Michael Steinhardt sells Jerusalem luxury home for $21 million
Talbieh property acquired by Ronnen Harary, a Canadian entrepreneur who helped create the Paw Patrol animated children’s show
Zev Stub is the Times of Israel's Diaspora Affairs correspondent.
Billionaire philanthropist Michael Steinhardt has sold a home in Jerusalem’s Talbieh neighborhood for $21 million in one of the capital’s most significant housing deals in recent years.
The 650-square-meter (6,996 square feet) home at 3 Hovevei Zion Street, built in the 1920s, was acquired by Ronnen Harary, a Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist whose entertainment company, Spin Master, created the Paw Patrol animated children’s show.
The home sits on an 860-square-meter (9,257 square feet) lot with a large perimeter garden with lawns and fruit trees. No reason was given for the sale by Steinhardt, the investor and co-founder of Birthright Israel, which brings thousands of young Diaspora Jews on trips to Israel every year.
The property, once owned by philosopher Martin Buber, includes spacious living suites with the original floors preserved, abundant natural lighting, and exceptionally high ceilings, according to Prosperity Real Estate, the agency that managed the sale.
Renovations made over the years have added handmade woodwork, Roman columns, stone arches, and a unique staircase built during the British Mandate period, the agency said.
The purchase is not the first in Israel for Harary, the 53-year-old owner of a global entertainment powerhouse valued at over $2.5 billion on the Toronto Stock Exchange, responsible for toy brands like Bakugan, Hatchimals, and Air Hogs, in addition to the Paw Patrol franchise.
In October 2023, just days after Hamas launched its war against Israel, Harary purchased a penthouse at 12 Mazeh Street in central Tel Aviv for some NIS 23 million, according to media reports.
The deal closed within 30 days after the home was put on the market, said Tomer Dowek, Prosperity’s vice president of business development. The sale reflected a price per meter of NIS 121,000 ($3,140 per square foot), more than the average market price for homes in the upscale Talbieh area.
The property was sold through a network of personal relationships in the market for luxury homes in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, primarily sold to wealthy Jewish clients from the Diaspora, where prices are not only guided by market value but also identity and personal connection.
Dowek is currently marketing another luxury property in the neighborhood, the Villa Sherover, located between the streets of Pinsker and Dubnov. Built in 1956 for industrialist Miles Sherover, that property is nearly twice the size of the Hovevei Zion home, with 1,200 square meters (12,917 square feet) of interior space and a swimming pool on a spacious 2,400 (25,833 square feet) square meter plot. That property, which has hosted numerous heads of state and Israeli socialites, was put on the market two months ago at an asking price of NIS 120 million ($34 million), Dowek said.
In 2013, Villa Sherover was also put up for sale for NIS 120 million, but ultimately sold for just NIS 70 million ($19.8 million) a year later to an unnamed buyer.
Dowek said that the current asking price reflects what he believes to be the property’s real market value, due to its historical significance, size, and unique character, as well as changes to its ownership structure.
Housing prices in Israel continue to rise consistently, with a combination of factors — including a longstanding housing shortage, strong population growth, and growing foreign investment — keeping demand high even as the conflict disrupts construction and economic stability.
The average price of a home sold during the first quarter of 2025 was NIS 2,357,800 ($671,000), according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
For the Hovevei Zion deal, the buyer was represented by Alon Wolner of the commercial law firm Barnea Jaffa Lande. The seller was represented by Jonathan Shiff of Reshef & Shiff.
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