Chaim "Poju" Zabludowicz (born 6 April 1953) is a Finnish-British-Israeli billionaire businessman, art collector and philanthropist."People", Zabludowicz Collection. Retrieved on 26 June 2013.
Early life and education Chaim ("Poju") Zabludowicz was born in Helsinki, Finland, the son of arms industry businessman Shlomo Zabludowicz, who built the family business around Soltam, an Israeli defence contractor.Korin-Lieber, Stella (4 February 2013). "Pujo Zabludowicz mulls raising stake in El Al parent". Globes. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
He was raised in Tampere, where he attended , the Swedish-speaking school in the city. He graduated with a degree in Economics and Political Science from Tel Aviv University.
Personal and family life He is married to UK-born Anita Zabludowicz,Jury, Louise (18 September 2007). "Billionaire's wife gives young artists a chance". The Evening Standard (London). Retrieved 26 June 2013. who, in 2015, was appointed an OBE for her services to the arts."New Year's honours 2016: the full list". The Guardian (London). 30 December 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
Zabludowicz and his family reside mainly on The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead, a street in London referred to as Billionaire's Row, and have homes in Caesarea, Tel Aviv, and Sarvisalo, a small island in Finland. They purchased the house on The Bishops Avenue in 1989, and later purchased the adjacent house in 1997.Mills, T., Miller, D., Griffin, T., & Aked, H. (2013). "The Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre Giving peace a chance?". Spinwatch (Glasgow). Retrieved 25 December 2013. The £60 million pair of "his and hers" mansions have an adjoining art gallery.Arnold, Stuart (27 April 2012). "Newcastle United chairman rises up rich league". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 23 June 2013. They also own a 120-ft yacht.Hastings, Sophie (11 July 2011). "Anita Zabludowicz, the exhibitionist". The Evening Standard (London). Retrieved 23 June 2013. In January 2017, it was revealed that Zabludowicz purchased a ₪25 million home in Neve Tzedek, a neighborhood of Tel Aviv.Mirovsky, Arik (10 January 2017). "פויו זבלודוביץ' רכש בית בנווה צדק בתל אביב ב-25 מיליון שקל" (in Hebrew). The Marker.. Retrieved 10 January 2017. This purchase was listed as the 11th most expensive real estate deal in Israel in 2016.Tsur, Shlomit (12 March 2017). "Israel's top 30 real estate deals in 2016". Globes. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
In 2008, Zabludowicz was listed at number 30 in The Jewish Chronicle Top 100, a "list of those who wield the greatest influence on British Jewry.""JC Power 100: Sacks stays on top, as new names emerge" . The Jewish Chronicle (London). 8 May 2008. Retrieved on 30 June 2013. In 2014, he was listed at number 75.
In 2015, in its annual ranking of the wealthiest people in Israel, Forbes Israel ranked Zabludowicz 13th with a personal net worth of ₪8.7 billion."100 העשירים בישראל 2015" (in Hebrew). Forbes Israel. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015. He was also ranked 37th on The Estates Gazette Rich List, a comprehensive guide to the wealth of those involved in the UK's property market, compiled by the authors of The Sunday Times Rich List.Pio Kivlehan, Noella & Beresford, Philip (30 October 2015). "Estates Gazette Rich List 2015". Estates Gazette. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
In 2017, Poju and Anita Zabludowicz were ranked the 9th richest couple in Britain.Brinded, Lianna (2 May 2017). "The 9 richest couples in Britain". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
The Sunday Times Rich List 2021 of the wealthiest people in the United Kingdom ranked Poju and Anita Zabludowicz 111th with a personal net worth of £1,500 million."The Sunday Times Rich List 2021: the top 250". The Sunday Times. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
Business career
After graduation, Zabludowicz worked at BFG Bank AG in Frankfurt."Poju Zabludowicz" , The Jewish Leadership Council. Retrieved on 26 June 2013.
In 1978, Zabludowicz was appointed a director of Tamares, the family's holding company, and has headed the company since 1990. Tamares invests in a number of different private"Selected Investments (Private)" , Tamares. Retrieved on 26 June 2013. and public"Selected Investments (Listed)" , Tamares. Retrieved on 26 June 2013. companies, and in real estate properties."Selected Properties" , Tamares. Retrieved on 26 June 2013. The company owns 40% of the land in downtown Las Vegas."EG Rich List 2007 Nos 1–14". Estates Gazette. 27 November 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2013. Today, Tamares Group holds a $3 billion portfolio. Its real estate holdings encompass 2.3 million square feet of office space."Tamares". Tamares. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
In 1993, Zabludowicz set up Ivory Gate, a property investment company based in London. Using offshore vehicles, Ivory Gate made investments in UK commercial property.
In 2006, Zabludowicz established and was the chairman of the advisory board of Auctor Capital Partners, a corporate finance and advisory house for hedge funds. He has been the chairman of the advisory board of Synova Capital"CV Zabludowicz", Outotec. Retrieved on 26 June 2013.. Businessweek. Retrieved 24 December 2013. from 2007 to 2014, a private equity fund specialising in investments in UK growth companies, and Chairman of Tamares Telecom"Board of Directors" , Tamares Telecom. Retrieved on 26 June 2013. since 2011, a privately held service provider that operates and markets communications services based on a new internationally deployed fibre-optic network.
Zabludowicz was a director of Mustavaaran Kaivos,"Board", Mustavaaran Kaivos. Retrieved on 26 June 2013. a company that owns the mineral rights to the Mustavaara vanadium/iron/titanium deposit in northeastern Finland, and has been a director and member of the Human Capital Committee of Outotec"Board of Directors", Outotec. Retrieved on 22 July 2015. from March 2012 until March 2017, a company that provides technologies and services for the metal and mineral processing industries. Zabludowicz has also served as a member on a number of boards, including the European Advisory Board of Citigroup, the board of directors of GEMS (an Asia Pacific private equity fund), and Stratos Ventures, Businessweek. Retrieved on 26 June 2013. (an early-stage venture capital firm with a focus on information and communication technology sectors).
Zabludowicz is the owner of the Finnish ice hockey team Tappara."Poju Zabludowicz once again figures on British rich-list". Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki). 27 April 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
In June 2016, it was announced that ARTA, a fine art shipping startup based in New York, has raised $1 million in capital from a group of institutional and strategic investors, among them Poju and Anita Zabludowicz.. Blouin ArtInfo Blogs. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
Activism
Judaism and Zionist advocacy
Zabludowicz is the founder and former chairman of BICOM, the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre, an organisation founded in 2001 which lobbies the UK government on behalf of Israel. He is reported to have given the lobby group more than £2 million in three years.Oborne, Peter (13 November 2009) "The pro-Israel lobby in Britain". Open Democracy. Retrieved 30 June 2013. He is a benefactor of the UJIA (United Jewish Israel Appeal),"Become a Benefactor | UJIA". UJIA. Retrieved 20 February 2018. and was a member of the advisory boards of CST (Community Security Trust) and UJIA, and a trustee of Jewish Leadership Council."Jewish Leadership Council Proposes Appointment of New Trustees". Jewish Leadership Council. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Political activism
Zabludowicz has given donations to David Cameron's leadership campaign and to the Conservative Party. According to Electoral Commission records, the Tamares Group provided £15,000 for Cameron's leadership campaign in 2005 and has donated £55,000 to Conservative funds in 2006 and 2007,Woolf, Marie, & Ungoed-Thomas, Jon (30 December 2007). "Vegas casino billionaire bankrolls the Tories". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 4 March 2015. and £131,805 in 2010."JC Power 100: Numbers 100 – 51". The Jewish Chronicle (London). 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2015. To date, Zabludowicz has donated a total of £380,000 to the Conservative Party.Ross, Jamie (30 December 2015). "These Conservative Party Donors Are Getting New Year’s Honours". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
Backing an election campaign for seats in the European Parliament, he donated €8,000 to Alexander Stubb in 2014."Wahlroos ja Zabludowicz lahjoittivat tuhansia euroja Stubbin EU-vaalikampanjaan " (in Finnish). Karjalainen. 7 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
According to The Jewish Chronicle, Zabludowicz hosted secret talks at his London home in March 2011 between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Philanthropy
The Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases opened in Sheba Medical Center through Poju and Anita Zabludowicz's donations. The center centralises under one roof all aspects of autoimmune research and treatment, and brings together physicians and researchers from multidisciplinary fields such as internal medicine, clinical immunology, autoimmunity, rheumatology, ophthalmology, neurology, obstetrics and gynaecology."Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases Dedicated at the Sheba Medical Center". Sheba Medical Center. 11 April 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
The Zabludowicz family sponsors exhibitions, art fairs and fundraising events."Philanthropy", Zabludowicz Collection. Retrieved on 26 June 2013. In 2014, they donated funds for the planned Helsinki Guggenheim."Thursday's papers: Oulu tragedy, adult education cuts and Guggenheim donations flow in". Yle. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
Zabludowicz donated between $100,000–250,000 to the Clinton Foundation.Tapscott, Mark (20 March 2015). "We asked Clinton donors why they gave. Here's what they said". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
Zabludowicz has been a patron of the Finnish British Chamber of Commerce since 2011.
Art collection
Since the 1990s, the Zabludowiczs have been accumulating a 500-artist, 5,000-piece collection of artwork.Halperin, Julia (28 February 2011). "Strategies of a Supercollector: Anita Zabludowicz on the Philosophy Behind Her Armory Week Show". Louise Blouin Media (New York). Retrieved 23 June 2014."Estates Gazette Rich List 2013". Estates Gazette (London). Retrieved 23 June 2014.Slenske, Michael (3 February 2011). "The Zabludowicz Clan Takes Times Square" . Art in America. Retrieved 26 June 2013. They exhibited their private art collection at three different locations, including 176, a gallery in a former 19th-centurary Methodist chapel in Chalk Farm, north London. The London project space operated at 176 Price of Wales Road from 2007 until 2023, presenting exhibitions of works from the collection and new commissions by artists linked to it. Since 2025, the building has been occupied by Camden Arts Projects. One sculpture in the collection, a miniature statue of Jesus with an erection, surrounded by 50 other sculptures also with erections, has been considered "grotesquely offensive" by some Christians, one of whom has said she will bring a private prosecution against the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, which has exhibited the statue.
The skyscraper at 1500 Broadway at Times Square in New York City houses a selection of works from the Zabludowicz Collection. The programme at the New York City venue consists of changing exhibitions and other events while the lobby is publicly open during daytime."New York", Zabludowicz Collection. Retrieved on 26 June 2013.