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Arcadi Aleksandrovich Gaydamak (; ; born 8 April 1952 in Moscow, USSR) is a Russian-born French-Israeli businessman, philanthropist, and President of the Congress of Jewish Religious Communities and Organizations of Russia (KEROOR). In the 1990s he was awarded the French Ordre national du Mérite and the Ordre du Mérite agricole for actions taken to rescue personnel in the War in Bosnia. He holds Israeli, Canadian, French, and Russian nationalities, as well as a diplomatic passport from Angola. Gaydamak's net worth was valued between $700 million and $4 billion USD in 2007.
Gaydamak invested in real estate in France and Israel, in Kazphosphate (the world's largest phosphate producer), in a gold mine and a metal processing plant in Kazakhstan, in the Russian weekly Moskovskiye Novosti, in food distribution in Russia and in oil fields and granaries in Angola. In Israel, his assets included the Bikur Holim hospital in Jerusalem, the Beitar Jerusalem football club, 15% of Africa Israel Holdings, and 99FM radio station. His significant and rapid investments in Israel made him a celebrity in Israel during the mid-2000s, with many mentions in the local media.
In 1982, Gaydamak Translations opened a branch in Canada. During that period he commenced international business, in import and export. After the collapse of the USSR, he built up ties in Russia and Kazakhstan, and formed various business organizations across Europe.
Gaydamak owns a home in Caesarea, Israel. He is married to Irene Tzirolnicova, with whom he has three children. He speaks Russian language, French language, and English language. He also speaks Portuguese and Hebrew on a basic level.
In December 2008, Gaydamak returned to Russia, settling in Moscow. In February 2009, it was reported that he was seeking to regain his Russian citizenship, lost when he emigrated to Israel decades earlier.
Gaydamak ran for mayor of Jerusalem in November 2008, but his party won no seats on the city council. During the campaign, Gaydamak courted the East Jerusalem Palestinian vote. Gaydamak approached the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, Palestinian political figures and media, and came away with a near endorsement.
In January 2006, Portsmouth F.C. was sold to his son, Alexandre Gaydamak by Milan Mandarić. Gaydamak later sold the club to Ali al-Faraj in 2009. In the summer of 2008, Gaydamak said his son Alexandre was owner of Portsmouth F.C., and it was confirmed by the Premier League.
In March 2006, he announced having bought the French newspaper France Soir via his company Moscow News. He had purchased the Russian Moskovskie Novosti newspaper in 2004, fired some senior journalists, and changed the paper's mandate to a firmly pro-government one, appointing a pro-Putin journalist as editor-in-chief.
In June 2007, Gaydamak negotiated a deal to buy the non-kosher supermarket chain Tiv Taam. It was reported that he was planning to make the stores comply with Jewish religious practice: close them on Shabbat and halt the sale of pork products. A few days later the deal fell through, resulting in a lawsuit.
In July 2009, Gaydamak announced his decision to give up the ownership of Beitar Jerusalem in favor of Itzik Kornfein and Guma Aguiar. Kornfein would handle buying and selling players, while Aguair would engage in financing.
During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict Gaydamak constructed a tent-village on the Nitzanim beach, hosting thousands of families who fled the rocket-ridden North and had no place to go. Gaydamak's contributions totaled $15 million (about $500,000 a day). In November 2006, he funded a one-week-long vacation in Eilat for hundreds of Sderot residents who have experienced Qassam rocket from Gaza City.
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