Ira Rennert Net Worth | Celebrity Net Worth

What is Ira Rennert’s Net Worth?

Ira Rennert is an American billionaire businessman who has a net worth of $4 billion. Ira Rennert serves as the CEO and chairman of the Renco Group. The company owns several mills and mines in the Americas that have caused serious pollution problems, and in 2001 the US Department of Justice and the EPA filed suit against the company. Among his other activities, Rennert has made charitable donations to many groups with his wife Ingeborg Hanna, and has endowed chairs at multiple universities.

Early Life and Education

Ira Rennert was born on May 31, 1934 in New York City to immigrant parents from Poland and Romania. For his higher education, he went to Brooklyn College, graduating in 1954. Rennert went on to attend business school at New York University, obtaining his master’s degree in 1956.

Career Beginnings

Rennert began his career working as a Wall Street credit analyst in 1956. He was also a partner at Rubin, Rennert & Co. In 1962, Rennert started his own firm, I. L. Rennert & Co., but his license was revoked in 1964 after he kept operating without sufficient capital. He was ultimately banned from the securities industry.

Renco Group

In 1975, Rennert founded the holding company the Renco Group. He built the company by acquiring the shares of struggling companies and issuing junk bonds to finance the acquisition. Rennert was also backed by blue-chip mutual funds and hedge funds that kept him from having to invest much of his own money in the enterprise. In 1988, Renco purchased the steel company that would become WCI Steel, with Rennert selling bonds totaling $300 million. The following year, Renco acquired Magnesium Corp., the largest magnesium producer in Utah. In 1996, Renco Metals was created as a holding company for Magnesium Corp., and $150 million in bonds was issued. Magnesium Corp., along with the Renco subsidiary Doe Run Company, have faced severe backlash for causing pollution across the Americas. In 2001, the US Department of Justice and the EPA filed suit against Magnesium Corp. and Renco for dumping hazardous waste around the Great Salt Lake. Magnesium Corp. subsequently declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, although Rennert was able to restructure the group into US Magnesium and avoid legal liability. In 2007, a federal judge ruled in favor of Renco and US Magnesium, which had taken steps to significantly reduce their toxic emissions.

Philanthropy

With his wife Ingeborg Hanna, Rennert has made many philanthropic contributions, particularly in connection with major universities. At Boston University, the pair donated $5 million for the creation of the Wiesel Center, and at Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business they funded the Rennert Entrepreneurial Institute. Rennert and his wife also established the Ira Leon Rennert Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance at New York University and founded the Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies at Bar-Ilan University. Moreover, the couple has endowed chairs at several universities, including at Columbia University. Among their other philanthropic endeavors, Rennert and his wife helped fund the creation of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation in Jerusalem, and funded the construction of a new mikvah at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York.

$400 Million Hamptons Estate

Since the 1990s, Rennert has owned a 63-acre beachfront estate in Sagaponack, New York that is considered to be one of the largest occupied residential compounds in the country. It includes a 66,000-square-foot main house and a total of 29 bedrooms and 39 bathrooms. In total, there are 110,000 square feet of living space across the property. There’s also a basketball court, two tennis courts, a pair of squash courts, a bowling alley, a carousel, a large swimming pool, and a $150,000 hot tub surrounded by another pool. The garage can fit 100 cars. The value of his Hamptons estate has been estimated in the $400-500 million range. It consistently ranks among the most expensive homes in the world. Elsewhere, Rennert owns a duplex apartment on Park Avenue in Manhattan and a home in Israel.

Personal Life

With his wife Ingeborg Hanna, who serves as the director of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Rennert has three children: Tamara, Yonina, and Ari.