Efrem Harkham is an American hotelier and philanthropist from

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

. Harkham is the Founder and CEO o
LeHotels.com
a company representing 200 hotels globally, and Luxe Hotels, a chain formerly consisting of three luxury hotels.

Early life

Efrem Harkham was born in an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

family in Israel.Hugo Martin
Efrem Harkham oversees a world of hotels
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', July 10, 2011Jacqueline Maddison
Beverly Hills Spotlight: Efrem Harkham
''Beverly Hills Magazine'', December 3, 2013Naomi Pfefferman
Labor Pains
''

The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles ''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles'', known simply as the ''Jewish Journal'', is an independent, nonprofit community weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of greater Los Angeles, published by TRIBE Media Corp. ''The Journal'' wa ...

'', February 19, 1998 His maternal ancestors are keepers of

Ezra's Tomb , native_name_lang = ara , image = Ezer Mosque.jpg , image_upright = 1.4 , alt = , caption = Ezra's Tomb main building , map_type = Iraq , map_size = 240 ...

in Iraq.Laura Coleman
Luxe Celebrates 30-Year Anniversary; A Real Estate Venture That Went Global
''

The Beverly Hills Courier ''The Beverly Hills Courier'' is a free weekly tabloid-sized print newspaper of circulation in Beverly Hills and the surrounding communities, and a daily web newspaper. History The publication was founded by March Schwartz in 1965. His staff inc ...

'' However, he grew up in Australia.Tamara Aud
In Los Angeles, Some Voters Cast Ballots in Luxury
''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', November 4, 2014 He studied law at university.Keith Loria
Efrem Harkham: The Luxe Factor
, ''C-Suite Quarterly'', Q4 2013 He has a brother, Benjamin Harkham, who also studied law and is presently the Chairman and CEO of Benima Pty Ltd, Wakenby Limited, Maravale Pty Ltd and the Ben Harkham Group of Companies

http://www.auscompanies.com/en/61003491549/HARKHAM-HOLDINGS-PTY-LT

Efrem's also has a brother,

Uri Harkham Uri P. Harkham is an American businessman, film producer and philanthropist from Los Angeles, California. He is the founder and former chief executive Officer of Harkham Industries, a women's apparel company, and the chairman of Harkham Propertie ...

, who is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Harkham Industries, a women's clothing company, Chairman Emeritus of Harkham Properties, and a Director of

Public Storage Public Storage is an American international self storage Self storage (a shorthand for "self-service storage," and also known as "device storage") is an industry that rents storage space (such as rooms, lockers, containers, and/or outdoor ...

Career

Harkham started his career in the fashion industry. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of Harkham Industries, representing the Jonathan Martin and Hype brands. Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel 2015

He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1978. Five years later, in 1983, he purchased the Bel-Air Summit Hotel, now known as the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, located in Bel Air.Luxe Hotels: History
/ref> A decade later, in 1993, he purchased the

Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel The Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel was a luxury hotel in the City of Beverly Hills, California. It was the only hotel located on Rodeo Drive, the main shopping street in Beverly Hills. It closed in 2020. Location The hotel building is located at 360 Nort ...

, located on

Rodeo Drive Rodeo Drive is a street in Beverly Hills, California, with its southern segment in the City of Los Angeles. Its southern terminus is at Beverwil Drive, and its northern terminus is at its intersection with Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The ...

in Beverly Hills. He subsequently added a third hotel to his portfolio, known as the Luxe City Center Hotel, located in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

. The three hotels comprised the Luxe Hotels brand. He sold the Luxe Rodeo Drive to LVMH in 2021. He founded Luxe Worldwide Hotels in 1998.Bloomberg BusinessWeek
/ref> He serves as its President and Chief Executive Officer. The company provides marketing, sales and reservation services to 200 hotels globally, with a workforce of 315 employees. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Television Network.

Philanthropy

In 1991, with his brother Uri, he donated $1 million to the Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy. With his ex-wife, he also donated to the 2008 renovation of the

Shalhevet High School Jean and Jerry Friedman Shalhevet High School is a co-educational, college-preparatory, Modern Orthodox Jewish high school in Los Angeles, California. Background information The demographic breakdown of the 254 students enrolled in 2017-18 was ...

, a co-education Orthodox Jewish school in Los Angeles. Additionally, he has donated to the

Orthodox Union The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for ...

and

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

Personal life

He is a naturalized American citizen. He was married to Kendra Harkham; they divorced in 2011.Mark David
Mary McDonald Sunburst Madness in Beverly Hills
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', June 8, 2011 He resides in Beverly Hills, California. Efrem Harkham is the brother of Benjamin Harkham, a renowned lawyer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who resides in Sydney, Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harkham, Efrem Living people Israeli emigrants to the United States People from Beverly Hills, California American hoteliers American chief executives of travel and tourism industry companies Philanthropists from California American Orthodox Jews American people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American Jews