{{short description|American businessman (born 1972)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Elisha Wiesel | birth_name = Shlomo Elisha Wiesel | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|6|6}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = Lynn Bartner | children = 2 | parents = {{plainlist| * Elie Wiesel (father) * Marion Erster (mother) }} | education = Yale University (BS) | occupation = Businessman | years_active = 1994–present }} '''Shlomo Elisha Wiesel''' (born June 6, 1972) is an American businessman and philianthropist. He is the only child of Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Elie Wiesel. Wiesel worked for Goldman Sachs for 25 years, until 2019. Afterwards, he worked as a hedge fund manager and is currently the chairman of the board of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.
==Early life and education== Shlomo Elisha Wiesel was born in 1972.<ref name="nytimesgoldmansachsnamespopper">{{cite news|last1=Popper|first1=Nathaniel|title=Goldman Sachs Names Elisha Wiesel Chief Information Officer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/business/dealbook/goldman-sachs-elisha-wiesel-chief-information-officer.html?_r=0|access-date=April 18, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 9, 2017}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://jewishinsider.com/2020/09/elisha-wiesels-next-chapter/|title=Elisha Wiesel turns to the next chapter in his career|author=Melissa Weiss|date=September 2, 2020|website=Jewish Insider}}</ref>[[File:Elie Wiesel and wife Marion 2012 Shankbone.JPG|thumb|240px|Elie Wiesel and Marion Wiesel, parents of Elisha Wiesel (2012)]] His father, Elie Wiesel, was a Holocaust survivor, author, professor, activist, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient of Hungarian Jewish and Romanian Jewish descent, whose hometown was Sighet, Romania.<ref name="nytimesgoldmansachsnamespopper"/><ref name="businessinsidercrowe">{{cite news|last1=Crowe|first1=Portia|title=Goldman Sachs just named a new head of its giant tech division|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-names-elisha-wiesel-chief-information-officer-2017-1|access-date=April 18, 2017|work=Business Insider|date=January 9, 2017}}</ref><ref name="nypost1">{{cite web |last=Lewak |first=Doree |date=January 25, 2020 |title=Elie Wiesel's son recalls dad, 75 years after Auschwitz liberation |url=https://nypost.com/2020/01/25/elie-wiesels-son-opens-up-about-growing-up-with-world-famous-holocaust-survivor/ |access-date=March 8, 2020 |work=The New York Post}}</ref> Elisha's paternal grandmother and his father's younger sister were killed in the gas chambers in the Auschwitz concentration camp.<ref name="nypost1"/>
Elisha's mother, Marion Wiesel, was a Holocaust survivor born in Vienna, Austria, of Austrian Jewish descent, who came to the United States shortly after World War II with her family, with the help of HIAS, then known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.<ref name="decibelmagazine1">{{cite web |author=Shawn Macomber |date=April 4, 2018 |title=People of the Mosh: Elie Wiesel's Son Elisha On Metal Misfits, Hardcore Matinees & Forging Identity in the Punk Underground |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2018/04/04/people-of-the-mosh-elie-wiesels-son-elisha-on-metal-misfits-hardcore-matinees-forging-identity-in-the-punk-underground/ |access-date=March 8, 2020 |work=Decibel Magazine}}</ref><ref name="auto2"/>
He was raised on the Upper West Side and Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, attending Modern Orthodox yeshiva Ramaz on the Upper East Side, and suburban New Jersey.<ref name="nypost1"/><ref>{{cite news|author=Joseph Berger |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/15/world/man-in-the-news-witness-to-evil-eliezer-weisel.html |title=Man In The News; Witness To Evil: Eliezer Weisel |work=The New York Times |date= October 15, 1986|access-date=March 8, 2020}}</ref><ref name="decibelmagazine1"/>
Wiesel then attended Yale University, graduating with a B.S. in computer science in 1994.<ref name="only">{{Cite news |last=Lyman |first=Rick |date=May 12, 2017 |title=Elie Wiesel's Only Son Steps Up to His Father's Legacy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/world/europe/elie-wiesels-only-son-steps-up-to-his-fathers-legacy.html |access-date=May 12, 2017 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="nypost1"/> After graduating from Yale, he spent a few months doing basic military training in Israel.<ref name=only/>
==Career== ===Goldman Sachs=== Wiesel joined the J. Aron commodities division of Goldman Sachs in 1994, after the head of J. Aron strats (the code-writers whose computer models and algorithms power the firm's trading desks) convinced him to give up his initial preference of working in the video game industry.<ref name="fnlondon1">Liz Hoffman (January 10, 2017). [https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/goldman-sachs-names-new-tech-chief-20170110 "Goldman Sachs names new tech chief,"] ''Financial News''.</ref><ref name="goldmansachs1">{{cite web|url=https://www.goldmansachs.com/careers/blog/posts/conversation-with-elisha-wiesel.html |title=Careers Blog - In Conversation with Elisha Wiesel, Chief Information Officer |publisher=Goldman Sachs |date=November 19, 2018 |access-date=March 8, 2020}}</ref><ref name="nytimesgoldmansachsnamespopper"/><ref name="businessinsidercrowe"/><ref name="institutionalinvestor1">{{cite web|url=https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1505ppktbk55s/the-2017-tech-40-elisha-wiesel |title=The 2017 Tech 40: Elisha Wiesel |work=Institutional Investor |date=July 27, 2017 |access-date=March 8, 2020}}</ref> At the time, technology was in its earliest days in banking.<ref>Laura Noonan (September 4, 2019). [https://www.ft.com/content/c70f1082-cf72-11e9-b018-ca4456540ea6 "Goldman Sachs braced for more top-level changes,"] ''The Financial Times''.</ref> At Goldman he worked for Lloyd Blankfein and Gary Cohn, who ended up leading the firm.<ref name="bloomberg1">{{cite web |author=Amanda L Gordon |date=September 12, 2019 |title=Goldman's Wiesel Exits as Bank Turns to Amazon for Tech Leader |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-12/goldman-s-wiesel-exits-as-bank-turns-to-amazon-for-tech-leader |access-date=March 8, 2020 |publisher=Bloomberg}}</ref>
In 2002, at the age of 30, he became a managing director, and a partner in 2004.<ref name="ftelishatappedtobecome">{{cite news|last1=Samson|first1=Adam|title=Elisha Wiesel tapped to become Goldman's tech chief|url=https://www.ft.com/content/955eff9d-ad38-3e6a-a81f-41ca9b2d2c55|access-date=April 18, 2017|work=Financial Times|date=January 9, 2017}}</ref><ref name="reutersgoldmannamesoran">{{cite news|last1=Oran|first1=Olivia|title=Goldman names Elisha Wiesel as new chief information officer|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-wiesel-idUKKBN14T27P|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109200747/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-wiesel-idUKKBN14T27P|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2017|access-date=April 18, 2017|work=Reuters|date=January 9, 2017}}</ref> Wiesel later served as the chief risk officer of its securities division (which houses Goldman's technology-intensive trading business), and global head of its securities division desk strategists.<ref name="nytimesgoldmansachsnamespopper"/><ref name="businessinsidercrowe"/><ref>Liz Hoffman (January 10, 2017). [https://www.wsj.com/articles/goldman-sachs-names-new-tech-guru-1483999113 "Goldman Sachs Names New Tech Guru,"] ''The Wall Street Journal''.</ref>
In January 2017, when Wiesel was 44 years old, he succeeded R. Martin Chavez as Goldman's chief information officer, overseeing Engineering (the firm's Technology Division and global strategists groups).<ref name="fnlondon1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-09/goldman-sachs-names-elisha-wiesel-as-chief-information-officer |title=Goldman Promotes Elisha Wiesel to Chief Information Officer |author=Dakin Campbell|publisher=Bloomberg |date=January 9, 2017 |access-date=March 8, 2020}}</ref><ref name="goldmansachs1"/> Wiesel became the highest-ranked of 9,000 Goldman engineers, who accounted for 25% of the firm's total employees.<ref name="institutionalinvestor1"/>
===Later career=== In December 2019, Wiesel left Goldman Sachs after a 25-year career at the firm.<ref name="nytimesgoldmansachsnamespopper"/><ref name="businessinsidercrowe"/><ref name="nypost1"/> He volunteered on Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign and also began an archive of his father's writings.<ref name="auto2" /> In November 2020 Wiesel joined Israeli Tel Aviv-based fintech start-up vendor management firm entrio (formerly, The Floor), as chairman of its board of directors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://finder.startupnationcentral.org:443/company_page/the-floor1|title=Entrio|website=Startup Nation Central}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/son-of-elie-wiesel-former-banking-exec-to-chair-israeli-fintech-firm-649977|title=Son of Elie Wiesel, former banking exec to chair Israeli fintech firm|website=The Jerusalem Post|date=November 23, 2020 }}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/37000/former-goldman-cio-elisha-wiesel-joins-the-floor|title=Former Goldman CIO Elisha Wiesel joins The Floor|date=November 23, 2020|website=Finextra Research}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fintec-thefloor-idUKKBN28315G|title=Former Goldman CIO Elisha Wiesel joins fintech startup The Floor|first=Anna|last=Irrera|date=November 23, 2020|work=Reuters}}</ref> In March 2023, financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider FactSet appointed Wiesel to its board of directors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/factset-appoints-elisha-wiesel-board-123000072.html|title=FactSet Appoints Elisha Wiesel to Board of Directors|date=March 24, 2023|website=Yahoo Finance}}</ref>
In May 2023, Wiesel and quantitative investment firm AQR Capital Management alumnus Brian Hurst launched and began co-running the Niche Plus multimanager hedge fund, the first fund of ClearAlpha Technologies, where he is a founding partner and CRO.<ref>Matthew Dietz (October 3, 2023). [https://www.wlwt.com/article/holocaust-survivor-elie-wiesel-cincinnatis-union-terminal/45429604 "Son of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel to speak at Cincinnati's Union Terminal,"] WLWT5.</ref><ref name="auto4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-01/goldman-aqr-alumni-start-niche-multistrat-with-asness-backing|title=Goldman, AQR Alumni Start Niche Hedge Fund With Backing From Cliff Asness|date=June 1, 2023|publisher=Bloomberg|author=Amanda L Gordon}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hedgeweek.com/2023/06/02/320790/aqr-founder-backs-new-niche-hedge-fund|title=AQR founder backs new niche hedge fund|work=Hedge Week|date=June 2, 2023}}</ref> The firm launched with commitments of several hundred million dollars from AQR founder Cliff Asness, Stable Asset Management, and other institutional investors.<ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto3"/>
==Philanthropy == Wiesel organized fundraisers and has served as a board member for Good Shepherd Services, a Brooklyn-based after-school program charity that provides support for at-risk youths and their families, at Goldman beginning in 2013.<ref>Bill Brownstein (May 10, 2022). [https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article36199.html "Elisha Wiesel keeps his father’s humanitarian legacy alive ,"] ''The Montreal Gazette''.</ref><ref name="nytimesgoldmansachsnamespopper"/><ref name="nytimesrobbinsonelongnight">{{cite news|last1=Robbins|first1=Liz|title=One Long Night in Puzzle City|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/nyregion/one-long-night-in-puzzle-city.html|access-date=April 19, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=October 11, 2013}}</ref>
Wiesel is the chairman of the Board of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, which he is seeking to "reboot."<ref name="ug">{{Cite news |last=Rosman |first=Katherine |date=2024-04-17 |title=A New York Conference Focuses on the Crisis of the Uyghurs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/nyregion/uyghurs-elisha-wiesel-conference.html |access-date=2026-03-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>[https://eliewieselfoundation.org/about-elisha-wiesel/ "Elisha Wiesel,"] Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.</ref> In February 2024, he announced that the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and the Florida Holocaust Museum would house his father's papers and artifacts.<ref>Bill DeYoung (February 7, 2024). [https://stpetecatalyst.com/usfsp-holocaust-museum-to-house-elie-wiesel-archive/ "USFSP, Holocaust Museum to house Elie Wiesel archive,"] ''St. Pete Catalyst''.</ref>
==Activism== In January 2017, he suggested that protesting against Executive Order 13769 ("Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States") was part of his father's legacy.<ref name="bloomberggordon">{{cite news|last1=Gordon|first1=Amanda L.|title=Elisha Wiesel Reflects on Immigrant Ban and Father's Legacy|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-30/elisha-wiesel-reflects-on-immigrant-ban-and-father-s-legacy|access-date=April 19, 2017|work=Bloomberg|date=January 30, 2017}}</ref>
In December 2022, Wiesel attended the 15 Days of Light event hosted by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Rev. Al Sharpton, Vista Equity Partners CEO and Carnegie Hall Chairman Robert F. Smith, Baptist Minister Conrad Tillard, and World Values Network founder and CEO Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. They celebrated Hanukkah and Kwanzaa in a unifying holiday ceremony at Carnegie Hall.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2022/12/21/mayor-eric-adams-the-rev-al-sharpton-others-gather-for-joint-kwanzaa-hanukkah-celebration/|title=Mayor Eric Adams, Rev. Al Sharpton, others gather for joint Kwanzaa, Hanukkah celebration|first=AmNews Staff|last=Reports|date=December 21, 2022|website=New York Amsterdam News}}</ref>
In March 2023, Wiesel testified at a hearing on the treatment of Uyghurs before the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-24 |title=VOC Testifies to US Congress on Beijing’s Genocide in Xinjiang |url=https://victimsofcommunism.org/voc-testifies-to-us-congress-on-beijings-genocide-in-xinjiang/ |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation |language=en}}</ref> In April 2024, together with Uyghur leaders he launched a two-day conference in New York City, which included multifaith panels and Uyghur internment camp survivors discussing how teachings from the Holocaust can be applied to address the Uyghurs, China's media censorship and propaganda, companies benefiting from forced Uyghur labor, and forced assimilation.<ref name=ug/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lobell |first=Kylie Ora |date=2024-05-06 |title=Elisha Wiesel and the Elie Wiesel Foundation Host Disrupting Uyghur Genocide Conference |url=https://jewishjournal.com/community/371057/elisha-wiesel-and-the-elie-wiesel-foundation-host-disrupting-uyghur-genocide-conference/ |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=Jewish Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Israel ===
As of 2020, Wiesel was a board member of the organization Zioness, founded by Amanda Berman.<ref name="auto2"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zioness.org/staff-board-of-directors/|title=Staff & Board of Directors|website=Zioness Movement}}</ref> Since November 2023, Wiesel has been a vocal defender of Israel; in a speech at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan, he said that the IDF seeks to avoid civilian casualties.<ref name="zei">Alan Zeitlin (November 10, 2023). [https://jewishjournal.com/community/365123/elisha-wiesel-hatred-is-a-stain-that-is-hard-to-wash-out/ "Elisha Wiesel: ‘Hatred Is A Stain That is Hard To Wash Out’; In a speech commemorating Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass, Wiesel told a crowd at 92NY in Manhattan how his father, Elie, inspired him, and that Israel must triumph over evil,"] ''Jewish Journal''.</ref> He has stated that the accusation of Israel being genocidal in Gaza was blood libel, and that campus protests were "obviously antisemitic".<ref name="fo">[https://www.foxnews.com/video/6351169554112 "Anti-Israel protesters looking to create same fears against Jews as a century ago: Elisha Wiesel; Elie Wiesel Foundation Chairman Elisha Wiesel responds to the increase of anti-Israel protests across the U.S. and a House panel pressing Columbia University's president on anti-Israel demonstrations on campus,"] ''Fox News'', April 18, 2024 (''video'').</ref> Wiesel along with a group of other prominent Jews sent a letter to Stephen Colbert demanding that he intensely question the NYC Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani on his views of Israel when he would appear on his show in 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lach |first=Eric |date=2025-10-09 |title=What Zohran Mamdani Knows About Power |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/20/zohran-mamdani-profile |access-date=2025-10-09 |work=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref>
== Personal life == Wiesel and his wife Lynn Bartner-Wiesel have two children.<ref name="only" /><ref name="nypost1" />
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://x.com/elishawiesel?lang=en Elisha Wiesel on Twitter (X)]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiesel, Elisha}} Category:1972 births Category:21st-century American Jews Category:Activists against antisemitism Category:American anti-racism activists Category:American businesspeople in the computer industry Category:American computer scientists Category:American expatriates in Israel Category:American human rights activists Category:American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Category:American women's rights activists Category:American Zionists Category:Businesspeople from Manhattan Category:Chief information officers Category:Expatriate businesspeople in Israel Category:Goldman Sachs people Category:Jewish American activists Category:Jewish American anti-racism activists Category:Jewish human rights activists Category:LGBTQ rights activists from New York (state) Category:Living people Category:People from the Upper East Side Category:People from the Upper West Side Category:Persecution of Uyghurs Category:Philanthropists from New York City Category:Ramaz School alumni Category:Yale College alumni