He has two older sisters, the art patron Baroness Aileen "Minda" Bronfman de Gunzberg, and architecture expert and developer Phyllis Lambert.

Under the leadership of Charles and brother Edgar, it controlled billions of dollars in liquor, real estate, oil and gas, and chemical companies.

[9] From November 1997 until July 2002, Bronfman was the chairman of the board of Koor Industries Ltd.,[10] one of Israel's largest investment holding companies.

In April 2013, Bronfman was one of 100 prominent American Jews who sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to "work closely" with Secretary of State John Kerry "to devise pragmatic initiatives, consistent with Israel's security needs, which would represent Israel's readiness to make painful territorial sacrifices for the sake of peace.

"[11] He and Michael Steinhardt co-founded Taglit Birthright, a program which provides a free, educational travel experience to Israel for young Jewish adults.

[3] In 1991, Bronfman with billionaire Leslie Wexner formed the "Mega Group",[12] a loosely organized club of some the wealthiest and most influential businessmen who were concerned with Jewish issues.

Max Fisher, Michael Steinhardt, Leonard Abramson, Edgar Bronfman Sr., and Laurence Tisch were some of the members.

[13] The "Mega Group", went on to inspire a number of philanthropic initiatives such as the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education, Birthright Israel, and the upgrading of national Hillel.

[12] He was linked to scandal in 1999, when it was revealed that funds he had donated to social causes were transferred to Ehud Barak's election campaign for Prime Minister of Israel, to which he had previously contributed, among others.

It was out of that discussion that the Heritage Minutes were conceived, piloted, distributed through cinemas and broadcasters across the country, and then confirmed as a major contribution of the foundation – which a few years later became Historica, recently merged with the Dominion Institute.