Rami Ungar went from importing chicken-coop fans to controlling Kia's Israeli distribution and 10% of the world's vehicle-carrier shipping fleet, one of which Houthi forces seized in 2023.
The Builders | Olam.business
Rami Ungar is the Israeli businessman who built a $3.9 billion fortune starting from a small chicken-coop ventilation import business, becoming Kia's exclusive Israeli importer through Talcar and controlling roughly 10 percent of the world's vehicle-carrier shipping fleet through Ray Shipping, a company whose vessel was seized by Houthi forces in November 2023.
He started by importing fans for chicken coops. He now moves cars across oceans and controls the distribution rights that a former Mossad chief once personally intervened to help decide.
Snapshot
| Born | 1947, Abraham "Rami" Ungar; raised in north Tel Aviv |
| Education | Law degree, Tel Aviv University; served as an IDF signal corps officer |
| First business | Late 1960s, small business importing ventilation systems for chicken coops |
| Estimated net worth | Approximately $3.9 billion, 2022 |
| Talcar | Controls Kia (since 2008), SsangYong/KGM import franchises for Israel |
| Ray Shipping | Founded under 15 years ago; holds roughly 10% of the global vehicle-carrier fleet, chartered long-term to major world shipping lines |
| Ship seizure | November 19, 2023: Houthi forces seized the Galaxy Leader, a Ray Shipping-linked vessel, with 22 non-Israeli crew aboard |
| Real estate | Founding member of Phoenix real estate fund; holdings in Israel, Eastern Europe, and the United States |
How did Rami Ungar go from ventilation fans to auto imports?
Rami Ungar grew up in north Tel Aviv, served as an IDF signal corps officer, and earned a law degree from Tel Aviv University. He entered the workforce in the late 1960s with a small business importing ventilation systems for chicken coops, then pivoted into the auto trade, becoming the first Israeli importer of the Italian Autobianchi brand and later Lancia. Alongside Netzba, a company owned by members of the Egged bus cooperative, Ungar also imported Daihatsu vehicles into Israel; he sold his stake in that agency to Netzba in 1985, then bought back full control of it in 1989.
How did Rami Ungar win the Kia franchise?
Ungar's company Talcar secured the exclusive license to import Kia vehicles into Israel in 2008, a franchise that had previously belonged to businessman Michael Levy, who had earlier purchased the Lancia import rights from Ungar in 1990. The transition triggered a prolonged legal dispute between the two men, with Levy alleging Ungar induced Kia to breach its agreement through bribery, and Ungar countersuing over an allegation that Levy's side had hacked his computer. Levy's claim was dismissed; Ungar's was partially upheld, and Israeli courts ultimately ruled in Ungar's favor on the franchise dispute. In 2017, Yossi Cohen, then deputy head of Mossad and later its director, was reported to have intervened in the ongoing Kia franchise conflict; Ungar later confirmed donating NIS 1.1 million through a Panama-registered company to the synagogue across from Cohen's home. Since Talcar took over the franchise, Kia's sales in Israel have grown by roughly 400 percent, with Talcar also importing SsangYong, later KGM-branded, vehicles.
How big is Rami Ungar's shipping business?
Beyond auto imports, Ungar built Ray Shipping, a vehicle-carrier shipping company that, within under fifteen years of founding, grew to control approximately 10 percent of the world's fleet of car-carrying vessels. Ungar does not operate the ships directly; instead he functions as shipowner, chartering vessels with crews through his Greek management company to some of the world's largest freight and logistics operators, with most of the fleet under long-term charter and running at full capacity. On November 19, 2023, during the Israel-Hamas war, Houthi forces in Yemen seized the Galaxy Leader, a vessel connected to Ungar's shipping fleet, with 22 non-Israeli crew members aboard, an incident that drew international attention to the exposure of Israeli-linked commercial shipping during the conflict.
What is Rami Ungar's real estate portfolio?
Ungar holds real estate assets in Israel, Eastern Europe, and the United States, and is a founding member of the Phoenix real estate fund, managed by Shlomo Grofman. Disclosed transactions include a 105 million shekel land purchase in Herzliya Pituach in 2021 and, in April 2022, Talcar's roughly NIS 265 million acquisition of Playing Cargo's shares in income-generating real estate company Vitania, a move that made Ungar a leading shareholder in Vitania and reflects a broader pattern among Israel's large car importers of diversifying into cash-generating real estate. Talcar also purchased roughly 41 dunams from the Israel Land Authority in the Sorek Junction area for approximately NIS 70 million to build a new Kia logistics center, with potential future use for Chinese auto brands entering the Israeli market.
Why does Rami Ungar matter to Israeli business history?
Ungar built one of Israel's largest privately held fortunes across three genuinely distinct businesses, auto import distribution, global vehicle-carrier shipping, and income real estate, starting from a chicken-coop ventilation supplier with no capital advantage. The Kia franchise dispute, escalating to Mossad-level intervention, and the wartime seizure of a Ray Shipping-linked vessel by Houthi forces both illustrate how far Ungar's low-profile businesses reach into Israel's geopolitical and security exposure, well beyond what a car importer's public profile would suggest.
FAQ
Who is Rami Ungar?
Rami Ungar is an Israeli businessman, born 1947, who controls Talcar, Israel's exclusive Kia importer, and Ray Shipping, a vehicle-carrier shipping company holding roughly 10 percent of the world's car-carrier fleet, with an estimated net worth of $3.9 billion as of 2022.
What is Talcar?
Talcar is Rami Ungar's Israeli auto-import company, holding the exclusive license to import Kia vehicles since 2008 and SsangYong/KGM vehicles, after winning a prolonged legal dispute over the Kia franchise with prior importer Michael Levy.
What happened to Rami Ungar's ship in 2023?
On November 19, 2023, Houthi forces in Yemen seized the Galaxy Leader, a vessel linked to Ungar's Ray Shipping fleet, with 22 non-Israeli crew members aboard, during the Israel-Hamas war.
How did Rami Ungar start his career?
He began in the late 1960s with a small business importing ventilation systems for chicken coops before moving into auto imports, becoming Israel's first importer of the Italian Autobianchi and later Lancia brands.
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The Olam Editorial Team | The Builders