Property mogul Leviev takes slide in rich list

Lev Leviev, the property and diamond magnate who two years ago was ranked as Israel's richest man, has become the country's most high profile casualty of the global financial crisis.

His property company, Africa Israel Investments, which was worth some $7bn at its peak in May 2007, has lost 91 per cent of its stock value since the onset of the real estate slump in its key markets of the US, Russia and eastern Europe.

Mr Leviev - ranked in 2007 by Forbes magazine as the 210th richest person with a net worth of $4.1bn - has been downgraded to 468th this year, with his net worth falling by almost two-thirds.

In August, Mr Leviev rocked Israel's capital markets when he warned that the company might not be able to repay some $2bn in bond notes. Last week he agreed the country's largest debt restructuring yet.