Liora Ofer: Melisron Chair & Ofer Family Heir

FOUNDERS & COMPANIES · OLAM.BUSINESS

Liora Ofer is chairwoman of Melisron (TASE: MLSR), Israel's largest mall owner, and sole owner of Ofer Investments, the family holding company that controls 52% of Melisron. Forbes put her net worth at $2.67 billion in 2026, making her one of only two female billionaires in Israel. She reached sole control of Ofer Investments after a family inheritance dispute that ran roughly two decades.

Liora Ofer at a Glance

Born	December 22, 1953, Haifa, Israel
Roles	Chairwoman of Melisron (TASE: MLSR); sole owner (100%) of Ofer Investments
Family	Daughter of Yuli Ofer (d. 2011); niece of Sammy Ofer (d. 2011); cousin of Eyal Ofer and Idan Ofer
Net worth	$2.67 billion (Forbes 2026)
Philanthropy	Chair, Friends of Reichman University; chair, Suzanne Dalal Center

Who Is Liora Ofer?

Liora Ofer chairs Melisron, the shopping-center company that anchors the Ofer family's Israeli real estate holdings and ranks as the country's largest mall owner by portfolio. She also holds sole ownership of Ofer Investments Ltd., the family holding vehicle that controls 52% of Melisron, a position she reached following an inheritance dispute that ran roughly two decades before being resolved in her favor.

How Did Liora Ofer Rise at Melisron?

Liora Ofer studied at the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa and began working alongside her father, Yuli Ofer, at Ofer Investments at age 20. Her father was born in 1924 in Galati, Romania, and co-founded Ofer Investments in 1957 with his brother Sammy. In 1995 she became general manager of Coral Beach Eilat Ltd. In 2007 she joined Melisron as a director and vice chairwoman, and in 2008 she was named chairwoman, the role she holds today.

How Did She Win Control of Ofer Investments?

After Yuli and Sammy Ofer both died in 2011, Liora Ofer entered a prolonged legal dispute with her brother Doron over the inheritance. In 2015 she prevailed and secured approximately 52% of Ofer Investments. A conflict-of-interest law forced her cousin Eyal Ofer to divest his stake, and she swapped her Mizrahi Tefahot Bank stake for a larger share of Ofer Investments. In January 2023 she bought Doron's remaining 15% for roughly NIS 500 million, reaching 100% ownership and ending a family division that had lasted about 20 years.

What Does Melisron Actually Own?

Melisron runs 26 assets totaling 814,000 square meters of gross leasable area, leased to roughly 2,300 tenants and drawing an estimated 70 million visits a year. The company has traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since 1992 and has been a member of the benchmark TA-35 index since 2014, with total balance-sheet assets of approximately NIS 31.5 billion and a market capitalization above NIS 20 billion.

The portfolio's anchor property is Ramat Aviv Mall, Israel's highest-yielding shopping center, where international luxury brands including SKIMS have chosen to open their first Israeli stores. Three additional Grand Kanyon-branded malls, in Haifa, Petah Tikva, and Be'er Sheva, plus Ofer HaKiryon in the northern Krayot cluster, round out the properties that carry the largest share of the company's footfall and operating income. Melisron reported NIS 2.27 billion in 2025 revenue, up 9.1% year over year, a print that CEO Ophir Sarid has attributed in part to Israeli consumers redirecting spending into domestic retail during the post-October 2023 war years.

How Does Liora Ofer Fit Into the Ofer Family?

The Ofer family built its fortune on shipping, starting with a single vessel in the 1950s under brothers Sammy and Yuli Ofer. A family restructuring in 2002 split the empire along generational lines: Sammy's sons, Eyal and Idan Ofer, took the international shipping, energy, and chemicals holdings that now run through Israel Corporation, while Liora Ofer's branch retained the Israeli domestic real estate wing that became Melisron.

That 2002 split is why Melisron today operates as a listed, TA-35-member operating company rather than a private family real estate arm, a structure the family adopted to unlock institutional liquidity while keeping Ofer Investments' 52% control block intact. Eyal and Idan Ofer each rank among Israel's wealthiest individuals in their own right, with holdings concentrated internationally rather than in Israeli malls, which is the clearest way to distinguish Liora Ofer's branch of the family from her cousins' businesses. For the wider family story, see The Ofer Family: Israel's Wealthiest Dynasty.

What Is Melisron Building Next?

Melisron has three projects under construction totaling roughly 197,000 square meters, the most visible being the Landmark project in Sarona, a mixed-use office tower in Tel Aviv's Sarona commercial district. The company has also entered residential construction and urban-renewal development in central Israel, a newer segment built to capture pinui-binui and TAMA 38 opportunities adjacent to Melisron's existing commercial land bank and municipal relationships.

How Does Melisron Compare to Israel's Other Mall Operators?

Melisron trades as a full operating commercial real estate company rather than a formal REIT, which gives Liora Ofer's board more flexibility to reinvest and develop than Israel's tax-regulated REIT vehicles allow. That structure sets Melisron apart from REIT 1 (TASE: RIT1) and Sella Capital, which operate under Israel's 2006 REIT tax regime and its mandatory distribution rules.

Melisron's closest operating peers are Amot Investments inside the Alony Hetz group, BIG Shopping Centers, and Azrieli Group's commercial arm, though Melisron holds the single premium-mall position that Ramat Aviv Mall secures on its own. The company competes on flagship asset quality rather than portfolio breadth alone.

What Does Liora Ofer Do Outside Business?

Liora Ofer chairs Friends of Reichman University and the board of the Suzanne Dalal Center in Neve Tzedek, and previously chaired Friends of the Cameri Theater for 15 years.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Liora Ofer's net worth?
Forbes reported her net worth at $2.67 billion in 2026.

What company does Liora Ofer chair?
She chairs Melisron (TASE: MLSR), Israel's largest shopping-center owner by portfolio, and separately holds sole ownership of Ofer Investments Ltd., which controls 52% of Melisron.

How large is Melisron's mall portfolio?
Melisron operates 26 assets covering 814,000 square meters of gross leasable area, leased to roughly 2,300 tenants and drawing an estimated 70 million visits a year, with total balance-sheet assets of approximately NIS 31.5 billion.

How is Liora Ofer related to Eyal Ofer and Idan Ofer?
They are cousins. Eyal and Idan are sons of her uncle Sammy Ofer, while Liora is the daughter of Sammy's brother Yuli. A 2002 family split gave Sammy's sons the international shipping, energy, and chemicals holdings run through Israel Corporation, while Liora Ofer's branch retained the Israeli real estate holdings that became Melisron.

What was the Ofer inheritance dispute?
After Yuli Ofer's death in 2011, Liora Ofer fought her brother Doron over the estate. She won in 2015, securing about 52% of Ofer Investments, and in January 2023 bought Doron's remaining 15% for roughly NIS 500 million to reach 100%.

Why is Liora Ofer's position notable in Israel?
She is one of only two female billionaires in Israel, per Forbes' 2026 ranking, and reached sole ownership of Ofer Investments after a family inheritance dispute that ran approximately 20 years.