Edgar de Picciotto: Banker and Builder of Israeli Science

From the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev

Edgar de Picciotto (1929 to 2016) came from a Jewish family whose history of commerce and community leadership stretched back five centuries, from Lebanon through Italy to Switzerland. Born in Lebanon, he became one of the most successful private bankers in Europe and a major supporter of Israeli science.

Banking

Building a Swiss bank

In 1969, de Picciotto founded a bank in Geneva that grew, after a merger, into Union Bancaire Privée, one of the largest privately owned banks in Switzerland. He led it as chairman for decades.

Science in the Negev

A vision for the desert

In the mid 1990s, de Picciotto saw the need to expand biotechnology research in Israel's Negev desert. His vision and funding led to the founding of the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev at Ben Gurion University in 2009. The university honored him with an honorary doctorate in 1994 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.

Read his profile at the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev →

This summary was written by JIMENA and is based on the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev's profile of Edgar de Picciotto, with additional background from WealthBriefing Asia (March 2016). The original profile belongs to the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev.