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Israel’s Finance Ministry released new figures showing that foreign investors put $26 billion into the country during 2025, an enormous 78% increase from the previous year.

The number includes money from foreign companies and investors buying Israeli businesses, purchasing large ownership stakes and expanding their operations inside Israel. The government released the completed yearly figures now after collecting and reviewing the data.

The increase came while Israel was fighting a war, facing international pressure and dealing with serious economic uncertainty. The strong pace reportedly continued during the first half of 2026.

Other numbers are also moving in Israel’s favor. The economy grew 3.2% during the first half of 2026, Israel’s main stock index rose 35% over the past year, the shekel strengthened 11% against the dollar and inflation dropped from 2.5% to 1.5%.

Despite the war, investors around the world are putting far more money into Israel than they did before.

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Jessica Schumer, daughter of longtime Jewish Senator Chuck Schumer, has left Amazon for a major position at OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.

Her job is to work directly with state governments as they decide how artificial intelligence companies will be regulated. She will explain OpenAI’s position to governors, lawmakers and other officials while states consider new rules covering AI safety, personal information and the power of advanced systems.

The position gives Schumer an important seat in one of America’s biggest political and business battles. Rules passed by influential states can eventually affect how companies operate across the country.

Schumer previously led Amazon’s public policy work in New York and served as chief of staff for President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. She graduated from Harvard University and Yale Law School.

Her father is one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington and has helped lead congressional discussions about AI. OpenAI says Jessica will stay away from federal matters and will not communicate with her father’s Senate office.

The appointment places Jessica Schumer near the center of the decisions that will shape how Americans use artificial intelligence for years to come.

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Israeli investment group Aurelius Capital has reached a preliminary deal to buy Volkswagen’s factory in Osnabrück, Germany, together with the state of Lower Saxony. The plant will stop making cars in 2027 and become a center for military and air defense production.

Israeli defense company Rafael will bring the technology. Reports say the factory could build Iron Dome launchers, generators, military vehicles and other equipment for Germany and Europe. The interceptor missiles will not be produced there.

The 125-year-old factory currently builds Volkswagen and Porsche models, including the Cayman and Boxster. Volkswagen planned to end production because of weak demand, but the new deal could preserve about 1,400 of its 1,800 jobs.

Aurelius would become the majority owner. Qatar, a major Volkswagen shareholder, reportedly opposed the original direct partnership with Rafael. The new ownership structure allowed the project to move forward. The purchase price was not disclosed, and final approvals are still required.

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Israeli scientists have developed a simple $60 blood test that detected 93.1 percent of stage 2 to 4 lung cancers in a new study. The test takes only two to three days and could make lung cancer testing faster and dramatically more affordable.

The price difference is enormous. Guardant Health currently lists an $8,455 cash price for its leading cancer DNA blood test. The two tests are not designed for exactly the same job, but the comparison shows the potential power of Israel’s new $60 approach.

The test looks for chemical changes in tiny pieces of DNA released into the blood. Instead of using expensive machines to read the DNA, it places the sample on a small glass chip and uses fluorescent light to identify cancer’s biological fingerprint.

Researchers tested the technology on 103 people, including 51 lung cancer patients and 52 healthy participants. It detected 93.1 percent of stage 2 to 4 cancers and correctly ruled out cancer in 90.3 percent of the healthy group. It could also distinguish between the two main types of lung cancer.

The technology was developed by Professor Yuval Ebenstein and his team at Tel Aviv University, working with JaxBio Technologies, Bnai Zion Medical Center and Sheba Medical Center. Dr. Abed Agbarya led the clinical research.

This remains an experimental test, not something patients can order today. It has not yet proven that it can reliably detect stage 1 cancer. A larger hospital study is now underway in Israel and Europe, with results expected in 2027.

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Jewish billionaire brothers Michael and Lowell Milken have secured a $650 million loan through NRT, their private real estate company, for 549 properties leased to KinderCare.

The new loan replaces approximately $642 million borrowed in 2021 that recently became due. Goldman Sachs provided the new financing, allowing NRT to repay the previous loan and continue owning the properties.

The portfolio stretches across 37 states and covers approximately four million square feet. It generated more than $85 million in annual operating income as of March, compared with approximately $42 million in yearly loan payments.

The brothers entered the education business in 1996 when they joined Jewish billionaire Larry Ellison to create Knowledge Universe. The company eventually controlled KinderCare and became one of the world’s largest private education businesses.

They sold KinderCare’s operating company to Swiss investment firm Partners Group in 2015, but their real estate business retained hundreds of the buildings. KinderCare continued operating its childcare centers and paying rent to NRT, which Lowell Milken now chairs.

The $650 million loan allows the Milken brothers to maintain one of America’s largest collections of early childhood education properties.

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Israeli actress Gal Gadot has scored a major business win after Goodles, the fast-growing mac-and-cheese company she helped launch, agreed to be acquired by Barilla, the world’s largest pasta company.

The exact purchase price was not disclosed. Goodles was already valued at $88 million in 2023, and the company has grown dramatically since then, making it reasonable to believe the new deal exceeds $100 million. However, that figure remains an estimate until either company reveals the price.

Goodles launched in 2021 with Gadot as a founding partner alongside her husband, Jaron Varsano, and experienced food-industry executives. The company transformed ordinary boxed mac and cheese by adding more protein and fiber while using colorful packaging and unusual flavors to attract younger shoppers.

In only three years, Goodles increased its share of American boxed mac-and-cheese spending from 0.8 percent to 7.8 percent. The company became profitable in 2024 and expanded into major stores including Target, Whole Foods and Walmart.

Barilla approached Goodles in June and has now agreed to purchase the entire company, pending regulatory approval. Goodles will remain based in California, continue operating as a separate brand and retain its entire 73-person workforce.

Gadot’s exact ownership and personal payout were not disclosed. Still, the acquisition turns a company she helped build from scratch into part of a global food empire, giving the Israeli superstar a major victory far beyond Hollywood.

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Six of the ten richest people on Earth are Jewish, according to Forbes’ September 2026 ranking. Together, they control personal fortunes worth approximately $1.32 trillion, nearly half the total wealth held by the entire top ten.

Google co-founder Larry Page ranks second with $277 billion. His Jewish Google co-founder Sergey Brin ranks fourth with $256 billion, while Jewish computer billionaire Michael Dell places fifth with $241 billion.

Jewish Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg ranks sixth with $197 billion. Jewish Oracle founder Larry Ellison follows with $193 billion, while former Microsoft CEO and Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer ranks ninth with $155 billion.

Their companies helped build the modern digital world. Google controls global internet search, Meta owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Microsoft dominates business software, Oracle powers major companies and governments, and Dell supplies computer infrastructure around the world.

None of the six inherited the fortune that placed him on the list. Five founded or co-founded their primary companies, while Ballmer joined Microsoft as its 30th employee before eventually becoming CEO and its largest individual shareholder.

The $1.32 trillion represents the estimated value of their company shares and other assets, not cash sitting in their bank accounts.

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Adidas is featuring Israeli veteran Shalev Biton in a powerful campaign helping amputees purchase the one shoe they actually need instead of paying for an entire pair.

Biton was serving in the IDF’s Nahal Brigade on May 12, 2021, when an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza struck his military vehicle near the Israeli border. His friend, Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib, was killed. Biton was critically wounded, underwent several surgeries and eventually lost his left leg.

Instead of allowing the attack to end his story, Biton completed a long rehabilitation and returned to running with a prosthetic blade. Adidas selected him as one of 11 disabled Israeli athletes featured in stores across Israel to promote its Single Shoe service.

The service allows people with amputations or other lower-limb differences to purchase one shoe for 50% of the regular price of a pair. Biton explained that after returning to running, he repeatedly had to buy two expensive running shoes despite only being able to use one one.

Anti-Israel activists responded by demanding a global Adidas boycott, with several posts receiving millions of views. Some falsely claimed the program was created for Israeli soldiers or that Biton lost his leg inside Gaza during the current war. Adidas rejected those claims, explaining that the service is a global accessibility program available to amputees from every background.

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Jewish superstar Drake reportedly finished August as Spotify’s most-streamed rapper worldwide, generating approximately 1.75 billion streams during the month. The achievement extended his incredible winning streak to 18 consecutive months.

The ranking counts streams from Drake’s enormous music catalog, including songs where he is the main performer and tracks featuring him. It means listeners played his music approximately 56 million times every day during August alone.

Drake’s dominance is especially remarkable because the music industry constantly produces new rappers and viral songs. While other artists rise and disappear, Drake has remained Spotify’s most-streamed rapper month after month for a year and a half.

Born to a Jewish mother and raised within Toronto’s Jewish community, Drake celebrated his bar mitzvah and has repeatedly included his Jewish identity in his music and public life. He has now become one of the most commercially powerful recording artists of the streaming generation.

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Shabbat Shalom y’all❤️

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The American Jewish community spent more than $1 billion in 2025 protecting synagogues, Jewish schools, summer camps, community centers and nonprofit organizations. That is 33% more than the $765 million spent one year earlier.

The study covered more than 4,500 Jewish institutions. On average, each one spent approximately $225,000 on security, with most of the money paying for guards and security directors.

Another $150 million was spent on cameras, reinforced doors and windows, barriers outside buildings and other security equipment. The total does not even include security costs for thousands of kosher restaurants, grocery stores, Judaica shops and other Jewish-owned businesses.

That $1 billion could have paid Jewish day-school tuition for 44,000 children or covered summer camp for every Jewish child attending one. Instead, it had to be spent protecting Jewish families while they pray, learn and gather.

Jews make up approximately 2% of America’s population but were targeted in 64% of the country’s religiously motivated hate crimes in 2025. Still, Jewish communities are refusing to hide. Synagogues remain open, schools remain active and Jewish life continues proudly.

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Jewish billionaire Henry Kravis co-founded KKR, one of the world’s largest investment firms. KKR has now agreed to buy a minority stake in Avisena Healthcare, giving the hospital company fresh money to expand across Malaysia.

The final price was not disclosed. Reuters previously reported that KKR was seeking a 20 to 25 percent stake worth approximately $74 million to $99 million.

The money will expand medical services at Avisena’s hospitals in Shah Alam and help construct new hospitals across the Klang Valley, one of Malaysia’s largest and most populated regions.

Avisena is adding a new hospital tower that will increase its Shah Alam capacity to 418 beds in 2027. It is also building a 156-bed hospital in Cyberjaya, helping raise the company’s total capacity to nearly 600 beds by 2029.

This is bigger than buying shares in one hospital company. KKR is using its enormous financial power to build medical infrastructure and expand its healthcare investments across Asia.

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Jewish CEO David Solomon’s Goldman Sachs and Cleanhill Partners agreed to sell EPC Power to global manufacturing giant Flex for $4.4 billion. Goldman and Cleanhill bought control of the company in 2022 and are now selling it four years later.

EPC Power builds systems that move and control the enormous amounts of electricity required by AI data centers. Its equipment also connects large batteries to power grids and protects data centers when electricity supplies become unstable.

Under Goldman and Cleanhill’s ownership, EPC Power expanded its American manufacturing operations nearly tenfold. The California company now has more than 15 gigawatts of equipment operating across 62 countries and expects to generate approximately $800 million this year.

Flex is buying EPC Power because electricity has become one of the biggest challenges facing the AI industry. The deal gives Flex control of technology designed to power advanced computer chips while preventing sudden changes in demand from damaging local power grids.

The sale is expected to close before the end of 2026. Goldman and Cleanhill have not revealed what they originally paid, how much each company owns or how the $4.4 billion will be divided, meaning the full price cannot be described as Goldman’s profit.

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Jewish billionaire Ernest Rady and his wife Evelyn have committed $10 million to expand medical care for children at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. Their donation will support three major programs forming the new Rady Pediatric Center.

The money will renovate a children’s surgery department that treats more than 3,600 patients every year. It will also double the hospital’s protected newborn unit to 56 incubators, giving more premature and critically ill babies a secure place to receive care.

Part of the donation will establish a new lung-treatment center for children and adults. The center is expected to perform more than 500 procedures annually to diagnose and treat serious breathing conditions.

The Radys structured the donation to attract another $10 million from additional supporters, potentially bringing $20 million into the project. They used the same approach last year, when donors fully matched another $10 million gift from the couple.

Rady built his fortune through real estate, insurance and finance. His connection to Hadassah began with his mother, who led the organization’s chapter in Winnipeg more than 80 years ago. He said caring for children remains the most important part of his philanthropy.

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Jewish billionaire Larry Ellison gained approximately $9.8 billion on September 3 after investors pushed Oracle shares up 5.7 percent, ranking him as the day’s biggest Jewish billionaire winner, raising his estimated fortune to $198.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Oracle gained approximately $24 billion in value during the day. Ellison owns 40.6 percent of the company through roughly 1.16 billion shares, meaning every major movement in Oracle has an enormous effect on his personal fortune.

Oracle climbed during a broad technology rally as investors returned to major software companies. The company is also preparing to announce its latest financial results on September 10, when investors will learn whether its rapidly expanding AI and cloud business is keeping pace with the billions being spent on new data centers.

Ellison did not receive $9.8 billion in cash. His Oracle ownership simply became worth that much more. He finished ahead of Mark Zuckerberg, who gained approximately $6 billion, Michael Dell, who gained $5.3 billion, and Larry Page, who gained $4.2 billion.

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Jewish billionaire Larry Ellison gained approximately $9.8 billion on September 3 after investors pushed Oracle shares up 5.7 percent, ranking him as the day’s biggest Jewish billionaire winner, raising his estimated fortune to $198.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Oracle gained approximately $24 billion in value during the day. Ellison owns 40.6 percent of the company through roughly 1.16 billion shares, meaning every major movement in Oracle has an enormous effect on his personal fortune.

Oracle climbed during a broad technology rally as investors returned to major software companies. The company is also preparing to announce its latest financial results on September 10, when investors will learn whether its rapidly expanding AI and cloud business is keeping pace with the billions being spent on new data centers.

Ellison did not receive $9.8 billion in cash. His Oracle ownership simply became worth that much more. He finished ahead of Mark Zuckerberg, who gained approximately $6 billion, Michael Dell, who gained $5.3 billion, and Larry Page, who gained $4.2 billion.

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Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer secured $380 million for his Manhattan office tower after Bloomberg committed to remain inside the building through 2040. Wells Fargo and German bank LBBW provided the money for 120 Park Avenue, located directly across from Grand Central Terminal.

Bloomberg occupies nearly 500,000 square feet across 20 floors, making it the building’s largest tenant. Its new agreement adds another 11 years to the company’s lease and gives Ofer guaranteed rent from one of the world’s largest financial media companies for years to come.

Ofer’s company, Global Holdings, purchased the 26 story tower for approximately $526 million in 2008. The building also contains stores, restaurants and direct access to Grand Central, giving it one of Manhattan’s strongest office locations.

The $380 million replaces older borrowing attached to the property. Banks are more willing to provide enormous loans when a building has a powerful tenant committed for many years, and Bloomberg’s decision gave Ofer the security needed to complete the deal.

Ofer is one of Israel’s wealthiest businessmen, with major holdings in real estate, shipping and technology. The agreement strengthens his control of a valuable Park Avenue property while keeping Bloomberg inside his building until 2040.

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Jewish Congressman Josh Gottheimer has won House approval for a bill that would make universities choose between boycotting Israel and keeping access to federal student aid. The bill passed 237 to 169, with 33 Democrats joining 203 Republicans and one independent.

The bill targets official university boycotts, such as refusing to buy from, invest in or work with Israeli companies for political reasons. A university that participates could be removed from federal programs that provide Pell Grants and student loans, preventing students from using that money at the school.

Universities receiving federal money for international education programs would also have to treat Israel like every other country. They could not block American students or professors from programs in Israel, or exclude Israelis from programs on their campuses.

Gottheimer coauthored the bill with Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx. He said universities receiving American taxpayer money should not be allowed to discriminate against Israel, Israeli institutions or Israeli students.

The bill does not punish students or professors for protesting Israel. It only applies to official actions taken by universities. It must still pass the Senate and be signed by President Trump before becoming law.