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Does Berkshire Hathaway support Israel?

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Support documentedupdated 2026-09-25

Yes — Berkshire Hathaway has documented support for Israel on record, including $10,000,000 in donations. Every claim below links to its source.

Filed under: Banks & financial companies · Companies that support Israel

Background

The ISCAR/IMC purchases of 2006 and 2013 were corporate acquisitions by Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which still owns the toolmaker headquartered in Tefen in northern Israel. By contrast, the Israel Bonds purchases, the Rambam hospital donation and the public praise of Israel's economy were actions and words of Warren Buffett personally — not Berkshire corporate transactions — though his standing as Berkshire's chairman is what gave the Israel Bonds events their drawing power. A third, separate thread is FlightSafety International Inc., a wholly owned Berkshire subsidiary since 1996/97: between 2020 and 2021 it held four US Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales contracts, worth about $2.07 million combined, to train Israeli Air Force pilots on Gulfstream GV/G550 simulators — ordinary US-government-funded defense training business conducted by a fully controlled subsidiary, not a donation.

Berkshire Hathaway (press release) Times of Israel

Timeline of documented support

200620082010201220142016201820202006-07 — Acquisition: Iscar Metalworking Companies / IMC (Tefen, Israel) — purchased from the Wertheimer familyAcquisition2006-072013-05 — Public statement: State of Israel (public remarks)Public statement2013-052013-05 — Acquisition: IMC International Metalworking Companies (remaining 20%, Wertheimer family)Acquisition2013-052013-12 — Donation: Rambam Health Care Campus (Haifa, Israel)Donation2013-122016-11 — Investment / program: State of Israel Bonds (Development Corporation for Israel)Investment / program2016-112020 — Government contract: US Department of Defense, Foreign Military Sales case for the Israeli Air Force — paid to FlightSafety International Inc.Government contract2020

Documented support

TypeDateAmountRecipientSources
Acquisition2006-07-05$4,000,000,000Iscar Metalworking Companies / IMC (Tefen, Israel) — purchased from the Wertheimer family
Berkshire Hathaway acquired 80% of Iscar Metalworking Companies (IMC), the metal-cutting-tool group headquartered in Tefen in northern Israel, for $4 billion in cash — a transaction valuing IMC at $5 billion and Berkshire's first acquisition of a company based outside the United States. Announced May 5, 2006 and completed July 5, 2006; IMC continued to be led by chairman Eitan Wertheimer from Israel.
Acquisition2013-05-01$2,050,000,000IMC International Metalworking Companies (remaining 20%, Wertheimer family)
Berkshire Hathaway bought the 20% of IMC/ISCAR it did not already own from the Wertheimer family for $2.05 billion, implying a valuation of roughly $10 billion and making the Israeli toolmaker a wholly owned Berkshire subsidiary.
Public statement2013-05—State of Israel (public remarks)
After completing the ISCAR buyout, Warren Buffett — Berkshire's chairman and CEO, speaking personally to Israeli media — said 'Israel is the leading, largest and most promising investment hub outside the United States,' that 'for me, the number-one country is Israel,' and that ISCAR 'will stay in Israel as long as I'm alive.'
Donation2013-12$10,000,000Rambam Health Care Campus (Haifa, Israel)
Warren Buffett personally donated $10 million to Rambam hospital in Haifa, announced by ISCAR's Eitan Wertheimer at the hospital's 75th-anniversary dinner. This was a personal gift by Buffett, not a Berkshire Hathaway corporate donation.
Investment / program2016-11$5,000,000State of Israel Bonds (Development Corporation for Israel)
Warren Buffett personally bought $5 million of Israel Bonds at an Omaha event he hosted for 43 investors that raised about $60 million, telling buyers 'I believe Israel is going to be around forever' and 'if you are looking for brains, energy and dynamism in the Middle East, Israel is the only place you need to go.' He hosted further Israel Bonds events in New York in June 2017 expected to bring the total raised to roughly $200 million. These were personal purchases and appearances by Buffett, not Berkshire corporate investments.
Government contract2020$2,071,431US Department of Defense, Foreign Military Sales case for the Israeli Air Force — paid to FlightSafety International Inc.
Between January 2020 and December 2021 the US Department of Defense awarded four Foreign Military Sales contracts, together worth about $2.07 million, to FlightSafety International Inc. to provide Gulfstream GV/G550 flight-simulator training to Israeli Air Force pilots: FA300220F0043 ($363,300, Jan 2020, recurrent GV/G550 training), FA300221F0038 ($802,632, Jan 2021, CY21 training for 18 students), FA300221F0100 ($571,986, Jun 2021, CY21 training for 17 students) and FA300222F0032 ($333,513, Dec 2021, training for nine pilots under FMS case IS-DTOC). These are contracts with the US government, funded through the Foreign Military Sales program with the Israeli Air Force as the named end user — not donations. usaspending.gov's automated matcher flagged all four as recipient_matches_company:false because the recipient field reads "FlightSafety International Inc.", not "Berkshire Hathaway"; the flag is correct about the string, but FlightSafety International has been a wholly owned Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary since Berkshire's 1996 acquisition (closed 1997) — confirmed in Berkshire's own SEC Exhibit 21 subsidiary lists and on its current official subsidiaries page, and stated by FlightSafety itself ("A Berkshire Hathaway company"). Because it is wholly owned and controlled, not a minority stake or franchisee, its federal contracts are recorded here rather than treated as an unrelated collision.
Donations total$10,000,000

Frequently asked questions

Did Berkshire Hathaway donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?

Yes. Documented donations total $10,000,000, including $10,000,000 to Rambam Health Care Campus (Haifa, Israel). Each donation is listed on this page with its date and source.

How much has Berkshire Hathaway given?

Documented donations total $10,000,000. The largest single recorded item is $10,000,000 to Rambam Health Care Campus (Haifa, Israel) (2013-12).

Where does this information come from?

Every record on this page links to its source — news reports, official company statements, tax filings, or government records. 18 distinct sources are cited for Berkshire Hathaway. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-09-25

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