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So who is Bar’s new golden boy?

August 6, 2009 13:27
Bar Refaeli and Teddy Sagi after a Britney Spears concert last month

BySimon Griver, Simon Griver

1 min read

Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli is expected to spend more time in London now that she is dating Israeli tycoon Teddy Sagi.

The Tel Aviv-born businessman is the controlling shareholder of gaming software development company Playtech, which he listed on London’s AIM in 2006.

According to the Israeli financial newspaper Globes, Mr Sagi, who divides his time between Britain, Cyprus and Israel, is one of the ten most wealthy Israelis, with a net worth of nearly £900 million.

Mr Sagi is 37, three years older than Ms Refaeli’s ex-boyfriend Leonardo DiCaprio. The 24-year-old Israeli model reportedly split from the Hollywood star because he was not eager to put the relationship on a more serious footing.

Mr Sagi has turned his life around after being convicted of fraud and bribery in 1996. He was sentenced to prison for nine months in a plea bargain, agreed with the Tel Aviv district court, for manipulating bond prices.

He subsequently set up an internet billing company for betting and “adult content” sites. In a rare interview in 2001 he said that “sex and betting are the most profitable businesses on the internet”.