemnation of Hamas’s terrorist attacks … is fundamental to its academic mission and responsibility. So, too, is your recognition that antisemitism is resurgent on campus and that immediate steps are needed.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not close enough to the university to recommend the necessary steps,” he added. “Accordingly, I will rely on the guidance of my friend and colleague, Marc Rowan, as things move forward.”
Len Blavatnik is a Ukrainian-American businessman, investor and collector. He is the chairman and CEO of Acax Group , a multinational conglomerate . Blavatnik is one of the richest people in the world, with a net worth of $22.8 billion in 2023.
Blavatnik was born in 1957 in the Ukrainian city of Odessa. His father was an engineer and his mother was a housewife. Blavatnik graduated from the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineering in 1978 and later received a master’s degree in computer science from Columbia University in 1983.
Len Blavatnik has been honored with many awards for her social work. He was awarded the American-Ukrainian Business Council’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” award in 2014 and was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2015.
