Sylvan Adams

Sylvan Adams was born in Canada and grew up in a family shaped profoundly by Zionist history and the Holocaust.[3] His father, Marcel Adams, was a Holocaust survivor who escaped Nazi concentration camps during World War II, reached what would become Israel by ship in 1943, and fought in Israel's War of Independence.[1] Marcel subsequently worked for the Jewish Agency in France, helping prepare immigrants for aliyah, before settling in Canada and founding Iberville Developments, which developed a substantial North American real-estate portfolio.[1] Marcel Adams died in 2020 at the age of 100.[1]

Sylvan Adams joined Iberville Developments in 1995 and became its chief executive officer at age 36, leading the company for more than 25 years.[1] Adams has described absorbing a strong Zionist message while growing up, an influence reflected in his later decision to make aliyah and dedicate much of his philanthropy and public activity to Israel.[3]

Adams made aliyah with his wife, Margaret; reports date their move to Israel between 2015 and 2017.[6][1] They settled in Tel Aviv.[3] Adams has said that during his first week in Israel he printed business cards identifying himself as the "self-appointed Ambassador-at-Large for the State of Israel," framing his role as promoting the Israel he knew and loved to international audiences.[7]

His public advocacy emphasizes reaching generally apolitical audiences through sports and culture rather than relying only on conventional political messaging. He has argued that major events can show foreign audiences what he calls "normal Israel" and reach far more people than one-to-one persuasion.[3]

Among the initiatives he helped bring to Israel were the Grande Partenza, or opening stage, of the 2018 Giro d'Italia—the first time a stage of the century-old race was held outside Europe—Madonna's appearance at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, and soccer events featuring Lionel Messi.[8][9] He also helped bring the Trophée des Champions match involving Paris Saint-Germain to Israel.[9] The World Jewish Congress reported that these initiatives showcased Israel to audiences numbering in the hundreds of millions worldwide.[9]

Cycling is both a personal passion and a vehicle for Adams's public-diplomacy mission. He began competing in the sport in his 40s, won the 2017 World Championship in Manchester, and in 2023 won both the Masters 65–69 road-race category and the individual time-trial category at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland.[10] He described the 2023 victory as especially meaningful because it was his first world championship won while competing under the Israeli flag, having previously raced for Canada.[10]

Adams has invested heavily in cycling infrastructure in Israel. He provided more than half of the NIS 70 million, approximately $19 million at the time, needed to build a 250-meter indoor Olympic velodrome in Tel Aviv.[8] The Sylvan Adams Velodrome was unveiled near Israel's National Sports Center in May 2018 and has been described as the first Olympic indoor cycling arena in the Middle East.[11] He also established the Sylvan Adams Cycling Network at Tel Aviv University in 2017 and supported a Tel Aviv commuter bike path bearing his name.[10]

To bring the Giro d'Italia's Grande Partenza to Israel, Adams donated NIS 80 million, reported as approximately $21.5 million, co-financing the event with the Israeli government.[10] He owns the Israel–Premier Tech professional cycling team, which competes at the highest levels of the sport and carries Israel's name in international competition.[2] In 2018, Adams was also co-owner of Israel Cycling Academy, founded in late 2014 as Israel's first professional cycling team.[8]

In 2018, Adams also described plans for an applied high-performance sports research institute, presented as the first of its kind in Israel and intended to help develop the country's athletes and sporting research.[8]

Adams and his wife established the Margaret and Sylvan Adams Family Foundation, which supports educational and medical projects in Israel and Canada, including doctoral scholarships offered through the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.[12]

His support for Israeli medical infrastructure includes a new emergency-medicine center at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, funded with NIS 100 million donated in 2019, and a children's hospital at Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.[4] He has also supported a cellular research laboratory at Assaf Harofeh Hospital, Tel Aviv University, the Jerusalem International YMCA, and Save a Child's Heart. His YMCA support funded a gymnasium and mixed junior basketball leagues for youth from east and west Jerusalem.[3]

In December 2023, Adams announced a $100 million donation to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, to be paid in ten annual installments of $10 million.[4] The gift was designated to advance education, student life, and research in areas including future technologies, climate change, sustainability, and global health, while contributing to the rebuilding and strengthening of southern Israel following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack.[4]

In 2025, Adams donated a further $100 million to Soroka Hospital in Beersheva after the hospital was badly damaged by an Iranian missile.[5] The combined state budget and his donation came to approximately NIS 720 million. The gift was reported as the largest in Soroka's history and was intended to rebuild and redesign the facility as an advanced medical center and national asset for the Negev.[5] Adams has described his two $100 million investments in Ben-Gurion University and Soroka as a combined $200 million commitment to southern Israel, intended both to strengthen the region and to signal that Israel's presence there is enduring.[1]

In 2018, Adams donated $5 million to SpaceIL, the Israeli nonprofit pursuing Israel's first lunar landing.[13] He also financed Madonna's approximately $1 million appearance at Eurovision in Tel Aviv, working with business partner Danny Ben Naim as part of a broader campaign to bring internationally recognized artists and events to Israel.[6]

Adams sponsored the 2020 Sylvan Adams Nefesh B'Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize as part of his effort to showcase the contributions of immigrants to Israel.[14] The annual award recognizes outstanding Anglo immigrants across categories including Culture, Art and Sports; Young Leadership; Science and Medicine; Israel Advocacy; Business and Technology; Education; Community and Non-profit; and Lifetime Achievement.[15] Each recipient receives $10,000.[12]

Adams is identified as the only Israeli member of the Giving Pledge, the initiative associated with Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates through which billionaires commit to donating the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.[2]

In February 2025, the World Jewish Congress–Israel board unanimously appointed Adams president of the organization's Israel region.[9] His assigned responsibilities include strengthening ties between Israel and Jewish communities worldwide, expanding diplomatic support for Israel, and developing partnerships with foreign governments and the private sector.[9] He also joined the World Jewish Congress global steering committee.[9]

Adams has stated that his principal concerns for Diaspora Jewry are Jewish identity and Jewish continuity, with education serving as the bridge between them. He has argued that Jews need to learn their history and origins in order to develop pride in their identity.[7] He also announced plans to bring the Israel–Premier Tech cycling team under the World Jewish Congress umbrella to increase its visibility within the global Jewish community.[7]

Following the October 7 attacks, Adams visited communities near the Gaza border, announced investments in cycling and sports infrastructure, and organized a mass ride to commemorate victims and call for the release of hostages held in Gaza.[7] He has expressed a long-term goal of bringing one million new immigrants to Israel, contending that rising antisemitism may encourage aliyah but that Israel must also become more affordable and economically attractive to achieve that ambition.[1]

In 2023, Adams was invited to light a torch at Israel's official 75th Independence Day ceremony on Mount Herzl, representing Jews of the Diaspora.[9] He described the moment as the culmination of his family's past, present, and future.[9] That same year he won two gold medals at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland, becoming a world champion competing under the Israeli flag for the first time.[10]

Time selected him in 2025 as one of the 100 most influential people in philanthropy, and Forbes estimated his net worth at $2.8 billion.[1]

Critics of holding the 2018 Giro d'Italia in Israel characterized the event as "sportswashing," arguing that the high-profile race was being used to deflect attention from political disputes.[8] In a 2020 Cycling Weekly exchange reproduced by CAMERA UK, Adams responded to questions about Israel's human-rights record: "This is a peaceful country, go and hassle people who work in totalitarian regimes."[16]

Adams's title of "self-appointed Ambassador-at-Large" is a personal designation rather than a formal diplomatic appointment. He has consistently presented it as a self-created description of his international advocacy work.[2][7]