Liora Ofer: The Melisron Chair Who Built Israel's Largest Mall Empire

By The Olam Editorial Team · Jun 22, 2026

Inherited Ofer Investments from Yuli Ofer. Took Melisron from regional player to one of the two largest real estate companies in Israel. One of two female billionaires in Israel.

Inherited Ofer Investments from her father Yuli Ofer. Took Melisron from a regional player to one of the two largest real estate companies in Israel. Owns 51% of every mall sold under the "Ofer Malls" brand. One of two female billionaires in the country.

Liora Ofer runs the largest shopping mall operation in Israel. The Ofer Malls brand — Ramat Aviv, Hakiryon, eighteen malls in total — touches the daily life of most of the Israeli middle class. The capital structure behind it sits inside a privately controlled holding company that runs the largest publicly traded mall company on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Hebrew press knows her well. English coverage is thin.

Snapshot

Born December 22, 1953, Haifa.
Father: Yuli Ofer (1924–2011) — co-founder of Ofer Brothers shipping with his brother Sammy Ofer.
Education: Hebrew Reali School (Haifa).
Joined Ofer Investments at age 20, working under her father.
Owner of Ofer Investments since 2008.
Chair of Melisron's board of directors since 2008.
Through Ofer Investments holds ~51% of Melisron (TASE: MLSR, TA-35 Index).
Net worth (2025–2026): ~$3.0–3.2 billion. One of two female billionaires in Israel.
Melisron 2024 revenue: ~$694 million; ~1 million sqm of real estate assets.
Civic: Chair, Friends of Reichman University; CBOD, Suzanne Dalal Center, Neveh Tzedek; former 15-year Chair, Friends of Cameri Theater.
Cousins: Eyal Ofer (shipping/real estate; richest Israeli ~$30B) and Idan Ofer (energy/Atlético Madrid; ~$22B) — sons of Sammy Ofer.

The Business Story

The Ofer family is one of two foundational Israeli shipping-and-real-estate dynasties. Yuli and Sammy Ofer founded Ofer Brothers in the 1950s, initially in the maritime industry — chartering vessels to Zim Lines in 1969 and building one of the world's largest privately owned shipping fleets. Through the 1970s and 1980s the family diversified into real estate, hotels, banking, energy, chemicals, private equity, and technology. At its peak the group held controlling stakes in Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank and Israel Corporation.

Liora began working at Ofer Investments at age twenty under her father. Through the 1980s and 1990s she filled successive executive and director roles inside the group. In 1995 she became general manager of Coral Beach Eilat — the family's flagship Eilat resort. She also served for many years as a director of Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, while it sat inside the Ofer Investments controlled-stake.

In 2008 Yuli transferred ownership of Ofer Investments to Liora. She has been the sole controlling shareholder since. The same year she was appointed Chair of Melisron, the publicly traded real estate vehicle.

Yuli Ofer died in 2011. A publicized legal succession battle followed. Liora consolidated control and accelerated Melisron's growth strategy.

Two transactions defined the next decade. First, the 2011 acquisition of a controlling stake in British Israel Investments — bringing eighteen additional malls into Melisron through a subsequent merger. Second, the acquisition of Ramat Aviv Mall, the highest-traffic mall in the country and the asset most associated with the Ofer Malls brand.

By the mid-2020s Melisron operates eighteen "Ofer Malls" shopping centers across Israel, five high-tech parks and office complexes, and — through subsidiary Aviv by Melisron — a residential development arm focused on luxury housing and urban renewal in Israel's most in-demand neighborhoods.

In December 2023 Smadar Barber-Tsadik, former CEO of First International Bank (FIBI) for sixteen years, was appointed Chairman of Ofer Investments — formalizing a professional management layer above the family ownership.

Why She Matters in Israel

Three reasons.

First, the consumer footprint. Most Israelis interact with an Ofer Malls property weekly. Melisron sets retail rents, foot-traffic terms, and tenant mix across a critical share of Israeli physical retail. The pricing power and the cultural footprint are larger than the company's market cap.

Second, the succession execution. Yuli Ofer's empire was inherited by multiple parties — Liora, her brother Doron, and her cousins Eyal and Idan (Sammy's sons) — through a series of legal proceedings in the early 2010s. The portion that ended up under Liora's control has been the cleanest-run and most consolidated of the three branches. The shipping-and-international-real-estate side under Eyal and the energy-and-mining side under Idan are larger by net worth, but Liora's branch is the operational anchor inside Israel itself.

Third, the demographic significance. She is one of only two female Israeli billionaires (the other is Danna Azrieli, who inherited from David Azrieli). The Israeli wealth pyramid is overwhelmingly male; her position is structurally distinctive.

What the Company Does Today

Melisron is publicly traded on the TASE (MLSR) and included in the Tel Aviv 35, Tel Aviv 125, and Tel Aviv Real Estate indexes. Its bonds carry an ilAA/Stable rating; its issuer rating is iiAA/positive. The 2024 revenue was approximately $694 million. The company is led operationally by CEO Ofir Sarid (since 2019), reporting to Liora as Chair.

Ofer Investments — Liora's private holding company — fully owns the 51 percent Melisron stake plus additional Israeli and international real estate, hotel operations, and selected private investments. Smadar Barber-Tsadik chairs Ofer Investments.

Key Holdings

Ofer Investments Ltd — 100% private owner
Melisron Ltd (TASE: MLSR) — ~51% controlling stake
Ofer Malls portfolio — 18 shopping centers across Israel, including Ramat Aviv Mall, Hakiryon Mall
Five high-tech parks and office buildings — including Ofer East and Ofer West (Petah Tikva), Landmark Tel Aviv (Sarona)
Aviv by Melisron — residential development and urban renewal
Coral Beach Eilat — hospitality

Legacy and Influence

Liora Ofer's role is unusual in Israeli business — a second-generation heir who has run her father's company as a primary operator rather than as a passive owner, and who has materially expanded the empire rather than merely holding it. Her tenure as Chair of Melisron has more than doubled the company's asset base and consolidated its leadership in the Israeli retail real estate category.

She also occupies one of the most prominent positions for a woman in the Israeli economy. The Israeli business establishment is overwhelmingly male at the top of the wealth and operational hierarchies. Liora's positioning — chairwoman of a TA-35 company, controlling shareholder of a billion-dollar holding company, on every Israeli rich list — is structurally rare.

Why She Matters Now

Israeli physical retail is being reshaped by the same forces reshaping retail everywhere — e-commerce, demographic shifts, the rise of experience-based and food-anchored mall formats. Melisron's response — integrating digital, expanding into residential, diversifying into office and high-tech parks — is being executed under her direct strategic oversight.

The next decade of Israeli physical retail will be set in significant part by what Liora Ofer chooses to build, expand, divest, or close.

מי היא ליאורה עופר? יושבת ראש מליסרון שבנתה את אימפריית הקניונים

ירשה את עופר השקעות מאביה יולי עופר. הפכה את מליסרון לחברת הנדל"ן המניב הגדולה בישראל. מחזיקה ב-51% מכל קניון "עופר". אחת משתי המיליארדריות הישראליות.

ליאורה עופר נולדה בחיפה ב-1953 ולמדה בבית הספר הריאלי. החלה לעבוד בעופר השקעות בגיל 20, תחת אביה יולי עופר. ב-2008 הפכה לבעלים של עופר השקעות וליו"ר דירקטוריון מליסרון. אביה נפטר ב-2011 לאחר מאבק שליטה משפטי. תחת ניהולה רכשה מליסרון את בריטיש ישראל (18 קניונים) ואת קניון רמת אביב. מליסרון מנהלת 18 קניונים, חמש פארקי הייטק, ופעילות מגורים דרך אביב מבית מליסרון. שווי האחזקות ב-2025-2026 מוערך ב-3-3.2 מיליארד דולר.