Haim Saban

Haim Saban is a recognized leader in the entertainment industry as founder of Saban Entertainment and Fox Family Worldwide. Mr. Saban is a highly recognized philanthropist and political activist, with a main focus on the U.S./Israeli relationship.

Mr. Saban was born in Alexandria, Egypt. At the age of 12, he immigrated to Israel where he attended agricultural school and served in the military. While in Israel, he built the country's top tour promotion business.

In 1975, Mr. Saban moved to France and set up an independent record company that became one of the most successful European labels, selling more than 18 million records over a period of 8 years.

In 1983, Mr. Saban moved to Los Angeles where he built a chain of recording studios and rapidly became the top supplier of music for television.

In 1988, Mr. Saban began his career in television with the formation of Saban Entertainment, an international television, production, distribution and merchandising company. Saban Entertainment produced several major hits, such as X-Men, numerous Marvel characters and the global phenomenon Mighty Morphin Power Rangers which to this day is the number one selling boy's toys in the United States.

In 1995, Mr. Saban merged Saban Entertainment with Rupert Murdoch's Fox Kids Network to create a fully-integrated entertainment company that brought together Saban's content and merchandising strength with Fox Broadcasting's network distribution.

In 1997, the Saban-Fox partnership acquired the Fox Family Channel, a fully distributed cable network, reaching 81 million homes. They restructured their partnership under the banner Fox Family Worldwide, which included the Fox Family Channel, the Fox Kids Network, Saban Entertainment, and Fox Kids International Network, a publicly traded, European based company with cable and satellite networks reaching 53 countries in Europe and the Middle East. Together they offer an unparalleled breadth and diversity of programming (6,500 negatives) and an extraordinary global distribution platform reaching more than 250 million homes worldwide.

After deciding to dedicate a bigger portion of his time to his philanthropic and political activities, Mr. Saban and Rupert Murdoch joined forces in the sale of Fox Family Worldwide to the Walt Disney Company. The deal, spearheaded by Mr. Saban, was the largest cash transaction ever done by a single individual in the history of Hollywood. It closed on October 24, 2001.

In January 2002, Mr. Saban formed Saban Capital Group, a private and public equity investment company. In February 2002, Governor Gray Davis appointed Mr. Saban to California's Board of Regents, the governing body of the University of California school system.

Mr. Saban lives in Los Angeles with his wife Cheryl and their four children.