Lev Leviev was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where his parents were prominent members of the Bukharan Jewish community. Despite the harsh oppression by the Communist regime, they raised their children as God-fearing Jews.
Shortly after he came to Israel at the age of 15, Lev began to apprentice in a diamond polishing plant. After serving in the Israel Defense Forces, he established his own diamond polishing plant. His business initiatives have subsequently expanded to many different areas, including real estate and chemicals, in many places around the world.
In 1989, Lev received a blessing from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who told him to increase his philanthropic activities and spread Judaism, especially among the Jews of the FSU. The Ohr Avner educational network, named after his father, that he established encompasses hundreds of kindergartens, day schools and other educational institutions across the former Soviet Union, in Israel and New York, and has many thousands of students and graduates. Leviev is also involved in thousands of other philanthropic initiatives in Israel and abroad, including the construction of the Olga and Lev Leviev Heart Center at the Sheba Medical Center. Leviev is a strong supporter of Keren Hayesod and participates in the prestigious International Leadership Reunion (ILR). He is president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS and president of the World Congress of Bukharan Jews.
Lev and his wife, Olga, have five sons and four daughters.
