Ofer vs French Gates

Zodiac Maritime and Microsoft.

The differences

Forbes puts Eyal Ofer about $1.5B ahead of Melinda French Gates.Forbes figures from 9 Oct 2026 and 9 Oct 2026.
Eyal Ofer: inherited and grew it. Melinda French Gates: through marriage.
Eyal Ofer is about 14 years older than Melinda French Gates.
Melinda French Gates has signed the Giving Pledge; Eyal Ofer has not.
Eyal Ofer is from Israel; Melinda French Gates is from United States.

Put someone else on either side

Ofer

French Gates

Net worth, Forbes: $35.8BForbes, 9 Oct 2026; $34.3BForbes, 9 Oct 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $32.1BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026; $17.4BBloomberg, 12 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 65Real-Time list, 15 Oct 2026; No. 67Real-Time list, 9 Oct 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; Not stated

How it started: Inherited and grew itJoined his father's shipping business in the 1970s and took it into real estate and banking; when Sammy Ofer died in 2011 the assets were divided between Eyal and his brother Idan; Through marriageBloomberg: her wealth mainly comes from assets transferred to her in May and August 2021 after her divorce from Bill Gates; Forbes estimates the settlement at $25 billion
Main source: Zodiac shipping group and Global Holdings real estate, through Ofer GlobalBloomberg's largest items: Zodiac Group ($11 billion), Mizrahi Tefahot Bank ($4.1 billion), Royal Caribbean ($3.2 billion), Global Holdings ($1.56 billion US assets); Assets transferred from Cascade Investment after her 2021 divorceForbes lists Microsoft as her source of wealth
Companies: Zodiac Maritime, Global HoldingsZodiac Maritime: Chairman; Global Holdings: Founder and chairman; MicrosoftMicrosoft: None; former general manager of information products
Biggest stake: Zodiac MaritimeStake not stated; MicrosoftStake not stated

Born: 2 Jun 1950Haifa, Israel; 15 Aug 1964Dallas, Texas, United States
Country: IsraelLives in Monte Carlo, Monaco; United StatesLives in Seattle, Washington, United States
Education: Not statedAtlantic College, UK (secondary school); Graduate degreeBS in computer science and economics (1986) and MBA (1987), Duke University
Parents: Elder son of shipping magnate Sammy Ofer, once Israel's richest man; Not stated

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Signed in 2010Co-founded the Giving Pledge
Foundation: Eyal & Marilyn Ofer Family FoundationSupports education, healthcare and the arts; Pivotal Philanthropies FoundationPrivate foundation she formed in 2022 within Pivotal; she co-chaired the Gates Foundation from 2000 to 2024
Lifetime giving: Not stated; $52.6BForbes, 9 Feb 2026. Forbes' estimate of what Bill and Melinda Gates have given away together; Forbes publishes no figure for her alone

Role now: Chair of the boardChairman of Ofer Global, Zodiac Maritime and Global Holdings; No roleHeads Pivotal, the organization she formed in 2015
Successor: His son Daniel Ofer has been CEO of Zodiac Maritime since 2011; his son David is a managing partner of O.G. Venture Partners, and all four children work in Ofer Global's businesses; Not stated
Public office: None found; None found
Legal record: None found; None found