Shalom Meckenzie, DraftKings founder, turned 50. He is one of Israel's richest, least-known entrepreneurs, having taken SBTech to a $3.3 billion SPAC.
The DraftKings founder nobody knows turns 50. Bat Yam to Savyon. SBTech to a $3.3 billion SPAC. Saint-Tropez in one weekend, back to work by Monday.
They arrived by yacht, by helicopter, by private jet. Hundreds of them. Omer Adam took the outdoor stage and the crowd did not stop dancing. Teddy Sagi worked the room. Deni Avdija flew in from the United States. Chazz Palminteri came from New York. Drone crews filmed the estate from above.
The occasion was the 50th birthday of Shalom Meckenzie, a name also rendered Shalom Mackenzie in some US securities filings and שלום מקנזי in Hebrew. Bat Yam-born, Savyon-resident, married father of four, founder of SBTech, largest individual shareholder of DraftKings, and, at $1.6 billion by recent Israeli estimates and $1.3 billion by Forbes, one of the youngest billionaires in Israel. He is also, by a considerable margin, the least known.
Shalom Meckenzie: At a Glance
| Born | June 12, 1976, Bat Yam, Israel |
| Age | 50 as of June 12, 2026 |
| Name variants | Shalom Meckenzie; Shalom Mackenzie (US filings); שלום מקנזי (Hebrew) |
| Residence | Savyon, Israel (27 Hagderot Street per SEC filings) |
| Family | Married, four children |
| Net worth | ~$1.6B (Israeli estimates) / $1.3B (Forbes 2026) |
| DraftKings position | Largest individual shareholder (NASDAQ: DKNG) |
| Current company | Amp, an AI-coached home strength-training device company (founded 2021) |
| Public profile | No English Wikipedia; no social media; profiled by Forbes in March 2025 |
What Is Shalom Meckenzie's Career Timeline?
| Year | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Co-founded 10bet | UK-licensed online sportsbook. Age 25. |
| 2007 | Founded SBTech | Sports betting technology provider. Gibraltar and Isle of Man. Engineering in Sofia and Kyiv. |
| 2018 | SBTech at scale | 94 million euros revenue, 26 million euros net profit. About 1,200 employees by 2019. About $110 million annual revenue. |
| May 2018 | US Supreme Court strikes PASPA | US sports betting legalized state by state. DraftKings needs sportsbook technology. |
| Dec 2019 | Three-way SPAC merger signed | DraftKings, SBTech, and Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp. |
| Apr 2020 | DraftKings SPAC closes | $3.3B combined valuation. NASDAQ: DKNG. Meckenzie becomes largest individual shareholder. |
| Mar 2021 | DKNG peak ~$72/share | Pandemic retail trading plus Michael Jordan and Gisele Bundchen advisory board |
| Mar 2021 | $11.7M CryptoPunk purchase | Singular public bet on structural shift |
| 2021 | Founded Amp | AI-coached home strength-training device. Origin: a poker bet with Ian Bradley. |
| Jun 2026 | 50th birthday, Saint-Tropez | Teddy Sagi, Deni Avdija, Chazz Palminteri, and Omer Adam attended |
What Is the Business Story Behind Shalom Meckenzie?
Meckenzie was born in Bat Yam, the working-class beach city directly south of Tel Aviv, on June 12, 1976. His father was a real estate developer. As a child the family moved to the United States, where he spent part of his childhood. He served in the IDF. He settled in Savyon. He has been married to the same woman through the entirety of the ascent.
What Is SBTech and How Did Meckenzie Build It?
SBTech is the sports betting technology company Meckenzie founded in 2007 after first co-founding the UK-licensed sportsbook 10bet in 2001, at age 25. By 2007 he had seen enough. The operators were fighting brutal customer-acquisition wars. The technology providers underneath them were quietly extracting margin from every bet. He founded SBTech on the thesis that the most valuable position in a gold rush is selling picks and shovels.
SBTech registered in Gibraltar, ran engineering out of Sofia and Kyiv, kept administration in Israel, and ran commercial operations from London. By 2018, SBTech posted 94 million euros in revenue and 26 million euros in net profit. By 2019 it employed about 1,200 people and was generating roughly $110 million annually.
Then, on May 14, 2018, the US Supreme Court struck down PASPA. The American sports betting market was born overnight. DraftKings needed a sportsbook product, fast. It needed Meckenzie's.
How Did the DraftKings SPAC Merger Happen?
On December 22, 2019, DraftKings, SBTech, and the Diamond Eagle SPAC signed a three-way combination. The deal closed in April 2020 at a $3.3 billion combined valuation. By March 2021 the stock touched $72. DraftKings is, today, one of the two dominant US sportsbooks alongside FanDuel, together controlling roughly 70% of the US online sports betting market.
Why Is Shalom Meckenzie So Unknown?
Three compounding reasons explain the gap between Meckenzie's wealth and his public profile. Industry: the Israeli gambling diaspora sits uncomfortably in Israeli discourse. Product: SBTech was business-to-business, and its operator customers preferred discretion. Personal disposition: Meckenzie prefers the work to the recognition. The result is no English Wikipedia page, a single in-depth Forbes feature (March 2025), and no social media presence.
FAQ
Who is Shalom Meckenzie?
Shalom Meckenzie (born June 12, 1976, Bat Yam) is the Israeli founder of SBTech and the largest individual shareholder of DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG). Net worth: approximately $1.6 billion by Israeli estimates, $1.3 billion by Forbes 2026. Lives in Savyon with his wife and four children.
How old is Shalom Meckenzie?
Meckenzie turned 50 on June 12, 2026. He was born in 1976 in Bat Yam, Israel.
Is it spelled Meckenzie or Mackenzie?
Both spellings refer to the same person. Shalom Meckenzie is the primary rendering used in Israeli and Hebrew-language coverage. Shalom Mackenzie appears in some US securities filings. Hebrew: שלום מקנזי.
What is SBTech?
SBTech is the sports betting technology provider Meckenzie founded in 2007. By 2019 it had about 1,200 employees and about $110 million in annual revenue. It merged with DraftKings via the Diamond Eagle SPAC in April 2020 at a $3.3 billion valuation.
How much is Shalom Meckenzie worth?
Approximately $1.6 billion by Israeli estimates, $1.3 billion by Forbes 2026. Most of the net worth is his DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) position as the company's largest individual shareholder.
What is Amp?
Amp is an AI-coached home strength-training device company Meckenzie founded in 2021 after the DraftKings deal closed. It originated from a poker bet Meckenzie made with former SBTech executive Ian Bradley over 60 pounds of weight loss.
Related Coverage
Read in Hebrew: מקנזי חוגג 50. Full evergreen profile: Shalom Meckenzie: The SBTech Founder Behind DraftKings. Everything-PR's business and sports-communications angle on the same founder: Shalom Meckenzie: The Israeli Builder Inside DraftKings. This profile is part of the Olam Founders & Companies reference layer.
Profile last reviewed: August 2026.
