Kobi Richter

Kobi Richter
יעקב (קובי) ריכטר
Richter in August 2018
Born	(1945-12-24) December 24, 1945 Ramat Yohanan, Mandatory Palestine
Citizenship	Israeli
Education	Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Tel Aviv University, Medical school, MIT AI Lab.
Occupations	Industrialist, entrepreneur, and former fighter pilot
Known for	Co-founder and manager of Orbotech, Medinol; former Chairman of Darkenu, Former Fighter Pilot
Spouse	Dr. Judith Richter
Military career
Allegiance	Israel
Branch	Israeli Air Force
Rank	Aluf Mishne (Colonel)
Commands	No. 117 Squadron
Conflicts	Six-Day War War of Attrition Yom Kippur War

Jacob (Kobi) Richter (born December 24, 1945) is an Israeli industrialist, entrepreneur, and former chairman of the "Our Way" movement. Richter is a former fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, a combat fighter pilot credited with 11.5 killings of enemy aircraft and helicopters.

In June 2021, the economic newspaper "TheMarker" estimated his fortune at approximately $2 billion, in its list of the 500 richest people in Israel.

Early life and Career

Richter grew up on Kibutz Ramat Yohanan, the middle of three children of Kalman, a Polish-born CFO and Metal worker, and Mira, an Austrian-born accountant. As a teenager, he excelled at studies and swimming. He was a member of the Israeli National team in Swimming. In the mid-1960s, during his research for the book "Children of the Dream," renowned psychologist Bruno Bettelheim interviewed teenagers on Kibutz Ramat Yohanan. Richter was one of the interviewees, and in response to the question "What would you like to do when you grow up?" he replied, "I would like to be a pilot and a scientist." The answer was proof, for Bettelheim, that the children of the kibbutz incubator were children with a poor perception of reality, as these two goals do not typically go together. When the fighter pilot Kobi became a visiting professor in MIT, Bettelheim was proven wrong.

Military service

He enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1964 and served for 22 years as a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force. He graduated from Flight Course No. 50 in July 1966 and was assigned as an Oragan pilot in Squadron 107. During the Six-Day War, he participated in the attack on the El Arish airbase in Operation Moked. During the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War, he served as a Mirage III pilot in Squadron 117. During his service in the squadron, he participated in many air fights, including an air fight against 12 Soviet pilots and shot down 11.5 aircraft and helicopters.

His killings

Aerial victories of Kobi Richter

No.	Date	Aircraft flown	Aircraft shot down	Weapon	Details
1	24 February 1968	Mirage III	Syria MiG-17	Cannons	Near Damascus during an attack on terrorist training camps.
2	2 July 1969	Mirage III	Egypt MiG-21	Shafrir 2	First aerial victory achieved using the Shafrir 2 missile.
3	8 July 1969	Mirage III	Syria MiG-21	Cannons	During a large-scale air battle over the Golan Heights and Damascus.
4	8 January 1970	Mirage III	Syria MiG-21	Shafrir 2
5	15 May 1970	Mirage III	Egypt MiG-17	Air-to-air missile	First of two Egyptian aircraft that attacked IDF forces east of the Suez Canal.
6	15 May 1970	Mirage III	Egypt MiG-17	Air-to-air missile	Second aircraft of the pair; shot down over the Shalufa area.
6.5	26 June 1970	Mirage III	Syria MiG-17	Cannons	Shared aerial victory with Yehuda Koren during Operation Keton 10.
7.5	7 October 1973	Mirage III	Syria MiG-21	Cannons	Second day of the Yom Kippur War.
8.5	9 October 1973	Mirage III	Syria Mil Mi-8		Fourth day of the Yom Kippur War.
9.5	10 October 1973	Mirage III	Syria MiG-21	Shafrir 2	Fifth day of the Yom Kippur War.
10.5	10 October 1973	Mirage III	Syria Sukhoi Su-7		Fifth day of the Yom Kippur War.
11.5	22 October 1973	Mirage III	Syria MiG-21	Cannons

During his military service, he graduated with Honors in biology and biochemistry from the University of the Negev and in 1976 completed his Ph.D. studies at Tel Aviv University, in the field of Brain research, specializing in the way the brain performs mathematical calculations. In 1979, he began postdoctoral studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), working on artificial intelligence and Brain research, specifically in Computer-Vision. After returning to Israel, he was appointed head of the Air Force's R&D department. In February 1986, he left the IDF with the rank of colonel.

Business career

After his release, he was appointed in Orbot, a company he founded with his brother Yochai and other partners back in 1983, as the head of R&D and Strategic Customers’ control. The company specialized in computer vision technology and supplied inspection systems to microelectronics manufacturers worldwide, enabling the detection and correction of defects in panels and wafers before they were assembled into finished products. In 1992, it merged with its main competitor, Optrotech, to form a single company, Orbotech. After the merger, Richter left the company and was among the founders of Marathon, a venture capital fund that was among the first to be established in Israel. Richter was CEO of Marathon until 1995.

In 1992, he and his wife Judith founded the medical device company Medinol. Medinol invented,developed and manufactured the first usable Coronary stent for use by cardiologists, under the brand name "Nir" to commemorate Nir Poraz, A special unit commander who was killed trying to save a Hamas hostage. Boston Scientific marketed the products, and the company was very successful, with revenues totalling hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Boston Scientific attempted to steal from Medinol, its partner both the design of the stents and the special technology of manufacturing it. After a long trial Boston Scientific paid $750M to settle the case.

In 1993, the Richters founded Medcon, which developed medical information management software in the field of cardiology. Medcon's software included capabilities for image, information, and workflow management in the cardiology department. In 1999, the company was floated on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In 2005, control of the company was sold to an American company, at a value of $105 million.

Over the years, Richter was involved in many other ventures, and in other startups, all in fields where he could supply technological, commercial and management expertise, aside from the investment. In 2000, the Richters founded Microtech, which develops an implanted sensor to be monitored from the outside and to supply information for device optimization And disease management, and in 2007, Valve Medical, which develops valves that are implanted in a minimally invasive procedure, both of which are fully owned by them.

Richter was also the largest private shareholder in Orbotech. In March 2018, Orbotech was sold to the American company KLA, and Richter received approximately $180 million for his share.

In 2017, Richter was elected a member of the American National Academy of Inventors. That same year, Richter invested in Nostromo Energy, which developed an energy storage solution, and is a member of its board of directors.

In March 2026, Richter was a partner in a group of high-tech entrepreneurs led by Assaf Rappaport, which acquired Reshet 13 from Len Blavatnik. The acquisition was made through the Merit Spread Foundation, to prevent a direct link of high-tech professionals to the channel and ensure its editorial independence.

Public activity

Between 2016 and 2019, he co-founded the "Drakeno" movement, which worked to connect the moderate left and right wings of the Israeli society and operated the online TV channel DemocratTV, and served as its chairman.

In June 2019, he was the founders with Ehud Barak of the Democratic Israel party ahead of the 22nd Knesset elections.

His family

He met his wife Judith, at the Ramat David air base where he served as a pilot and she served as an officer in the same squadron. The couple has three children and they live in Tel Aviv. His older brother Yochai also served as a fighter pilot in the Air Force and later as Richter's business partner. His sister Eli, lives in the artists’ village of Ein Hod.

External links

• Wikimedia Commons media related to Kobi Richter
• Articles by Kobi Richter, Haaretz

• Sarah Leibowitz-Dar, "This is their secret", TheMarker, 30 July 1999: https://www.themarker.com/misc/article.jsp?aid= (link placeholder if exact URL unavailable)
• Shahar Ginosar, "Mr. Kobi and Dr. Richter", Ynet, 17 April 2001: https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5536984,00.html
• Ari Shavit, "Number One", Haaretz, 4 December 2001: https://www.haaretz.co.il/opinions/2001-12-04/ty-article/.premium/
• Guy Rolnik, "Kobi Richter: 'I don’t know if I achieved the Israeli dream, but I achieved my dream; I never dreamed of becoming a millionaire'", TheMarker, 2 May 2006: https://www.themarker.com/misc/article.jsp?aid=
• "When there is a good idea, it is important not to sell", Globes, 5 May 2010: https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-100054 (example archived Globes format; exact article URL needed)
• Kobi Richter, "They only know how to fight", Haaretz, 22 November 2012: https://www.haaretz.co.il/opinions/2012-11-22/ty-article/
• Tali Heruti-Sover, "Yehudit Richter: 'We are not made of material that collapses'", TheMarker, 4 January 2014 (subscription required): https://www.themarker.com/
• Kobi Meidan, Cross Israel – Conversation with Kobi Richter, Israeli Educational Television, 2014: https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan/kan-11/
• Maya Sela, "Kobi Richter: I want to break the definitions that anyone on the left is a traitor", Globes, 12 February 2017: https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-100
• Gali Weinreb, Shiri Habib-Valdhorn, "'I fear my grandchildren will not have the same Israel I had'", Globes, 30 March 2018: https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-100
• Chen Shalta, "For Kobi Richter, one of the architects of the political union in the center, it does not matter who wins", Globes, 5 April 2019: https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-100
• Ari Libsker, "'Those who know me know I am not the type to be thrown aside. They would not dare do that'", Calcalist, 4 July 2019: https://www.calcalist.co.il/
• Gil Plotkin, "The kibbutz, the high-tech, the money, the state", Davar, 5 May 2022: https://www.davar1.co.il/
• Gali Bloch-Liran, "Kobi Richter retraces his path from kibbutz schooling as a child to the empire he built with his wife", Calcalist, 4 April 2023: https://www.calcalist.co.il/