Haim Saban (/səˈbɑːn/; Hebrew: חיים סבן; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, musical composer and producer of records, film, and television.

[1] A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 232nd richest person in America.

[11] In Israel, Saban worked as a tour promoter but found himself deep in debt due to financial losses during the Yom Kippur War.

In 1978, Kaniel recorded the theme for Goldorak, the French-dubbed version of UFO Robot Grendizer, the first anime to be telecast in France.

[10][12] After moving in 1983 to the United States,[13] Haim Saban and partner Shuki Levy became known for soundtrack compositions for children's television programs of the 1980s.

Although Levy and Saban composed for their own properties (such as Kidd Video and Maple Town), they scored for other production companies as well (such as Inspector Gadget, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, M.A.S.K., Dinosaucers, Dragon Quest, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, and Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors).

In the 1990s, Saban's company became known for the production of Power Rangers, Masked Rider, VR Troopers, and Big Bad Beetleborgs, which were Western adaptations of Japanese tokusatsu shows.

Eying The Family Channel, News Corp. made an offer to purchase IFE through the Fox Kids Worldwide division in 1997.

[20] On July 23, 2001, Saban announced that he and News Corporation would sell Fox Family Worldwide Inc for $5.3 billion to The Walt Disney Company.

The group was successful in acquiring Univision with a bid valued at $13.7 billion (USD),[26] but sold to private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners and ex-Viacom finance head Wade Davis in 2020.

[29] Saban, a long-time supporter and donor of many Jewish and pro-Israel causes, has stated his main goal in multiple interviews: "I'm a one-issue guy, and my issue is Israel.

[1]Saban has been a consistent donor to the United States Democratic Party according to his mandatory Federal Election Commission filings.

During the Clinton administration, the entertainment executive served on the President's Export Council, advising the White House on trade issues.

[citation needed] In September 2004, Hillary Clinton described Saban as a very good friend, supporter and adviser: "I am grateful for his commitment to Israel, to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East and to my foundation's work, particularly on reconciliation issues.

[25] In June 2007, Saban and Steven Spielberg co-hosted a Hillary Clinton fundraiser at the house of Peter Chernin, the president of News Corporation.

"[36] Saban has also made donations to members of the Republican Party including a 2003 contribution to George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.

Nuclear weapons in the hands of a religious leadership that is convinced that the annihilation of Israel will bring about the emergence of a new Muslim caliphate?

"[42] If Obama strikes a "bad deal" with Iran that would put Israel at risk, "I would bomb the living daylights out of these sons of bitches," Saban said at a meeting of the Israeli American Council.

[47] In 2020, Saban collaborated with UAE Ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, on a June 12 op-ed addressed to the Israeli public in an effort to halt Israel's planned annexation of parts of the West Bank and create a unified front between the UAE and Israel against the opposing forces of Iran.

[50] The efforts were purported to have helped pave the way to the August 2020 signing of the Abraham Accords, brokered by United States President, Donald Trump, and normalizing ties between Israel and UAE.

[citation needed] Saban sponsors the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee's Saban National Political Leadership Training Seminar, a series of semiannual seminars in Washington to provide college student activists for three days of intensive pro-Israel advocacy training.

"[54] Among the prominent figures to have addressed the seminars are Senator Evan Bayh and Congressman Mark Kirk and academics David Makovsky, Robert Satloff and Dennis Ross.