JERUSALEM (JTA) — Russian Jewish billionaire Lev Leviev’s Africa Israel Group announced the largest loss in Israel’s history.
The company lost $426 million in 2008, it announced Monday.
Africa Israel, which is 75 percent owned by Leviev, had a net loss of $637 million in the fourth quarter.
The company was affected by the global economic crisis and the drop in real estate value of its holdings in the United States and Russia.
Leviev has been the largest donor to Jewish education programs in the former Soviet Union. The Or Avner school network, which he founded and continues to fund, has had to cut its budget by one-third.
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