Russian oligarchs buying up the world
lovemoney staff
19 March 2018
Russia's mega-rich on a foreign spending spree
Famed for splashing their cash around, Russia's conspicuously wealthy have a habit of pumping their roubles into everything from foreign real estate and overseas oil fields to iconic Western sports teams. The country's oligarchs have been only too eager to move their assets abroad, especially since the collapse of the rouble in 2014 and the ensuing financial crisis. We reveal exactly what they've been buying.
Alexey Mordashov, net worth: $18.7 billion (£13.4bn)
The son of mill workers, Mordashov rose to become the director of a steel mill. He is currently the second richest man in Russia with a fortune of $18.7 billion (£13.4bn).
Alexey Mordashov, net worth: $18.7 billion (£13.4bn)
A majority shareholder in steel company Severstal, which is one of Russia's largest producers of iron ore and coal, he resigned as CEO in 2015 after 19 years in the role.
Alexey Mordashov, net worth: $18.7 billion (£13.4bn)
Mordashov is also the owner of superyacht Lady M. Named after his second wife Marina Mordashov, it has a top speed of 28 knots. Overall it can accommodate up to 12 guests and a crew of 14 as well as having a helipad.
Alexey Mordashov, net worth: $18.7 billion (£13.4bn)
The billionaire has also invested in one of the biggest travel and tourism companies in the world, TUI. He currently owns a 23% stake in the German travel company.
Alexey Mordashov, net worth: $18.7 billion (£13.4bn)
Mordashov also owns a Bombardier Global 6000 private jet, which has a large cabin and ultra long range. Delivered in 2012, it has a list price of $60 million (£43m).
Gennady Timchenko, net worth: $16.4 billion (£11.3bn)
One of the most powerful people in Russia, Gennady Timchenko is a Russian businessman and billionaire. He has stakes in various Russian business and has close ties to President Vladimir Putin.
Gennady Timchenko, net worth: $16.4 billion (£11.3bn)
A citizen of Russia, Finland and Armenia, he has invested money in stakes for a number of businesses, including gas company Novatek, where he sits on the board of directors.
Gennady Timchenko, net worth: $16.4 billion (£11.3bn)
Timchenko is also chairman of the Russian national hockey league KHL and is president of the SKA Saint Petersburg team. In 2013, together with brothers Arkady Rotenburg and Boris Rotenburg, he established Arena Events OY. They also bought a stake in Jokerit, the six-time national champions of the Finnish top-level ice hockey league Liiga.
Gennady Timchenko, net worth: $16.4 billion (£11.3bn)
Timchenko also likes to play and watch tennis. Through his formerly-owned Finnish company, IPP, he has sponsored an outdoor tennis tournament in Finland since 2000, the IPP Open.
Roman Abramovich, net worth: $11.5 billion (£8.2bn)
London-based oligarch Roman Abramovich cleaned up in the early 90s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, amassing a huge fortune exporting oil and gas. Over the years, the tycoon has acquired and sold stakes in a number of key Russian firms, including Sibneft and Rusal, consolidating his wealth.
Roman Abramovich, net worth: $11.5 billion (£8.2bn)
In 2003, Abramovich bought Chelsea FC for $170 million (£122m). The expat oligarch has bankrolled the English Premier League soccer club to a T, securing the best players and investing in top-class facilities such as a new training center. His input has helped transformed Chelsea into one of the finest clubs in Europe.
Roman Abramovich, net worth: $11.5 billion (£8.2bn)
Abramovich owns prestige real estate in the US, France, St. Barts and the UK, including a lavish house in London's Kensington worth $152 million (£109m). The rags-to-riches oligarch recently won approval for a $78 million (£56m) mega-mansion conversion in New York's Upper East Side (pictured), adding to his already bulging international property portfolio.
Roman Abramovich, net worth: $11.5 billion (£8.2bn)
On top of Chelsea FC and international real estate, Abramovich owns the world's second largest yacht, the Eclipse, which he snapped up for $400 million (£287m) in 2012, as well as a fleet of private jets and helicopters.
Roman Abramovich, net worth: $11.5 billion (£8.2bn)
Abramovich has a world-renowned art collection to boot. Notable works include Francis Bacon's Triptych 1976, which he bought for $86.3 million (£62m) in 2008. The tycoon also owns shares in several major global companies.
Dmitry Rybolovlev, net worth: $6.9 billion (£4.9bn)
Qualified doctor Dmitry Rybolovlev made his fortune from the trade and manufacture of fertilizer. The oligarch medic was appointed as chairman of Russia's largest potassium fertilizer firm Uralkali in 1995, and sold his stake in the company 10 years later for a cool $6.5 billion (£4.6bn).
Dmitry Rybolovlev, net worth: $6.9 billion (£4.9bn)
Rybolovlev is (in)famous for his real estate wheeling and dealing via a trust in the name of his daughter Ekaterina. Most controversially, in 2008 the trust bought the swanky Maison de L'Amitié in Palm Beach, Florida from none other than Donald Trump.
Dmitry Rybolovlev, net worth: $6.9 billion (£4.9bn)
Trump acquired the property in 2005 at the knockdown price of $41 million (£29.4m) and sold it on to the Rybolovlev Trust three years later for an overinflated $100 million (£71.7m). Rybolovlev never used or rented out the property, and had it demolished in 2016, raising questions about the deal.
Dmitry Rybolovlev, net worth: $6.9 billion (£4.9bn)
Currently the trust owns an $88 million (£63m) Manhattan penthouse, actor Will Smith's former Hawaiian home, Skorpios Island in Greece (pictured), which once belonged to the Onassis family, and high-end properties in Switzerland and Monaco.
Dmitry Rybolovlev, net worth: $6.9 billion (£4.9bn)
Rybolovlev bought a 9.1% stake in the bank of Cyprus in 2010 and acquired a controlling stake in AS Monaco soccer club the following year. Bolstering his investments, the mega-rich Russian has an enviable collection of art featuring works by Picasso, Matisse and Rothko, not to mention a $75 million (£53.8m) superyacht and an Airbus A319 business jet.
Mikhail Fridman, net worth: $15.1 billion (£10.8bn)
One of Russia's richest men, Mikhail Fridman co-founded conglomerate Alfa-Group in 1988 and Alfa-Bank in 1990, which has since become Russia's largest private bank. Fridman is one of the founders of investment firm LetterOne, which comprises L1 Energy and L1 Technology, and sits on the board of a number of multinational companies.
Mikhail Fridman, net worth: $15.1 billion (£10.8bn)
Fridman is in the process of buying up North Sea oil and gas fields. In March 2015, L1 Energy splashed $7 billion (£5bn) on German oil and gas firm DEA, which controls 12 North Sea fields. The deal was opposed by Ed Davey, the UK's then Energy and Climate Change Secretary, who forced L1 Energy to sell its North Sea oil fields to British firm Ineos in October 2015.
Mikhail Fridman, net worth: $15.1 billion (£10.8bn)
UK government opposition hasn't stopped Fridman from going on a big North Sea oil spree. That same October, F1 Energy bought German utility firm E.ON's three Norwegian oil and gas fields for $1.6 billion (£1.1bn), a deal that was given the all-clear by the Norwegian authorities.
Mikhail Fridman, net worth: $15.1 billion (£10.8bn)
In addition to foreign oil and gas fields, the Russian tycoon has his fingers in many pots. His myriad international interests include a $3 billion (£2.1bn) investment in US healthcare providers and a $200 million (£143m) stake in Uber. The oligarch is also planning to invest up to $16 billion (£11.4bn) in global telecommunications businesses.
Mikhail Fridman, net worth: $15.1 billion (£10.8bn)
Real estate-wise, Fridman owns a huge home in Moscow and a grand mansion in the posh Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine, as well as the sprawling Athlone House in London's Highgate (pictured), which he bought in 2016 for $79 million (£56.7m). The moneyed magnate also owns Pure, a luxury student accommodation firm with several buildings in London, which he bought for $651 million (£467m) in 2015.
Mikhail Prokhorov, net worth: $9.6 billion (£6.9bn)
Oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov made the bulk of his fortune in the 90s and 00s from Norilsk Nickel, the world's leading producer of nickel and palladium. He sold much of his 25% stake in 2008 for $7 billion (£5bn) in cash and $3 billion (£2.1bn)-worth of shares in Rusal, and has since branched out into foreign investments.
Mikhail Prokhorov, net worth: $9.6 billion (£6.9bn)
The basketball-crazy oligarch is the owner of the Brooklyn Nets. The first non-North American proprietor of an NBA team, Prokhorov bought the team, which was then known as the New Jersey Nets, in 2010 on the proviso that he'd help fund the Barclays Center arena in Brooklyn and invest heavily in the Nets' future.
Mikhail Prokhorov, net worth: $9.6 billion (£6.9bn)
The deal was worth around $223 billion (£160bn). In 2015, Prokhorov shelled out an additional $285 million (£204m) to increase his stake in the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center arena and become the sole owner of both assets.
Mikhail Prokhorov, net worth: $9.6 billion (£6.9bn)
On top of his ownership of the Nets and Barclays Center, the sporty oligarch has been busy buying up Brooklyn and the surrounding area. Prokhorov now owns several entertainment venues worth $2.2 billion (£1.5bn) in New York, including the Nassau Coliseum and the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre.
Mikhail Prokhorov, net worth: $9.6 billion (£6.9bn)
Though he owns swathes of New York, Prokhorov lives in Moscow and has an official residence in the Siberian town of Yeruda, mainly for tax reasons. The tycoon also owns two hospitals in Israel, a $200 million (£143m) yacht called Palladium and an Airbus A319 business jet worth $90 million (£64m).
Alisher Usmanov, net worth: $13.1 billion (£9.4 bn)
Uzbekistan-born mogul Alisher Usmanov, who is said to be close to President Putin, headed a number of lucrative metal and mining operations in the 90s and 00s, before moving into investments, making a colossal fortune in the process.
Alisher Usmanov, net worth: $13.1 billion (£9.4 bn)
A big soccer fan, in 2007 Usmanov paid $91 million (£65m) for a 14.58% stake in London club Arsenal. Over the years, Usmanov has increased his share and he now owns 30% of the club, making him Arsenal FC's second largest shareholder after American Stan Kroenke.
Alisher Usmanov, net worth: $13.1 billion (£9.4 bn)
Usmanov has invested heavily in major Western and Chinese tech, social networking and e-commerce companies. He invested $200 million (£143m) in Facebook in its early days and pumped $100 million (£72m) into Apple in 2013.
Alisher Usmanov, net worth: $13.1 billion (£9.4 bn)
Other firms that have benefited from the oligarch's investment cash include Alibaba, Twitter, Airbnb, Groupon and Xiaomi. Usmanov reportedly has his eye on several Indian e-commerce companies and is expected to make significant investments in the country.
Alisher Usmanov, net worth: $13.1 billion (£9.4 bn)
Big on foreign real estate, Usmanov purchased Sutton Place (pictured), a Tudor country house in Surrey, England for $12 million (£8.6m) in 2004, and four years later he splurged $58m (£41.6m) on Beechwood House, which is located next door to Mikhail Fridman's Athline House in Highgate, London. Usmanov also owns a vast property in Moscow and an opulent villa in Sardinia, and travels to each of his properties in the world's largest private jet.
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