Brandon Korff, grandson of Sumner Redstone, filed for Israeli residency in August 2025. Here is his confirmed record, his Tel Aviv foundation, and how Israel's tax terms compare to California's.
Brandon Korff filed an official application for Israeli residency in August 2025, according to a government official cited by the Jerusalem Post and Ynetnews. Korff is the grandson of the late media mogul Sumner Redstone and the son of former Paramount chair Shari Redstone. The filing came shortly after Korff helped complete the roughly $35 billion sale of Paramount. A full switch to citizenship under the Law of Return has not been confirmed by any major outlet.
Who is Brandon Korff?
Brandon Korff, born in Los Angeles in 1984, is a 2006 graduate of George Washington University who has served as a director of National Amusements, the Redstone family holding company, since 2012. He is a grandson of Sumner Redstone, who built National Amusements into the controlling shareholder of CBS, Viacom, Paramount Pictures, MTV and Nickelodeon before his death in 2020.
Korff is one of three children of Shari Redstone, non-executive chairwoman of Paramount Global, and her ex-husband Ira A. Korff, a rabbi who served as a National Amusements director until 1994, according to Wikipedia's entry on Shari Redstone. His siblings, Kimberlee Korff Ostheimer and Tyler Korff, are both lawyers who have also served as National Amusements directors, per Family Business Magazine's reporting on the family's governance structure.
Has Brandon Korff made aliyah?
Korff has filed for Israeli residency, not confirmed aliyah. Israeli entertainment site Ice reported in December 2025 that Korff had completed aliyah and received citizenship at age 39, but that claim has not been corroborated by the Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews, the Times of Israel, or Israel's Population and Immigration Authority, and should be treated as unconfirmed pending a primary source statement.
The confirmed record is narrower. A senior Israeli government official told the Jerusalem Post that Korff's filing was "a meaningful and encouraging step" for Israel, framing it as solidarity amid international boycotts. The Jerusalem Post separately reported that Korff "significantly increased his time spent in Israel" through 2025, and its own 50-under-50 feature listed him among a group of prominent young Jewish billionaires including David Ellison and Adam Neumann, noting Korff filed his residency application at the end of August 2025.
What is Brandon Korff's history with Israel?
Korff's connection to Israel predates the 2025 filing by five years. In 2020, the Times of Israel reported that Korff was deported after entering the country on a special permit to visit his brother, a lone soldier in the IDF, then violating quarantine rules to see his then girlfriend, Israeli model Yael Shelbia. Israel Hayom later reported he was allowed back into the country and spent time in self-imposed isolation in his Tel Aviv apartment.
By 2025, that on-and-off presence became sustained. Korff sat on the board of National Amusements until the Paramount sale closed, then filed for residency within weeks, according to the Jerusalem Post's August 2025 report cited above.
What does the Brandon Korff Foundation do in Israel?
Korff funds an Israel-based philanthropy, the Brandon Korff Foundation, directed by Tzachi Dabush. In March 2026, the foundation hosted 50 IDF lone soldiers supported by the Michael Levin Lone Soldier Center at a closed Tel Aviv event, according to Jewish News and eJewishPhilanthropy.
Dabush told both outlets lone soldiers "are among the very best of our sons and daughters, who left everything behind and came to fight for the State of Israel." Korff's own brother, Tyler Korff, served as a lone soldier years earlier, which is why the foundation's leadership frames the cause as personal rather than purely reputational.
Korff also funds the Brandon Korff Influencers Program at Reichman University's Raphael Recanati International School, which the university describes as the first credit-bearing, university-level influencer program of its kind. Israel Hayom reported the first cohort of 35 students, drawn from the US, Brazil, South Africa, the UK, France, Germany and Australia, graduated in mid-2026 after training in content creation and public diplomacy. Program head Moran Yarchi said the course prepares students to make "a meaningful impact in the arenas of public consciousness on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people."
What tax benefits would Brandon Korff get as a new oleh?
Israel's central benefit for new immigrants is a ten year exemption on foreign source income, covering dividends, rental income, capital gains, interest and foreign pensions. Nefesh B'Nefesh's 2026 tax update confirms the exemption remains fully intact for anyone who becomes an Israeli tax resident on or after January 1, 2026, though that cohort must now report worldwide income and foreign assets to the Israel Tax Authority even while the income stays untaxed.
Layered on top of that exemption, the Times of Israel reported that new immigrants arriving in 2026 will pay zero income tax on Israeli sourced income in 2026 and 2027, with rates then stepping up to 10% in 2028, 20% in 2029 and 30% in 2030, capped at roughly NIS 1 million, or about $305,000, of annual income. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told the Jerusalem Post a separate reform aims to bring Israeli tax treatment for venture and hedge fund managers in line with New York and Florida, and is awaiting its second and third Knesset readings.
How does Israel's tax deal compare to California's?
California taxes capital gains as ordinary income with no long term preferential rate. Its top marginal bracket reaches 13.3% on income above $1 million once the state's 1% Mental Health Services Tax surcharge is included, according to the Franchise Tax Board's published 2026 brackets. Combined with the federal top rate of 37%, a high earner in California can face a marginal rate over 50% on a large capital event such as a business sale or a concentrated stock liquidation.
| Item | California (2026) | Israel, New Oleh (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Top marginal rate on ordinary income | 13.3% state, 37% federal | 0% on Israeli income through 2027, phased to 30% by 2030, capped near $305K per year |
| Capital gains | Taxed as ordinary income, up to 13.3% state | 0% for 10 years if foreign sourced |
| Reporting of foreign assets | Standard federal and state disclosure | Required from 2026 onward, even though untaxed |
For an heir with concentrated holdings and recent proceeds from a media conglomerate sale, the contrast is direct. A comparable gain realized as a California resident faces up to 13.3% state tax on top of federal capital gains rates. The same gain, if foreign sourced and realized after establishing Israeli tax residency, would fall inside the ten year exemption instead. The reporting requirement is the catch to plan around, since Israel ended the old practice of non-disclosure for new residents arriving from 2026 onward.
Why does Israel want more residents like Brandon Korff?
Smotrich told the Jerusalem Post in August 2026 he is building a ten year plan to bring one million immigrants from North America and Europe to Israel, paired with the tax reforms described above. Western aliyah totaled just over 9,000 people in 2025, so one filing does not move that number on its own. Israeli officials have nonetheless cited Korff's case publicly as an example of the wealth migration effect the tax policy is designed to produce.
For the tax reform driving this pattern, see the 2026 tax window and the Olam aliyah guide. For the underlying immigration data, see Western aliyah numbers.
FAQ
Has Brandon Korff officially made aliyah?
No major outlet has confirmed this. The Jerusalem Post and Ynetnews have confirmed only that Korff filed for Israeli residency in August 2025. A December 2025 report from the Israeli entertainment site Ice claimed he had completed aliyah and received citizenship at 39, but this has not been independently verified.
What philanthropy does Brandon Korff fund in Israel?
The Brandon Korff Foundation, directed by Tzachi Dabush, supports IDF lone soldiers through the Michael Levin Lone Soldier Center and funds the Brandon Korff Influencers Program at Reichman University, a public diplomacy training course for international students.
What tax benefit does a new oleh get on foreign income?
A ten year exemption from Israeli tax on foreign sourced income, covering dividends, rental income, capital gains and pensions, though as of January 1, 2026, that income must still be reported to the Israel Tax Authority even though it is not taxed.
How does that compare to California's top tax rate?
California's top marginal rate is 13.3%, including the 1% Mental Health Services Tax surcharge on income above $1 million, and the state taxes capital gains as ordinary income with no reduced long term rate.