OUR FOUNDER

Izak Parviz Nazarian was born on Feb. 24, 1929 in a Tehran ghetto. When he was 5, his father died and he became “man of the house.” He moved to Israel, where he fought during its War of Independence and served as a chauffeur for then-Foreign Minister Golda Meir. He then returned to Iran and launched a successful construction business. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, he moved to the United States.

A consummate entrepreneur with no college degree, Nazarian soon delved into a string of local businesses. In 1980, he and his younger brother, Younes Nazarian, bought Standard Tool & Die (Stadco), an aerospace tool manufacturer. He served as chairman.

In 1985, he co-founded Omninet, which initially tracked trucks by satellite between construction sites. A few years later, it joined forces with Qualcomm, a technology company of which he was a major shareholder.

As a philanthropist, Nazarian was a major supporter of Israel and Tel Aviv University, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate.

He founded the Citizens’ Empowerment Center in Israel, a nonprofit dedicated to electoral reform.

He also founded Magbit Foundation Los Angeles to help students struggling to finish college.