Sam Mizrahi

Early life

Sam Mizrahi first saw his adopted nation of Canada when his family visited from Iran to see the Montreal Olympics in 1976. With the prospect of revolution in Iran on the horizon, the family made plans to emigrate.

Soon, young Sam began his path to entrepreneurship. At the age of 16, he founded Unimax, a venture that sold and imported batteries and blank audio and video cassette tapes to independent stores in Toronto’s and Montreal’s electronic district. Within a few years, the company had annual revenue of nearly $18 million.

As an adult, he moved to Los Angeles, looking to start a business in an industry where he could harness technology and create innovative environmental systems, similar to what he had done with the electronics business. He started Dove Cleaners, a successful upscale dry-cleaning company that he then brought back to Toronto and took public on the TSXV. Dove Cleaners soon became the largest luxury dry cleaning business in Canada, with over 100 retail outlets. By 2005, Dove had won numerous awards for excellence and innovation.

Career

Sam Mizrahi founded his first real estate development company in 2006. Mizrahi Design Build continues to excel in high-end sub-contracting and builds a range of projects, from single dwellings to mid to high-rise mixed-use buildings, commercial properties and luxury condos.

Two years later, he founded Mizrahi Developments, which focuses on identifying mixed-use, commercial and residential opportunities and executing a vision for them to the highest international standards. Under Sam’s leadership, the company has created an award-winning brand characterized by old-world craftsmanship, high attention to detail, innovation and a hands-on pursuit of excellence in all aspects of its business.

In 2014, Mizrahi Developments announced The One, a mixed-use high-rise at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Bloor Street in midtown Toronto, an iconic address at a location that’s integral to the history and identity of North America’s fourth largest city. The One, which will be the tallest residential tower in Canada, is an unprecedented assembly of adjacent properties at a key intersection that enjoys the highest number of transit riders, pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the city.

Designed by Foster + Partners, a London UK-based firm recognized as one of the most innovative architectural practices in the world, The One is designed as an exoskeleton. The structure features supports on the exterior, which allows for maximum light and interiors free of supporting pillars. A retail “jewel-box” podium of eight storeys will offer flagship stores for some of the world’s leading brands

In 2016, Mizrahi Developments also launched 1451 Wellington West in Ottawa, Ontario. At the corner of Wellington West and Island Park Drive in the popular Westboro neighbourhood, Mizrahi Developments is creating a 12-storey condominium building of architectural note. Featuring a copper mansard roof and pale limestone exterior, the design by Page + Steele/IBI Group Architects has been recognized by Ottawa’s Urban Review Design Panel for its distinctive style and is designated as a landmark project. In the same year, Mizrahi Developments also announced plans for 128 Hazelton, a boutique mid-rise at Davenport and Hazelton Avenue. With up to 20 residences, the building completes the elegant streetscape along Davenport with the same classic style as 133 Hazelton and 181 Davenport.

These mixed-use, mid-rise boutique projects in Toronto’s Yorkville heritage neighbourhood helped to redefine expectations for luxury condominiums, achieving record-breaking sales in 2013 and 2014 in one of the most competitive real estate marketplaces in North America

Sam is also the co-Founder and chairman of Rauva, the Mediterranean area’s first tailor-made banking and finance super-app.

Net Worth

Sam Mizrahi’s net worth is estimated at approximately $230 million.

Achievement

Sam Mizrahi has won numerous awards for the quality and innovation of his buildings and the generosity of his philanthropy.

He supports a range of charities in healthcare, the arts and the communities in which Mizrahi Developments is active. Within the Jewish community, he is a leading fundraiser, philanthropist and participant. Twice he has co-chaired the United Jewish Appeal’s “Walk with Israel,” the largest attended fundraising event in Toronto.

In 2015, he was co-chair of the UJA’s “Run With Israel” event. Sam serves as a board member of Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, a non-profit organization promoting tolerance and human rights around the world. In 2014, Sam and his wife traveled as part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s contingent of business leaders to Israel. Sam was also responsible for building the Temmy Latner Forest Hill Jewish Centre.