Michael Recanati (1957–2015) was an American businessman and philanthropist.
Michael Recanati was born in 1957.[2] His father, Raphael Recanati was an Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist.[2][1] Recanati was educated at Ramaz School in Manhattan, New York City.
Recanati started his career at his family business, the Overseas Shipholding Group, in 1978.[2] He was forced to leave OSG in 1995 after a dispute about the company's investments in cruise ships.
Recanati founded Orama, a venture capital firm based in New York City and Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1999.[3] It closed down in 2001.[4] In 2008, Recanati founded Really Cool Foods, an organic food company. It closed down in 2011.[5]
Recanati served as the chairman of 511 Equities.[6]
Recanati endowed the Dina and Raphael Recanati Professorship in Immunology at the Harvard Medical School in honor of his parents in 1992. Dr Jerome Groopman is the current chair.[7] He also endowed the Recanati Family Professor of Science and professor of Microbiology and Medicine at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at New York University[8]
In 2002, Recanati and his partner Ira Statfeld made a $5 million donation to the then Hampton Day School,[9][10] taking control of the board of trustees and changing the name of the school to the Morriss Center in honor of Statfeld's father,[11] however the school merged with the Ross School in 2006.[12] In 2007, it was reported that Recanati and his partner had donated $30 million to the Child Study Center at New York University to establish an Asperger's Institute.[13]
Recanati and his partner Ira Statfeld had one son.[13] They resided in Manhattan and East Hampton, New York.[16]
His partner at time of death was Tom Schalk.[1]
