What is Bar Refaeli's Net Worth and Salary?
Bar Refaeli is an Israeli model, entrepreneur, and television host who has a net worth of $30 million dollars. Bar Refaeli is among the most famous models to come from Israel. She appeared on the cover of the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and was voted number one on Maxim's Hot 100 list in 2012. On television, Refaeli is the host of the music competition show "The X Factor Israel."
Refaeli has been the face of campaigns such as Garnier, Escada, Piaget SA, Chanel, Desigual, Subaru, Gap, Samsung, Moët & Chandon, Hurley, Marco Bicego, Rampage, Andrew Marc, True Religion, Accessorize, Passionata, Besni, Agua Bendita, Fox, Arrow, Castro and Sears. She has appeared on the covers of magazines such as Elle, Marie Claire, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Esquire, Glamour, Maxim, Grazia and Harper's Bazaar. She has also modeled in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and was voted No. 1 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list of 2012.
Refaeli's relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio caused one nationalist Israeli organization to send her a letter, later leaked to the press, in which she was asked, for the sake of "future generations of Jews", not to marry a non-Jew, a request similar to the one made to Israeli 1998 Miss World winner Linor Abargil, a few years previously.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Bar Refaeli was born in 1985 in Hod HaSharon, Israel to a family of secular Jewish faith. Through her grandparents, who were both Holocaust survivors, she is of Sephardic Jewish and Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Refaeli's father, Rafi, owns a horse stable, while her mother, Tzipora, was a successful model in the 1970s.
At only eight months of age, Refaeli began her professional modeling career by appearing in commercials. As a teen, she had prominent roles in the campaigns of fashion brands such as Castro and Pilpel, and also starred in a commercial for Milky pudding.
Adult Modeling Career
Refaeli has appeared in a myriad of editorials for magazines around the globe. Among her credits, she has been in editions of Elle, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, GQ, Maxim, and Esquire in countries ranging from Russia and Italy to Belgium, Bulgaria, Turkey, Australia, and Vietnam. Additionally, Refaeli has appeared in numerous advertising campaigns for brands including Escada, Gap, Chanel, Hurley, Andrew Marc, and Lucky Brand, and in advertisements for non-fashion brands such as Samsung and Garnier Fructis. She has modeled for Subaru, Besni, Marco Bicego, Accessorize, and Rampage, among other brands.
In 2007, posing with the rock band Aerosmith, Refaeli made her debut in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, becoming only the second Israeli model after Michaela Bercu to appear in the magazine. Refaeli was then made the cover model in 2009. Also that year, she won the World Style Award from the Women's World Awards, and cohosted Fashionable Istanbul's press conference. Among her other distinctions, Refaeli was ranked in the top spot on Maxim's 2012 Hot 100 list. The next year, she received the honor of Style Icon from the Vienna Fashion Awards, and was reported by Forbes Israel to be her country's highest-paid model.
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Television and Film
On television, Refaeli made her acting debut in the Israeli children's program "Kofiko" in 1994. A decade later, she costarred on the drama series "Pick Up," playing the character of Noa Zuckerman, and also appeared on the satirical sketch comedy show "Eretz Nehederet." Refaeli has also served as a host or judge on numerous reality television series. In 2008, she cohosted Bravo's "Tommy Hilfiger Presents Ironic Iconic America," and in 2009, was a guest judge on "Project Runway Israel." A couple years later, Refaeli was a guest judge on "Germany's Next Topmodel." However, her biggest gig came in 2013, when she began hosting "The X Factor Israel." After the show became the most popular music program in the country, Refaeli was brought back to host for future seasons. Later, in 2019, she cohosted the main event of the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv.
When it comes to movies, Refaeli had her first major part in the American-Israeli film "Session," a psychological thriller released in 2011. She followed this with the 2013 French-Israeli crime comedy "Kidon," in which she starred as a Mossad assassin.
Business and Entrepreneurship
Heavily involved in business and investment, Refaeli has ownership stakes in various fashion companies, including Carolina Lemke. She also launched an E-commerce company, called Under.me, with attorney and former model Dudi Balsar, and created the startup Mika Look, an iPad app that lets users purchase items worn by models. Additionally, Refaeli is among the main investors in MyCheck, a service that processes smart phone payments.
Controversies
Refaeli has attracted much controversy for her actions throughout her career. In 2004, she began receiving criticisms for evading Israel's mandatory military service. Later, in 2015, she was accused of tax evasion for concealing millions of shekels of her annual income. As a result, Israeli tax authorities detained her and her mother overnight. Refaeli was found to have failed to pay income tax on two vehicles she had received as gifts, and to have evaded taxes by renting a luxury apartment through her relatives in order to disguise her residency. Refaeli made a failed appeal in 2019, and was ordered to pay taxes on her concealed income of around $4.5 million. Following a plea deal in 2020, she was sentenced to nine months of community service, and was ordered to pay a fine as well as back taxes.
Personal Life and Advocacy
In 2003, Refaeli married Arik Weinstein; they divorced in 2005. Subsequently, Refaeli began dating actor Leonardo DiCaprio after meeting him at a Las Vegas party. Their relationship came to an end in 2009, and although there were reports of a reconciliation in 2010, the pair announced their official split in 2011. Refaeli has also reportedly dated Israel actor and musician Ran Danker. In 2015, she wed Israeli businessman Adi Ezra, with whom she has three children: daughters Liv and Elle, and son David.
Refaeli has also been involved in various activist and charity pursuits, including campaigns to help reduce the use of plastic bags and to educate the public about water conservation. In 2013, she hosted a beach party in Tel Aviv to celebrate the city's gay pride parade, and advocated for legislation for civil marriages in Israel.
