Abramovich Roman Arkadievich - one of the richest and most influential people in Russia. The dollar billionaire, the former governor of Chukotka, the owner of the Chelsea football club and just a lover of beautiful women, he is always in the spotlight of the world press. How did Abramovich earn his billions? You can get an answer to this question by reading the biography of this extraordinary businessman and politician.
Childhood and adolescence of the future oligarch
Roman Abramovich was born in Saratov in 1966 in a simple working-class family. When the boy was one year old, his mother Irina Vasilievna died as a result of complications after an abortion. At the age of four, he was left without the father of Aron (Arkady) Nakhimovich, who died in an accident at a construction site. A little orphan was taken to his paternal uncle, Leib Abramovich, who lived in Ukhta (Komi Republic). Here in 1973, Roma went to first grade of secondary school No. 2. In 1974, the future billionaire moved to Moscow, where his second uncle, Abram Abramovich, lived. In the capital, Roman studied at secondary school No. 232. After receiving a certificate, he became a student in the forestry department of the Ukhta Industrial Institute, which he never graduated from. In the period from 1984 to 1986, the young man underwent military service in the small town of Bogodukhov, Kharkov region.
First steps in commercial activity
After being demobilized from the army, Abramovich Roman decided to do business. In 1988, he became the owner of the Uyut cooperative, specializing in the production of polymer children's toys. Finished products were sold in Moscow markets and brought his first capital to a novice businessman. In the early 90s, young Abramovich managed to establish a number of profitable trading and intermediary firms (Elite, GID, Petroltrans, etc.), as well as to head the AVK company, which was engaged in the resale of oil products. Organizational abilities, punchy character and the ability to make money from the air allowed Roman Arkadievich to become a prominent person and find many influential acquaintances among Russian businessmen and politicians. The people with whom he spoke in the first half of the 90s were Boris Berezovsky and Boris Yeltsin. It was his acquaintance with the President of Russia that helped Abramovich to become the general director of the large oil company Sibneft.
Further development of Abramovich’s business
With the oligarch Berezovsky, Roman Arkadyevich, for some time business relations were connected. Having met in the Caribbean, businessmen jointly founded the offshore company Runicom Ltd and 5 of its official representative offices in Western Europe. In 1995, Abramovich and Berezovsky began a project to create a large vertically integrated oil corporation based on the Omsk Oil Refinery and Noyabrskneftegaz. The business partnership of the oligarchs lasted until 1998 and was terminated due to commercial contradictions that arose between them.
Successful entrepreneurial activity brought Abramovich billions in revenue. At 33, he became the owner of a fortune of $ 14 billion, which allowed him to enter the list of the richest people in Russia. Despite the huge amounts in bank accounts and the presence of a solid business, the public for a long time did not know what Roman Abramovich looked like. His photo began to be published in the press only in 1998. The reason for this was information accidentally leaked to the media that the young oligarch in 1996 sponsored Yeltsin’s presidential campaign and paid for his family’s financial expenses.
In the early 2000s, Abramovich significantly expanded his business.Together with Oleg Deripaska, he created the company "Russian Aluminum". In addition, he managed to redeem 49% of ORT, which previously belonged to Berezovsky, and then profitably resell them to Sberbank. Among the profitable deals of this period can also be attributed the acquisition by Sibneft of a controlling stake in Aeroflot, Russia's largest airline.
Political career
At the turn of the century, Abramovich Roman thought about building a political career. In 1999, he was elected as a State Duma deputy from the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug - an area that worked closely with Sibneft. The following year, the young oligarch was appointed governor of Chukotka. This post was occupied by Roman Arkadievich until 2008, while investing a lot of his own money in the development of the region entrusted to him. After leaving the governor’s post, the billionaire was elected to the Duma of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, receiving almost 97% of the vote in the elections.
Acquisition of Chelsea
Roman Abramovich, whose biography is considered in this article, became known far beyond the borders of Russia after in 2003 he bought the English football club Chelsea, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, for 140 million euros and paid off all its debts. Then he proceeded to renew the composition of the team, inviting the best football players of the planet to it. Having invested about 150 million pounds in Chelsea, the businessman has made his club one of the strongest in Europe.
I did not forget the billionaire and Russian sport. In 2006, he initiated the invitation of the outstanding Dutch footballer Guus Hiddink to the post of head coach of the Russian football team.
Roman Abramovich: condition, real estate and oligarch collections
Businessman and politician constantly appear on the lists richest people the planet. In 2015, his fortune amounted to $ 9.1 billion, which allowed him to occupy 137th position in the ranking of world billionaires compiled by Forbes magazine. In the list of the richest people in Russia, the oligarch in the same year took 12th place.
In addition to his multi-billion dollar fortune, Abramovich owns many luxurious mansions, expensive cars, yachts and airplanes. He owns a penthouse in central London worth £ 29 million and a huge villa in the British county of West Sussex, bought for £ 28 million. The oligarch also owns elite real estate in Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Saint-Tropez and the Moscow Region.
Abramovich owns 3 luxury yachts (including Eclipse for £ 340 million), a mini-submarine, 2 armored limousines, a collection of exclusive cars, a couple of planes and helicopters. In society, a billionaire always appears accompanied by a personal guard consisting of 20 security specialists.
In addition to real estate and vehicles, Roman Abramovich collects objects of art. According to rough estimates by experts, the cost of his paintings is about $ 1 billion. In 2013, the oligarch replenished his collection with 40 paintings by Russian artist Ilya Kabakov, paying $ 60 million for them.
The first and second marriages of a billionaire
Abramovich Roman was married three times. The first time he went to the registry office with a native of Astrakhan Olga Lysova, but this marriage was not destined to last long. Soon after the divorce, the businessman married the flight attendant Irina Malandina, whom he met on an airplane during a flight to Germany. The second marriage of a businessman lasted 16 years (from 1991 to 2007). In it, the couple had 5 children (sons Arkady and Ilya, daughters Anna, Sofia and Arina). Irina became for Roman a faithful companion of life, sharing with him not only victories, but also defeats. However, the family union, which seemed perfect, cracked after the billionaire began an affair with designer Dasha Zhukova. After the divorce, Abramovich left Irina $ 230 million in compensation and real estate in the UK for Irina.The oligarch also pledged to ensure a comfortable life for all his children.
Relations with Zhukova
Daria Zhukova and Roman Abramovich met in 2005 at a party held in honor of Chelsea's performance in Barcelona. Both were not free at the time, but this did not stop them from plunging headlong into the suddenly surging feelings on them. For the sake of Daria, Abramovich left his second wife, and the girl broke up with her fiancé - tennis player Marat Safin. The couple did not hide their relationship, appearing together at all social events. Paparazzi more than once managed to photograph them while relaxing in prestigious foreign resorts. The media kept getting information about expensive gifts that a billionaire made to his beloved. In 2008, he sponsored the opening of the Garage Center for Contemporary Art in Moscow, whose owner was Zhukova.
Relations with Abramovich attracted close attention of the world community to Daria. In 2008, the girl was included in the Top 10 most stylish people, compiled by the prestigious American edition of Vogue. Today, Zhukova is the official wife of Abramovich. In 2009, she gave her billionaire wife Aaron's son Alexander, and in 2013, her daughter Leah.
The heirs of the Russian oligarch
All the children of Roman Abramovich live outside of Russia. Despite the fact that the billionaire has 7 offspring, very little is known about most of them. The exception is only the eldest son and daughter of Roman Arkadyevich, who were born in a marriage with Irina Malandina. Born in 1992, Anna Abramovich permanently resides in London. She graduated from the prestigious metropolitan school Godolphin & Latymer School, after which she became a student at Westminster University. For some time, the girl was the bride of the famous lawyer Nikolai Lazarev, but subsequently broke up with him.
Abramovich’s son Arkady, born in 1993, decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a businessman. He owns the ARA Capital Limited corporation, which owns a 40% stake in Zoltav investment firm. By 2011, Abramovich's eldest son managed to earn over $ 13 billion. Arkady is a passionate football fan who is a fan of Chelsea. He forgave his father for leaving the family and was able to establish a warm relationship with his new wife Daria.
