A spokeswoman for the family said he had died after a serious illness. The family provided no further details.
Mr. Ofer bought his first small cargo ship in the 1950s and built a vast global shipping enterprise, his fleets ranging from tankers to cruise lines, and he had interests in banking and real estate. The Forbes list of world billionaires listed his family as 79th, and Israel’s wealthiest, with a net worth of $10.3 billion.
It is, according to the Ofer Group’s Web site, “a classic tale of a family’s journey from rags to riches.”
It is also a tale tainted by scandal and intrigue.
Although media-shy, Mr. Ofer often made headlines in Israel for his business dealings, and was sometimes assailed for being part of a business elite that critics say wields disproportionate power. The Ofers are among about 20 families who together control 25 percent of the country’s exchange-listed companies.
But the biggest scandal broke two weeks ago, when allegations surfaced that the Ofer family empire was doing business with Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy.
The United States State Department announced on May 24 that it was imposing penalties on the company for violating American sanctions against Iran. The State Department said the Ofer Group’s Singapore subsidiary, Tanker Pacific, sold a ship to Iran in September 2010 for millions of dollars.
Tanker Pacific has denied knowing that the buyer was an Iranian front company.
Days later, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that at least 13 Tanker Pacific ships had docked in Iran over the past decade.
Tanker Pacific confirmed that its ships had docked in Iranian ports over the years, transporting refined oil and petroleum products, which the company said was permitted under international rules. It said that it ceased such trading in 2010 when new American restrictions took effect and that it stopped loading crude oil at Iranian ports in late 2010.
The Ofer family remained silent, but anonymous associates began hinting that the Ofers were not only after money, but had also been providing secret services to the State of Israel.
Adding to the mystery, Meir Dagan, Israel’s recently retired Mossad intelligence agency chief, has weighed in on the Ofer family’s behalf, saying he believed that the whole affair had been blown out of proportion and that the family had not broken any laws.
The Israeli news media have reveled in exposing links between Ofer-owned companies and former or would-be figures in the Israeli military establishment, and some critics accused the Ofers of trying to create a smokescreen of security ties to legitimize questionable dealings.
Ofer family associates have suggested that Israel had given the family permission to dock their ships in Iran. The prime minister’s office issued a statement last week saying there was no such authorization.
In a separate statement after Mr. Ofer’s death, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Mr. Ofer for his contributions to the Israeli economy and society.
“Ofer was a true Zionist,” Mr. Netanyahu said, who even at the peaks of achievement never forgot his obligation to others.
Sammy Hershkovitz was born on Feb. 22, 1922, in Galatz, Romania, and moved with his family to Haifa, then in the British Mandate of Palestine, at age 2. His family later changed its name to the Hebrew name Ofer.
Mr. Ofer joined a shipping agency in Haifa, and served in the British Royal Navy on board a minesweeper during World War II. He then served as an officer in the Israeli Navy. Mr. Ofer and his brother Yehuda, known as Yuli, joined their father’s chandlery business after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and started their own shipping company in the 1950s.
Mr. Ofer lived much of his life in Monaco, but returned to Israel in recent years.
In his later years, Mr. Ofer became an avid art collector and a renowned philanthropist. The family said he had donated more than $100 million for hospitals and other facilities and charities in Israel.
In 2006, he withdrew a planned $20 million donation to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art after other donors and some members of the public objected to renaming the museum for him and his wife. The couple placed advertisements explaining their decision in the Israeli newspapers under the headline: “Excuse us for wanting to make a donation.”
He had deep connections with the London shipping community, and in 2008 donated $39 million to the National Maritime Museum of Greenwich. That same year, he was awarded an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to British maritime heritage.
Mr. Ofer is survived by his wife, Aviva; his sons, Eyal and Idan, who run the family businesses; eight grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
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