Michael Steinhardt; American–Jewish Billionaire, Stolen Antiquities Dealer, Sexual Harasser and Supporter of Zionism

American–Jewish billionaire and hedge fund pioneer Michael Steinhardt was forced to give away 180 antiquities stolen from 11 countries, this follows an investigation against him that began in 2017, about his criminal behavior by looting antiquities, according to the American newspaper The New York Times on December 7, 2021.
Steinhardt, 81, is one of the most prominent and controversial American public figures. He has a track record of sexual scandals and illegal activities. In addition, he is a funder of a Jewish program that encourages the continuation of the colonization of Palestinian lands.
According to Forbes magazine, the net worth of American Jewish Steinhardt is currently $1.2 billion.
Stolen Antiquities Dealer
Billionaire Michael Steinhardt, one of the largest collectors of ancient art, handed over 180 stolen antiquities, valued at $70 million, and has banned for life from owning other antiques, in a court settlement after being tracked since 2017, According to the statement of facts that summarizes the investigation of the Manhattan Attorney General's office, Cyrus Vance Jr.
“Steinhardt looted hundreds of antiquities illegally smuggled from 11 countries, trafficked by 12 criminal smuggling networks; it lacked a verifiable source before it appeared on the international art market,” the statement said.
In his statement, Attorney General Cyrus Vance Jr. described the American billionaire with a greedy appetite for looted antiquities for decades, which he did not hesitate to sell sometimes in public auctions.
“Steinhardt did so without regard for the legality of his actions or the legality of possession of the pieces he bought and sold, or the massive cultural damage it has done around the world,” Vance added.
According to the investigations, “Steinhardt paid about $26 million for the possession of the 180 looted antiquities, which he brought from 11 countries: Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Libya, Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy.”
According to the judicial settlement, there will be no criminal charges against Steinhardt in the case, in return, the stolen antiquities are returned to their rightful owners in those countries rather than being kept as evidence in the case.
On his part, the American billionaire said that he did not commit any crimes related to the acquisition, possession or sale of any antiques.
In 1958, Steinhardt was convicted of two counts of buying and selling stolen jewelry and sentenced to two terms of 5 to 10 years, respectively, in the New York state prison system.
Court Settlement
In the same regard, the British newspaper The Guardian said on December 7 that “the ban and the antiquities handed over by Billionaire Michael Steinhardt are the dramatic culmination of an investigation that officially began in 2017.”
“The reason for opening the investigation against Steinhardt is due to a statue of the head of a bull that was stolen during the Lebanese civil war,” according to the newspaper.
Steinhardt bought the stolen statue, which is currently valued at $12 million. At the time, the investigation revealed that Steinhardt had additional antiquities looted in his apartment and office.
Soon after, a criminal grand jury launched an investigation into his acquisition, possession, and sale of more than 1,000 antiquities since at least 1987.
Also among the looted antiquities was a golden dish belonging to Nimrud, it was stolen from Iraq during the ISIS attack on Iraqi regions and cities, and its antiquities were stolen and sold in international art markets, the dish first appeared in these markets in 2019.
Some of the antiquities purchased by the American Jewish billionaire and recently confiscated date back to 1500 BC, and other antiquities dating back to 7000 BC.
In turn, Jason Felch, an investigative writer specializing in the search for looted antiquities in the world's museums, revealed in a series of tweets, details of the recently announced agreement between billionaire collector Michael Steinhardt and Manhattan DA, which spent years investigating Steinhardt for criminal activity in the art market.
First, the document:
— Chasing Aphrodite (@ChasingAphrodit) December 7, 2021
Read it. Think about it. Tell me what you think.
Did Steinhardt get off easy? Was the DA's case doomed at trial? Post your thoughts below.
https://t.co/v95FdEYTZP
“The published agreement suggests to me that the DA is waiving prosecution of any Steinhardt crimes related to any antiquities, not just these 180 antiquities,” Felch said.
“Steinhardt purchased more than 1,000 antiquities since 1987. But this agreement covers only 180 antiquities. Steinhardt is free to sell, transfer, gift or bequest those remaining 820+ antiquities in his collection with no fear of a DA fight,” he added.
“Amazing agreement!! forfeiture of $26M in stolen property in exchange for immunity (effectively) for the rest of his 820 antiquities collection. Steinhardt's lawyers even told the New York Times that Steinhardt is pleased that the District Attorney’s years long investigation has concluded without any charges,” the writer noted.
In another context, Omar Al-Beniai, a Syrian journalist specializing in archeology, said in a statement to Al-Estiklal: “The main reason Steinhardt returns hundreds of stolen antiquities is that they are archived, have full descriptions recorded, and possess ownership documents that prove they belong to international museums; this makes it easier for the Interpol to search for it if it is reported.”
“80% of the antiquities that were stolen from Syria are not registered within the Syrian museums, this is because the Syrian regime was not registering it to facilitate its smuggling and theft by the smugglers working with it. There is another type of stolen antiquities, which are extracted and smuggled through antiquities trafficking networks,” Al-Beniai noted.
The journalist denounced the United States and some European countries for allowing some influential figures to own, trade and sell antiquities through public auctions and regard those cultural treasures as real estate or anything to be sold; this stimulates the activity of antiquities smuggling networks and thieves working in this field.
Sexual Harasser
Billionaire Michael Steinhardt is one of the most prominent and controversial American Jewish public figures. The billionaire has a track record of scandals and illegal practices and activities. He also engaged in charitable activities as a cover for his practices.
The New York Times reported that in 1967 Steinhardt founded his hedge fund company Steinhardt Partners LLP; but the fund was accused in the early 1990s of trying to manipulate the Treasury bond market.
Which forced Steinhardt to pay 75% of the total fines amounting to $70 million, as part of a settlement with the US government; this eventually led to the fund's closure in 1995.
He also served as Chairman of Wisdom Tree Investments for 15 years before retiring in 2019.
In September 2018, Steinhardt was accused of sexual harassment of women who work for the many organizations he supports.
According to the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz, “since 2015, upon the first complaint from an employee, it has become common practice within his institutions that no female employee meets with Steinhardt alone.”
After that, a series of complaints continued from dozens of women employees who accused Steinhardt of acts such as harassment and provocation.
In 2019, the New York Times reported that “7 women accused Steinhardt of sexual harassment while dealing with him in his professional capacity. Two of the complainants participated in lawsuits but these were settled and discontinued.”
Supporter of Zionism
Billionaire Michael Steinhardt is a member of the Mega Group, a club of 20 wealthy and influential Jewish businessmen, is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life and the co-founder of Birthright Israel.
He also, through his recently mentioned Foundation, covered the costs of the trip of more than 700,000 young Jews (aged between 18 and 26 years old) to Tel Aviv for a period of 10 days.
In addition, he spent more than $125 million on institutions teaching Hebrew and on Jewish issues.
In turn, the Palestinian journalist Sana Saeed said in a tweet on Twitter: “American Jewish Billionaire Michael Steinhardt is the co-founder of Birthright Israel, a program which sends young Jews to Tel Aviv with the aim of continuing the relationship between Jewish youth and Israel and making Jewish youth emigrate, in an effort to continue the colonization of the stolen Palestinian land.
Birthright is one of the most nefarious modern colonization programs - it promises a ten day, all expense paid trip, to any young Jew, to Israel (the goals being a continued relationship btwn young Jewry and Israel and having young Jews make aliyah).https://t.co/I9tSSd58p3
— Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) December 7, 2021
Steinhardt is also known for his public support through the media for Israel, which he considers a Jewish miracle in the twentieth century and the most moral country on the planet.
In a 2017 interview, the American-Jewish billionaire said: “The more one understands Israel, the more comfortable one has with the policy of the Israeli government.”