Three prominent Jewish-American business leaders under the age of 50 – David Ellison, Brandon Korff, and Adam Neumann – are behind many of the major moves in the media and technology industries over the last few years, from Hollywood to real estate.
Despite making headlines, Ellison, through his $8 billion takeover of Paramount, Korff with his application for Israeli residency, and Neumann by reinventing himself after WeWork, the three maintain their stronger connections to Judaism and Israel, not losing sight of their roots.
David Ellison, 42, is an American film producer and the founder of the Skydance Media company. Having taken over Paramount last month following an $8b. merger, he now aims to “unlock Paramount’s full potential” by restructuring and cutting costs. He has himself directed some major blockbusters, including Top Gun: Maverick (for which he received an Oscar nomination), Mission: Impossible – Fallout, World War Z, Jack Reacher, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Trek Beyond.
Ellison is no stranger to the business world. His father, Larry Ellison, is the billionaire co-founder of a tech conglomerate and was a close friend of the late Steve Jobs. Larry Ellison – who in July 2025 was named the second-wealthiest man in the world – was raised Reform Jewish but has said on record that he does not subscribe to Judaism. He has, however, said he feels deeply connected to Israel.
David seems to have followed in his father’s footsteps: on October 13, 2023, Skydance Media gave $1 million to humanitarian relief efforts in Israel following the Hamas terror attacks. In a statement on Instagram, Ellison said, “Skydance stands with Israel.” Then, in the first week of September 2025, Paramount moved to acquire The Free Press news site, founded by Zionist Jewish journalist Bari Weiss, for over $100m.
Brandon Korff
He is not the only Paramount figure to make The Jerusalem Post’s list: Brandon Korff, the heir to the Paramount empire, was behind the $35b. sale of the business to Ellison. He is the son of Shari Redstone and grandson of Sumner Redstone, from whom he inherited Paramount.
Korff, 39, a Jewish-American billionaire, also filed his application for Israeli residency at the end of August 2025. His connection to Israel is well-established: he has made substantial charitable donations to various Israeli causes, including the IDF, medical institutions, and local community projects. His brother also served as a lone soldier in an elite IDF unit. Korff was previously in a relationship with Israeli model Yael Shelbia.
Adam Neumann
Another influential Jewish businessman under the age of 50 is Israeli-American billionaire Adam Neumann.
Neumann founded WeWork, the famous coworking space company, in 2010, and served as CEO until 2019. The company had an expected value of $47b. in January 2019. His exit from the company was the subject of a Hulu documentary, which shed light on his unorthodox practices and a culture of excess. Neumann reportedly banned company employees from eating meat, then allegedly got caught eating meat afterward, and threw a lavish party (featuring a member of hip-hop group Run-DMC) just minutes after firing 7% of the company’s staff. He has also said he wishes to live forever, become the world’s first trillionaire, and become prime minister of Israel.
Since leaving WeWork, Neumann founded Flow, a residential brand, which has been involved in major deals including the 60% purchase of a major waterfront property in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood, known as The River District, at a valuation of about $525m., earlier this year. Through Flow, Neumann also acquired a 30% stake in Israel’s Canada Global, valued at NIS 99m.
Despite his illustrious past, Judaism and Israel (his country of birth) remain important to Neumann. His mother, Dr. Avivit Neumann, told 103FM in 2019 that he found religion and joined Chabad after leaving WeWork. “He’s a US member of the Chabad religious movement, which is something nice, with songs at Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday and going to synagogue on Sabbaths and holidays,” she said.
Neumann is married and has six children.
<< No. 28: Levi Shemtov, Elliot Cosgrove, Nitzan Reuven, Dov Landau