Benjamin Netanyahu is an Israeli politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Israel since December 2022, having previously held office from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is also the Chairman of Likud – National Liberal Movement. Netanyahu is the longest-tenured prime minister in the country’s history. He is also the first prime minister to be born in Israel after its Declaration of Independence.
From 1984-1988, Netanyahu was Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations. In 1993, he was elected as the chairman of Likud, becoming Leader of the Opposition. He went on to defeat the incumbent prime minister Shimon Peres at the 1996 election, the first in which the Prime Minister was elected directly by popular vote, and became Israel’s youngest-ever prime minister. After serving a single term, Netanyahu and Likud were heavily defeated in the 1999 election by Ehud Barak’s One Israel party; Netanyahu chose to retire from politics entirely, and entered the private sector.
Several years later, after his successor as Likud Chairman, Ariel Sharon, became prime minister, Netanyahu was convinced to return to politics, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance. As finance minister, Netanyahu initiated major reforms of the Israeli economy that were credited by commentators as having significantly improved Israel’s subsequent economic performance. Netanyahu later clashed with Sharon, eventually resigning over disagreements regarding the Gaza disengagement plan.
Netanyahu returned to the leadership of Likud in December 2005 after Sharon stepped down to form a new party, Kadima. He was the Leader of the Opposition from 2006 to 2009. Although Likud finished second in the 2009 election to Kadima, Netanyahu was able to form a coalition government with other right-wing parties and was sworn in as prime minister for a second time. He went on to lead Likud to victory in the 2013 and 2015 elections.
After the April 2019 election resulted in no party being able to form a government, a second election in 2019 took place. In the September 2019 election, the centrist Blue and White alliance, led by Benny Gantz, emerged slightly ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud; however, neither Netanyahu nor Gantz was able to form a government. After continued political deadlock, this was resolved when Likud and Blue and White reached a coalition agreement following the 2020 election.
Under the terms of the agreement, the premiership would rotate between Netanyahu and Gantz, in which Gantz was scheduled to succeed Netanyahu in November 2021. In December 2020, this coalition collapsed and a new election was held in March 2021. In June 2021, after Naftali Bennett formed a government with Yair Lapid, Netanyahu was removed from the premiership, becoming opposition leader for the third time, before returning as Prime Minister again after the 2022 election.
Benjamin Netanyahu has an estimated net worth of $13 million.
| Net Worth: | $13 Million |
| Date of birth: | October 21, 1949 |
| Country: | Israel |
| Source of wealth: | Prime Minister of Israel |
