Beny Steinmetz (; born 2 April 1956) is an Israeli businessman and entrepreneur, with a focus in the mining and energy sectors, while being also active in the real estate and diamond-mining industries. Beny Steinmetz is the chairman and co-founder of the philanthropic trust, Agnes & Beny Steinmetz Foundation and is actively involved in the art world in Israel. Early life and family Beny Steinmetz was born in 1956 in Netanya, Israel and is the fourth child of Rubin Steinmetz, a pioneer of the diamond trade. At the age of 21, after serving three years in the military, Steinmetz emigrated from Israel to Belgium, to the famous diamond hub, Antwerp. There he began paving his long and successful career as a businessman and entrepreneur. Today Steinmetz lives in Israel with his wife Agnes and their four children. Steinmetz also holds French citizenship and describes himself as an "international Israeli." Business career Building on the family legacy and working alongside his father, he contributed to transforming the family business into one of the most successful diamond trading companies in the world. In 1997, he decided to get away from Antwerp and diamonds and left Belgium to settle in Israel. Soon he began exploring opportunities that arose in Africa. In 1988 he bought his first and largest diamond factory in South Africa. In the coming years he expanded his activities to other African countries, such as Angola and Botswana. He also branched out into ventures such as mining, real estate and capital markets. The group operates in more than 25 countries. Steinmetz occupies an advisory role in the Beny Steinmetz Group Resources (BSGR) Board of Directors. BSGR is a natural resource company active in the fields of oil & gas, mining, metal and power headquartered in the island of Guernsey. Steinmetz and billionaire George Soros, once business partners, parted company in the 1990s over a Russian business deal gone sour. Koidu Holdings, which formerly operated as a joint venture, has been wholly owned by the BSGR company since 2007. In 1997, he founded STI Ventures NV, a venture capital firm that invests in start-up companies in Israel. In 1999, he was the owner of Tucows. In 2007, Steinmetz "was forced to abandon plans for a $580 million share sale in London for his Cunico Resources vehicle." A now-defunct company, of which he was a founder and shareholder, Nikanor plc, listed in London,