Leonardo DiCaprio, a Hollywood icon and investor in Israel

A few years ago, I attended a private screening of the ‘The Wolf of Wall Street” that was being hosted in NYC by my firm and Variety Magazine for a select group of clients.  At the end of the screening, we had a Question and Answer session, in which Hollywood icon Leonardo DicCaprio came out for an interview and answered questions from the audience. I was one of the people selected, in which I asked Leo how his relationship with legendary director Martin Scorcese has evolved over the years as they have collaborated on many classics including the Gangs of New York, the Departed, the Aviator and at that time ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. Leo answered that”

As soon as I had the opportunity to really finance a movie based on my name, which was essentially after ‘Titanic,’ I pursued him,” DiCaprio said of 2002’s “Gangs of New York,” their first outing together. “I know the trust level has built over the years. [Scorsese] has taught me not only about being a better actor, but the history of cinema and the importance of cinema as an art form.”

Leonardo DiCaprio is an Academy Award-winning American actor and film producer whose movies have grossed over $7.2 billion worldwide. Known for playing complex, unconventional characters, he rose from a prominent 1990s actor to a global superstar and critical heavyweight. Alongside his cinematic success, DiCaprio is a leading global advocate for environmental conservation. While many in the World know of Leo as an international Hollywood icon, there is another accomplishment in my eyes that sheds even a greater light on my admiration of him and that is that (despite pressure from the outside world from hateful and antisemitic Organizations such as BDS), he invests in Israel.

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a Palestinian-led global campaign launched in 2005. It aims to pressure Israel economically and culturally to end its so-called “occupation” of Palestinian territories, grant equal rights to Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel (which Israel already does), and promote the right of return for “Palestinian refugees”. Supporters falsely view it as a peaceful human rights tool modeled after the anti-apartheid campaign in South Africa which could not be further from the truth. Critics and the Israeli government argue that the movement is antisemitic because it delegitimizes the Jewish state (the greatest outpost of democracy in the Middle East), holds Israel to a double standard, and rejects the right to Jewish national self-determination. In addition, it targets the world’s only Jewish nation while ignoring severe human rights abuses by other regimes, seeks the eventual dismantling of Israel as a Jewish homeland rather than just modifying its policies and frequently utilizes rhetoric, imagery, or tropes that cross from political critique into anti-Jewish animus.

Despite all of the pressure from the outside world from haters such as BDS, Leonardo DiCaprio has a history of investing in the Jewish State and believing in the Start-up Nation. He currently holds a 10% ownership stake in a $100 million luxury eco-hotel project in Herzliya Marina, Israel, which received final construction approval from the Tel Aviv District Planning and Building Committee. While his partnership with the developers was first announced in 2018, the project made major headlines following its final expansion and zoning clearance. The remaining 90% is divided between the prominent Israeli real estate developers Hagag Group and brothers Ahikam and Lior Cohen. Due to approved modifications to building rights, the development vastly expanded from its original 10,000-square-meter layout to 51,000 square meters. The approved complex features a 14-story hotel hosting 365 rooms, a conference center, retail spaces, fine-dining restaurants, and an 8,000-square-meter underground parking garage. True to DiCaprio’s public profile as an environmental advocate, he spearheaded the integration of green technology to make the coastal Herzliya resort a model for environmentally friendly hospitality

The Herzliya Marina hotel is part of a larger history of Israeli investments curated by DiCaprio, which mostly blend tech innovation with his core focus on environmental sustainability. In 2021, DiCaprio invested an undisclosed amount and joined the advisory board of Aleph Farms, a Rehovot-based food technology startup that uses 3D bioprinting to produce slaughter-free, cultivated meat. DiCaprio invested an undisclosed amount of capital to help scale up the manufacturing and international distribution of slaughter-free beef .He joined the company’s Sustainability Advisory Board to provide strategic counsel on food system transformation and mainstream adoption.  The Rehovot-based startup isolates non-genetically engineered cells from living cows to grow whole-cut steaks and ribeyes using 3D bioprinting tech. Following DiCaprio’s investment, Aleph Farms achieved a massive regulatory milestone in January 2024 by receiving the world’s first regulatory approval for cultivated alfalfa-fed steak from Israel’s Ministry of Health.  In 2011, early in his venture capital track, he participated in a $4 million funding round for Mobli Ltd., a real-time photo and visual media sharing platform where he also acted as a brand advisor.

Despite the pressure from antisemites, terror supporters and critics launching social media campaigns targeting DiCaprio, calling for boycotts of his films and accusing the actor of “greenwashing” and investing in Israel’s infrastructure, Leo has not caved in. They say that actions speak louder than words and I have always believed in this motif. We live in a time and day where there are people who believe that if you keep talking louder than you will prove your point. My admiration for Leonardo DiCaprio goes beyond his Film achievements and extends to the fact that he has put his money where his mouth is.