Haim Saban

Haim Saban is a media mogul, producer, and investor who has been the most consequential pro-Israel Democratic donor in American political history, channeling hundreds of millions of dollars into Democratic Party politics with the explicit and frequently stated objective of securing and maintaining Democratic support for Israel. Born October 15, 1944, in Alexandria, Egypt, into a Sephardic Jewish family, Saban grew up in Israel after his family emigrated when he was twelve, served in the Israeli Defense Forces, and immigrated to the United States in 1983. He built Saban Entertainment into a major production company before creating Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1993 — a global franchise that generated billions in licensing revenue and established him as one of the most successful entertainment entrepreneurs of the decade. In 2001, he sold his entertainment assets to News Corporation for $5.3 billion, making him one of the wealthiest individuals in American media.

Saban's political strategy is as transparent as it is effective. He has said publicly: "I'm a one-issue guy, and that one issue is Israel." Over three decades, he has given more than $15 million in a single election cycle to Democratic candidates and party committees, making him one of the largest individual Democratic donors in modern American history. His giving is not ideological in the traditional left-right sense — he has explicitly said he funds Democrats to ensure that the party that he believes is capable of winning the White House remains committed to the U.S.-Israel alliance. He co-founded the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution (now the Center for Universal Education), which produced serious policy scholarship that shaped Democratic foreign policy thinking on the Middle East for a decade. The annual Saban Forum, which he has convened in Washington and Israel, became the preeminent venue for U.S.-Israel strategic dialogue and attracted sitting presidents, prime ministers, secretaries of state, and defense ministers.

Beyond politics, Saban has invested in Israeli media and communications, maintaining an active portfolio of Israeli business relationships that reflects a conviction — shared by Miriam Adelson and Paul Singer from the Republican side — that economic partnership with Israel is as important as political support. His Saban Capital Group manages investments across multiple sectors with significant Israeli exposure. At Rank 18, Saban represents a type almost unique in American political life: the single-issue mega-donor who has built an entire infrastructure of institutional influence — think tanks, party giving, media ownership, policy forums — around one organizing commitment, and who has never pretended otherwise.