Danny Fiszman
Encyclopedia
Daniel David Fiszman was a diamond
dealer, best known as a shareholder in and director of Arsenal Football Club
, and played a leading role in the club's move from Highbury to Ashburton Grove, now known as Emirates Stadium
.
, North London
and was the son of a Belgian
Jewish couple who fled the Nazis during World War II
.
and Asda
. He sold the group in 2007 for £150M, to concentrate on his role in completing Arsenal's new stadium.
Other shareholdings took his total worth to around £236m, ranking him 348th on the 2008 Sunday Times
Rich List (351st in 2007, 273rd in 2006, 305th in 2005 and 207th in 2004).
, starting with 2,840 shares in 1999. Fiszman slowly increased his stake to 24%, the largest shareholder as at 27 September 2007, at which point he led the building of the new Ashburton Grove stadium.
In March 2007 Fiszman sold a block of 659 shares for over £3.9m to Stan Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE). This was a significant sale as reducing his stake to less than 25% resulted in a loss of veto rights over any future changes to the company statutes. Speculation linked this with a move abroad where he would substantially reduce any Capital Gains Tax
liability that would come with a sale of his stake in the club. Fiszman stated his desire not sell any more of his shares for the foreseeable future, after the sale of 5,000 ordinary shares to Kroenke takes the American's stake in Arsenal Holdings plc to 12,756 Shares (representing 20.5%). On 27 March 2009 Fiszman sold 5,000 ordinary shares of £1 each in Arsenal Holdings plc to KSE, UK, Inc, at a price of £8,500 per share.
On 11 April 2011, two days before his death, he sold his Arsenal shares amounting to 16.11% of club's stake to Stan Kroenke, due to his declining health.
, Switzerland
. His hobbies included running and flying, he was a fully qualified commercial jet pilot. Fiszman had been undergoing treatment for throat cancer at the time of his death.
He died on 13 April 2011.
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
dealer, best known as a shareholder in and director of Arsenal Football Club
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, and played a leading role in the club's move from Highbury to Ashburton Grove, now known as Emirates Stadium
Emirates Stadium
Ashburton Grove, currently known as the Emirates Stadium, is a UEFA elite football stadium which is home to Arsenal FC, where they moved from Highbury in 2006. It has an current capacity of 60,361, and there have been rumours of an expansion...
.
Early life
Fiszman was born in WillesdenWillesden
Willesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
and was the son of a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Jewish couple who fled the Nazis during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Career
Fiszman made his fortune in diamonds, building Star Diamonds Group which traded in rough diamonds. Star Diamonds Group also owns 16% in Abbeycrest, whose major clients include ArgosArgos (retailer)
Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 800 stores. It is unique amongst major retailers in the UK in that it is a catalogue merchant...
and Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
. He sold the group in 2007 for £150M, to concentrate on his role in completing Arsenal's new stadium.
Other shareholdings took his total worth to around £236m, ranking him 348th on the 2008 Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
Rich List (351st in 2007, 273rd in 2006, 305th in 2005 and 207th in 2004).
Arsenal Football Club
Fiszman bought into Arsenal Football Club and became a board member through his purchase of an 8% stake from his friend David DeinDavid Dein
David Barry Dein is the former vice-chairman of Arsenal Football Club and former vice-chairman of the Football Association. He was also the President of the G-14 group of European football clubs between October 2006 and May 2007 and has sat on various committees within FIFA and UEFA including...
, starting with 2,840 shares in 1999. Fiszman slowly increased his stake to 24%, the largest shareholder as at 27 September 2007, at which point he led the building of the new Ashburton Grove stadium.
In March 2007 Fiszman sold a block of 659 shares for over £3.9m to Stan Kroenke Sports Enterprises (KSE). This was a significant sale as reducing his stake to less than 25% resulted in a loss of veto rights over any future changes to the company statutes. Speculation linked this with a move abroad where he would substantially reduce any Capital Gains Tax
Capital gains tax
A capital gains tax is a tax charged on capital gains, the profit realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset that was purchased at a lower price. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals and property...
liability that would come with a sale of his stake in the club. Fiszman stated his desire not sell any more of his shares for the foreseeable future, after the sale of 5,000 ordinary shares to Kroenke takes the American's stake in Arsenal Holdings plc to 12,756 Shares (representing 20.5%). On 27 March 2009 Fiszman sold 5,000 ordinary shares of £1 each in Arsenal Holdings plc to KSE, UK, Inc, at a price of £8,500 per share.
On 11 April 2011, two days before his death, he sold his Arsenal shares amounting to 16.11% of club's stake to Stan Kroenke, due to his declining health.
Personal life
Fiszman and his wife Sally lived in St Prex near GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. His hobbies included running and flying, he was a fully qualified commercial jet pilot. Fiszman had been undergoing treatment for throat cancer at the time of his death.
He died on 13 April 2011.