Leon Charney (July 23, 1938 – March 21, 2016) was an American real estate tycoon, attorney, author, philanthropist, political pundit, media personality and Jewish cantor.

He lived in Manhattan in New York City, dividing his time between his residences in Tel Aviv and Boca Raton, Florida.

He was a graduate of Yeshiva University where he participated in demonstrations to free Soviet Jewry, and Brooklyn Law School.

Charney was best known as a New York real estate baron, but his role as one of the backdoor players integral to sealing the Camp David Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt later emerged.

The 2009 list[1] – the first to reflect the world financial crisis, indicated Charney's net worth had fallen in the previous year, although his rank had jumped to No.

[3][7] He became a member of the bar in 1965, and with $200 in the bank started his own law firm representing sports and show-business personalities, including Jackie Mason and Sammy Davis Jr.[8][9][10] As a young attorney, he was also a fierce advocate for the passage of the Good Samaritan Law after witnessing a man die in public when doctors refused to intervene out of fear of being sued.

[11] The film's title is actually an opaque reference to Charney himself, considered by many to be the "back door channel" that enabled the Camp David peace to materialize.

In addition to Carter and Charney, the film features former Secretary-General of the U.N. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Dr. Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. Secretary of State, CNN's Wolf Blitzer, and Senior Adviser to King Mohammed VI of Morocco, André Azoulay and many other international dignitaries who played roles both major and minor in the Israeli-Egyptian peace.

Over its 25 years of broadcasting, the show featured numerous prominent guests including Ed Koch, Rudy Giuliani, David Dinkins, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, and Ehud Barak.

[7] Although his show was seen weekly on WNYE-TV for years, in later years it gained ground after Arnie Mazer became the Senior Producer and when the station became NYC Media in 2005, after New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg enabled his top media executive, Arick Wierson, to merge the stations with the existing nyctv cable channels.

[20] He is also the major benefactor of the University of Haifa's Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences,[21] for which he reportedly donated more than $10 million in 2007.