The short answer: Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis is the President and CEO of Elbit Systems Ltd., one of Israel's largest defense electronics companies, and no verified public figure has published a precise personal net worth for him. That doesn't mean you're stuck. Using SEC filings, TASE disclosures, and company reports, you can build a defensible estimated range yourself, and this guide walks you through exactly how to do that.
Bezhalel Machlis Net Worth: How to Estimate Reliably
Who is Bezhalel Machlis, and why does this search come up?

Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis is a senior Israeli defense executive. He joined Elbit Systems in 1991, rose through leadership roles, and has served as President and CEO since 2013. His educational background includes degrees from the Technion, an MBA from Tel Aviv University, and completion of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program. He also holds the rank of Colonel (reservist) in the Israel Defense Forces. Publicly, he appears in SEC filings, TASE-related lock-up schedules as an officer, Elbit investor conferences, and earnings call quotes, making him a traceable public executive with a real paper trail.
The disambiguation matters here. If you searched 'Bezhalel Machlis' and landed on generic net-worth aggregator pages, those sites often recycle content without distinguishing between people who share similar names. The person this article focuses on is unambiguously tied to Elbit Systems (Nasdaq: ESLT, TASE: ESLT), with a registered director role at Kollsman, Inc. (a New Hampshire defense subsidiary) and a listed address in Zichron Yaacov, Israel. That's your identity anchor.
Why do people search his net worth? Elbit Systems has grown significantly in the context of global defense spending, and Machlis has led it through major acquisitions including the Sparton deal for Elbit Systems of America. Investors, journalists, and researchers naturally want to understand what that leadership translates to in personal wealth terms. The honest answer is: it's not publicly disclosed in a single figure, but it's estimable.
Where to actually find reliable information
Skip the net-worth aggregator sites for this search. Sites that display a bold headline number for private or semi-public executives are almost never sourced from primary documents. For Bezhalel Machlis, your credible sources are:
- SEC EDGAR filings: Elbit Systems files Form 20-F annually and Form 6-K for interim reports. These contain the most authoritative compensation data. The 2024 20-F (eslt-20241231.htm) includes a breakdown of Machlis's salary costs, bonus costs, and stock option costs for the year.
- TASE (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange) filings: Mayafiles.tase.co.il hosts Schedule C documents that list Machlis as an officer subject to lock-up, which is a useful signal about equity holdings even when specific share counts aren't published.
- Elbit Systems press releases and investor relations pages: These confirm role continuity and include quotes from Machlis in earnings releases, most recently for Q4 and full-year 2025 results published on March 17, 2026.
- Elbit America's corporate bio page and the official Elbit Systems PDF bio (hosted under a 2025-03 directory on elbitsystems.com): These are primary identity and background sources.
- SEC proxy statements: The February 2024 6-K proxy filing discloses compensation policy mechanics, including how cash bonuses are calculated as a function of non-GAAP net profit and operating cash flow. Terms have been largely stable since 2021, with CPI-linked adjustments.
- New Hampshire company registry: Lists Machlis as a Director of Kollsman, Inc. (last updated February 2023), corroborating his executive role scope beyond just the Israel parent company.
Secondary sources like Trendlyne, Simply Wall St, and MacroTrends can give you directional signals on compensation magnitude or stock-based compensation trends, but always cross-check them against the SEC documents before using any number in an estimate. FinanceCharts-style pages that display a 'net worth' without linking to a primary source should be treated as noise.
Building your own net-worth estimate, step by step

This is how to do it responsibly. Think of it as a model with clearly labeled assumptions, not a headline fact.
- Step 1 — Establish annual compensation. The 2024 Elbit Systems 20-F includes a table showing Machlis's 2024 components: salary costs of approximately $2,434 (in thousands, per the filing format), bonus costs of approximately $1,588, and stock option costs of approximately $1,382. That's a total disclosed compensation figure in the range of $5–6 million per year when these components are combined. Cross-check this against the proxy statement's bonus mechanics to see if the bonus figure is plausible given Elbit's 2024 non-GAAP net profit.
- Step 2 — Estimate cumulative cash earnings. Machlis has been CEO since 2013, so roughly 12 years of CEO-level compensation by 2025. If you assume an average of $3–4 million per year in cash and bonus (escalating over time), cumulative gross cash earnings could reasonably sit in the $36–48 million range before taxes, lifestyle costs, and savings rates.
- Step 3 — Estimate equity holdings. This is the hardest part. Lock-up schedule filings confirm he holds equity positions, but specific share counts aren't disclosed in the public materials available. Use Elbit's stock price trajectory as context: ESLT has appreciated significantly over the past decade. If Machlis received stock options annually in a range consistent with the ~$1.4 million annual stock option cost figure in the 2024 filing, and held a meaningful portion, equity value could add $10–30 million depending on vesting and exercise assumptions. This range is wide and should be treated as speculative.
- Step 4 — Account for taxes and unknowns. Israeli income tax rates on high earners can reach 50% combined (income plus national insurance). Apply a conservative effective rate of 40–45% to gross compensation estimates. Also, you don't know his personal spending, real estate, family business interests, or offshore assets.
- Step 5 — Arrive at a range, not a single number. Putting Steps 1–4 together: after-tax accumulated wealth from salary and bonus over 12 years might sit in the $20–30 million range. Add a conservative equity estimate and you get a total estimated net worth range of roughly $30–60 million as of early 2026. The midpoint is somewhere around $40–45 million, but the range is intentionally wide because key inputs are missing.
These numbers are a model, not a fact. State your assumptions every time you use this estimate. Anyone who gives you a single clean number without disclosing assumptions is guessing, or worse, fabricating.
What to verify and what to skip
When you're researching someone like Machlis, you'll run into a lot of content designed to look authoritative. Here's how to sort it quickly.
| Source type | What it's good for | Trust level for net-worth estimation |
|---|---|---|
| SEC 20-F and 6-K filings | Direct compensation figures, equity plan mechanics | High — primary source |
| TASE filings (Mayafiles) | Officer equity status, lock-up confirmation | High — primary source |
| Official Elbit Systems corporate bio | Identity verification, role history | High — for identity, not wealth |
| SEC proxy statements | Bonus formula, compensation policy terms | High — primary source |
| Simply Wall St / Trendlyne | Ballpark compensation comparison, directional signals | Medium — verify with SEC filings |
| MacroTrends (ESLT equity comp history) | Long-term stock-based compensation trends | Medium — secondary aggregate |
| Net-worth aggregator sites (unsourced) | Nothing reliable | Low — ignore for modeling |
| GovCon Wire and trade press | Role confirmation, deal context, leadership signals | Medium — for context only |
The most common scam pattern to watch for: pages that display a figure like '$50 million' or '$150 million' for Machlis without any citation, or that link to a 'premium report' requiring payment. None of these reports contain information that isn't already in the free SEC filings. Don't pay for paywalled net-worth claims about executives whose employers file with the SEC, because the real data is already public and free.
The latest signals as of March 27, 2026

Elbit Systems published its Q4 and full-year 2025 financial results on March 17, 2026, exactly ten days before today. Machlis was quoted in that results release, confirming he remains in the CEO role as of this writing. A February 17, 2026 press release had announced that publication date in advance, and the investor conference held around the same time listed Machlis as a management participant. These are the most current 'role continuity' signals available.
To stay current going forward, set up a Google Alert for 'Bezhalel Machlis' and 'Elbit Systems 20-F' so you catch the next annual compensation disclosure when it's filed. The 20-F for fiscal year 2025 will likely arrive in the spring or early summer of 2026 on SEC EDGAR. That filing will give you the most precise compensation data available for updating your estimate.
Also check the TASE filings hub (Mayafiles.tase.co.il) for any new Schedule C filings or changes to officer-level equity positions. These can signal whether Machlis is reducing his equity exposure, which itself is a useful data point.
Thinking about it differently: revenue and ownership signals
If you're doing this research for business, investment, or competitive intelligence purposes, personal net worth may actually be the wrong metric. A more stable and verifiable question is: what does the financial scale of Elbit Systems tell you about the executive's economic position?
Elbit Systems is a publicly traded company with billions in annual revenue. Machlis leads it as a professional CEO rather than a founder-owner, so his wealth is primarily compensation-driven rather than equity-ownership-driven (unlike a founder who might hold 20–40% of a company). That distinction matters. Misha Ezratti's net worth is a useful comparison point here, because Ezratti's wealth is more directly tied to ownership stakes, illustrating the difference between founder-owners and professional CEO-level wealth accumulation.
The practical signals to track instead of chasing a net-worth number: Elbit's annual revenue growth (which affects bonus payouts), the ESLT share price (which affects the value of any options or equity grants), and any Form 4-equivalent disclosures or TASE filings showing insider transactions. If Machlis were exercising large option grants or selling shares, that would appear in regulatory filings and give you a far more concrete data point than any aggregator website. Similarly, looking at how other defense-sector CEOs in comparable roles are compensated, such as executives at Israeli or mid-cap U.S. defense firms, gives you a sanity-check benchmark for your estimate range.
For broader context on how Israeli business executives accumulate and disclose wealth, the research approach used for figures like Meshulam Riklis (a very different profile, but instructive for understanding how Israeli-connected business wealth is traced through public records) shows how layered corporate structures can make personal net worth harder to pin down. The methodology, however, remains the same: start with verifiable compensation data, layer in equity signals, apply tax and savings assumptions, and be explicit about what you don't know.
Your practical checklist
- Pull the Elbit Systems 20-F from SEC EDGAR for the most recent fiscal year and locate the compensation table for named executive officers including Machlis.
- Review the February 2024 proxy statement (6-K filing) for bonus mechanics and compensation policy terms that govern how much cash Machlis can earn relative to company performance.
- Check TASE Mayafiles for any Schedule C or officer lock-up filings that reference Machlis to get a read on equity exposure.
- Note the most recent Elbit earnings release (March 17, 2026 for FY2025) to confirm role continuity and get a current read on company financial performance.
- Use the NH company registry entry for Kollsman, Inc. if you need to verify identity details or director role scope.
- Ignore any net-worth figure from an aggregator site that doesn't link back to a named SEC or TASE filing. The number is almost certainly fabricated or stale.
- Build a range, not a point estimate. For Machlis as of March 2026, a defensible range is approximately $30–60 million, with a midpoint around $40–45 million, based on the available compensation data and reasonable assumptions about equity and savings.
FAQ
How can I tell if a Bezhalel Machlis net worth estimate is reliable versus made up?
When you see a single “net worth” number, verify whether the site actually traces it to primary documents like SEC 20-F compensation tables or equity/option activity. If it does not show the specific source documents and how it converts compensation into investable assets, treat it as unsupported.
Why is Bezhalel Machlis net worth harder to estimate than a founder-CEO?
Because Machlis is a professional CEO rather than a founder-owner, his wealth is typically dominated by accumulated compensation, bonuses, and any equity grants received over time, not by a large, persistent ownership stake. Your estimate should therefore start with compensation history and only then adjust for equity value based on disclosed equity transactions.
What filing signals should I track if I’m trying to update an estimate of his personal wealth over time?
Look for changes in officer-level equity exposure in the filings, not just headlines about his salary. A meaningful drop in share holdings or option exercise patterns can reduce expected future equity upside, even if annual compensation remains stable.
How should I handle options, restricted shares, and vesting when estimating Machlis’s net worth?
Use SEC equity activity disclosures (often shown as insider transaction activity in SEC reporting for executives) to distinguish between (1) stock he already owns, (2) options that may be underwater or not yet exercisable, and (3) restricted shares with vesting conditions. Treat unvested or exercisable later as a separate bucket, not as immediate liquidation value.
What common mistake leads people to overestimate an executive’s net worth from salary and bonuses alone?
Do not assume all compensation turns into net new wealth. High effective tax rates, mandatory retirement savings (where applicable), living expenses, and prior investment losses can substantially reduce realized wealth. A practical method is to apply a conservative savings rate and show a low, base, and high scenario.
What’s the best way to stay current without rereading every filing manually?
Google Alerts help, but set a repeating check for the actual filing calendar around the annual 20-F and any mid-year proxy or officer transaction updates. Also watch earnings release dates, since they can refresh management context even when compensation tables do not change immediately.
How do I avoid mixing up Bezhalel Machlis with someone else who has a similar name?
If you see conflicting identities, confirm the tie to Elbit Systems leadership (CEO/President role) and match the location and corporate roles listed in reliable documents. Aggregators that combine multiple people with similar names often inflate or distort totals.
If I’m researching for investment or business purposes, what should I measure instead of personal net worth?
If your goal is competitive intelligence, net worth can be the wrong KPI because it is backward-looking and depends on private holdings and taxes. A more decision-ready alternative is tracking compensation trajectory, realized insider transactions (buys/sells), and Elbit’s performance metrics that drive bonuses.
What’s the difference between an “asset estimate” and a true net worth estimate, and why it matters here?
Pay attention to the difference between a claim of “net worth” and a claim of “assets.” Even if a site lists asset categories, it may omit liabilities like mortgages, taxes payable, or investment drawdowns. Good estimates specify whether liabilities are included and which taxes assumptions were applied.



