A Storied Life Leading Back to HIAS: Why Viviane El-Yachar Is Investing in the Future

Sitting in Viviane El-Yachar's apartment as she speaks about her life and convictions, it’s clear that she cares deeply about refugees—no matter where they come from or when. Not only has she created an endowment for the HIAS Foundation, more recently she decided to add to it by making the Foundation the beneficiary of her home as well.

Viviane has lived in her bright, peaceful apartment for 22 years. But she was born on another continent, in Cairo, where she and her siblings went to a French-speaking school. Their father was secretary/treasurer of the stock exchange there. But when Jews were expelled from Egypt during the Suez Crisis of 1956, Viviane and her family sought refuge, first in France, then, thanks to a travel loan from HIAS, in the United States.

Columbus, Ohio, where they settled, was a culture shock after Cairo and Paris. Viviane and her sister had been to modeling school, but when they went to seek work at the department store, they were mistaken for members of the Spanish ballet. “They’d never seen people like us, with our dark hair, our dark eyes, our makeup. We were a little too exotic.”

Soon after, Viviane took the night train to New York. After one modeling job fired her because she misunderstood a direction in English, she found another that paid better—and got her sister signed up as well. Eventually, their family joined them in the city, and her father worked his way back to Wall Street.

“We all flourished and lived good lives, thanks to HIAS,” she says. “They gave us our first start, and Dad started repaying HIAS for the cost of the tickets and whatever disbursements they had made.”

An Inspired Career

After a while, Viviane tired of the modeling life and wanted to try something different. “In those days,” she says, “women were in front of the camera not behind it. But I really wanted to be on the other side.” Knowing she was good with numbers, she found her way into a financial role with a production company before eventually starting her own company. But it was on a trip to visit family in Brazil where Viviane got “the job of my life”: setting up the first cable company in Rio. She stayed for four years, adding Portuguese to the other languages she has spoken, including French, English, Arabic, and some Ladino from her grandparents. And she met her second husband, who returned with her to New York, where they bought and redesigned a loft for themselves. This job led to Viviane’s third career, in real estate.

Smart Investments: A Family Philosophy

In late 2020, when Viviane’s younger brother died, she found correspondence he’d kept between their father and HIAS. Reflecting on the organization’s role in her life, Viviane decided to create an endowment for the HIAS Foundation.

“It feels right,” she says now. “It suits my way of thinking.”

As a child, Viviane saw her father always giving to people in challenging circumstances—whether they needed food, clothing, or school. He taught his own children that they needed enough but not more. This value was integral to their way of life and continues to guide Viviane today.

“Why HIAS? Because they helped us come. Why an endowment? Because it’s my family philosophy. You don't just spend; you need the stability of the investment. Dad taught us this. Investing is building your life.”

Through her HIAS Foundation endowment and the beneficiary designation of her home, Viviane is helping others build their lives—now and for many years to come.

Her actions don’t stop there. These days Viviane is leading the way in creating a rec room at a nearby hotel housing hundreds of migrant families so that their children have a place to play. She also persuaded the Metropolitan Museum, where she has been a volunteer for 17 years, to donate a large quantity of children’s books. And her apartment hallway was lined with bags packed neatly with sweaters she recently bought at Goodwill to bring to the hotel. “You benefit people twice that way,” she says. “You buy the sweaters from one organization, and then you bring them to people who need them.”