Every billionaire has his own path to success. Kuzmichev Aleksey Viktorovich - a fairly well-known and influential person in the business circles of Russia - by virtue of his nature, could become an employee of the state security agencies, and given education, a metallurgist. But he chose a completely different track. And did not lose. Today, Alexey Viktorovich is the chairman of the board of directors of the financial giant Alfa Group and is literally bathed in money.
Kuzmichev's childhood
On the fifteenth of October 1962 in the city of Kirov (and in the old fashioned way - Vyatka) Aleksey Viktorovich Kuzmichev was born. His date of birth coincided with the date of a rather serious event in the history of the Soviet Union. It was on this day, at the equator of autumn, that American intelligence officers discovered Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. And until the deadliest war between the two world giants literally one step remained. But, thank God, everything worked out, and Alexey’s childhood passed under a peaceful sky.
However, few people know how little Alexei Viktorovich Kuzmichev lived (family, photos of parents, etc.). The public does not know almost anything about the entrepreneur’s childhood. Either he skillfully hides biographical details, or there is nothing remarkable and worthy of the attention of a wide range of people in them.
It is only known that Alexei has an older brother who worked at the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys. And it is certainly no coincidence that Kuzmichev Jr. decided to enter the same institution of higher education.
Education
He managed to become a student only in the eighty-third year - after serving on the border with China in Transbaikalia.
Did Aleksey want to work as a metallurgist, choosing MISiS? Maybe. But during his studies, he met some Mikhail Fridman and German Khan, and in the fourth year, the “magnificent” three started a joint business that determined the fate of a man named Alexey Kuzmichev.
First steps in a career
It is noteworthy that at the time of the beginning of stormy entrepreneurial activity, Kuzmichev was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which he became at the dawn of college. By the way, in his first year he was chosen by the Komsomol. But all this did not prevent him from soberly assessing what was happening in the country and preparing for the inexorably impending capitalism.
So, Kuzmichev, Khan and Friedman in 1988 opened two cooperatives - “Alpha-photo” and “Courier”. The first one brought into the Union for the sale of photographic reagents, and the second was engaged in the provision of various household services - cleaning in offices, washing windows, food delivery, etc. A little later, Alfa-Eco appeared, selling imported office equipment, carpets, tea and equipment allowing to control the quality of products from an environmental point of view. And then the active and proactive Alexei Kuzmichev suggested that the partners also engage in export. And his idea was accepted with a bang.
In the ninety-second year, Alexei became the head of the international branch of Alfa-Eco, and under his leadership the company traded in oil, metal, grain and other raw materials.
Around the same time, the oil trading company Crown Trade and Finance was born, and Kuzmichev took a direct part in this process, eventually joining the board of directors.
Course change
Trading in raw materials, of course, was profitable. It brought millions of profits. But this business was too dependent on the “weather” in the government’s offices. Officials were “bought,” and they could easily change loyalty to anger, which threatened the collapse of the entire business.
Therefore, the partners decided to slightly change the type of activity and engaged in industrial assets. Alfa Group already existed at that time, and Alfa Bank was one of its components. Many enterprises had debts to a financial institution, and Alexey Kuzmichev and Ko took advantage of this. Having connections and money, young businessmen bought out the assets of enterprises (with poor management, debts and other problems), and then sold them with a big markup. Such operations, in fact, were raiding, and there were a lot of them conducted by Alpha. Among the objects of the “Trinity” are: Korshunovsky GOK, West Siberian, Taganrog and Orsk-Khalilovsky Metallurgical Combines, Volgograd Metallurgical Plant Krasny Oktyabr, SUN Interbrew Company, Patra Brewery, Moscow Fat Factory and many others.
Literally in one decade, the student’s venture has gained the scale of a real financial giant, whose tentacles reached the most remote corners of the country and even went beyond its borders, and Alexei Viktorovich Kuzmichev, whose biography began in a simple family from a small town, now turned billions.
Crown resources
The entire adult life of a businessman passed and passes under the "star" of Alpha. But there was a period when Kuzmichev tried to "budge" from partners and go on a solo voyage.
This happened in 1996, when Alexei Viktorovich, having left Alfa-Eco, headed her “daughter” Crown Resources, registered in Switzerland. The company was engaged in the supply of black gold and worked closely with countries such as Iran, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, etc.
There are several high-profile international scandals associated with the activities of Crown Resources. The essence of one of them was the accusations put forward by American experts against the management of the company, which allegedly made illegal payments to Saddam Hussein.
Other scandals concerned raider grabs money laundering and the like.
In general, the activities of Crown Resources can not be called too successful. When her relationship with Alfa-Eco completely cooled down and the latter became a rival for her daughter, Aleksey Viktorovich Kuzmichev, an entrepreneur from God, tried to find other partners. In particular, he saw them in the person of the American company Marc Rich Investments. But the planned merger did not happen due to another scandal.
And when in 2002 a tanker with fuel oil owned by Crown Resources crashed off the Spanish coast, Alpha decided to sell the latter.
Return to Alfa Eco
In the early 2000s, Alexei Kuzmichev returned to Alfa-Eco and became the head of its board of directors. And in 2006, the company received a new name - “A1” - and continued to oversee the commodity segment of the corporation. It was rumored that she was also involved in the "dirty" debts of Alfa Bank, whose board of directors the hero of this article also had for some time.
He also participated in the management of other companies as part of Alfa Group. The corporation went further and further beyond the borders of the country and grew rich day by day.
Kuzmichev's condition
Today, Alexey Kuzmichev is one of the co-owners of the financial corporation Alpha. The size of his condition is not exactly known, but back in 2004 he was on the list of billionaires.
In 2009, experts called the figure of 3.1 billion dollars, and in 2010 she jumped up to 7.1 billion, and Kuzmichev was assigned sixteenth place in the list of richest people in Russia. A year later, Alexei Viktorovich was credited with a fortune of seven and a half billion dollars, and in 2014 his capital grew to 8.8 billion.
A dark horse
Kuzmichev Aleksey Viktorovich, whose photo is not so often seen in the media, wears the unspoken nickname "Mona Lisa". Of all the co-owners of Alfa Group, he is perhaps the most classified person.From those pictures that have nevertheless become public, a bald, chubby man looks at us with a barely noticeable smile and a tenacious look. He does not have a “speaking” appearance: both character and sphere of activity can be attributed to him whatever.
Kuzmichev has a rare gift not to get involved in scandals, he does not go to social parties, does not go to expensive resorts, he prefers to eat at home rather than in a restaurant. Even Alexey Viktorovich tries not to use a mobile phone. And questions of his safety at Alpha are handled by a special service.
Apparently, partners cherish a business colleague as the apple of an eye, because it is he who is the "brain" of the company. If in the nineties Kuzmichev did not understand that it is possible to earn billions by manipulating the interests of different people and structures, probably today Alpha would have been selling imported consumer goods.
People like Alexei Viktorovich are called gray cardinals. They know everything and everyone. But practically nobody knows anything about them.
Kuzmichev Aleksey Viktorovich: family and hobbies of businessman
Kuzmichev’s personal life, like everything else, is under the protection of secrecy. Journalists disagree. Someone considers the billionaire an enviable bachelor, someone ascribes to him a wife and denies the presence of children, and someone claims that Kuzmichev has a son. The latest version is the most popular, however, there is no information about the date of birth and the name of the rich offspring.
According to some reports, Alexei Viktorovich lives in London, being a resident of the UK, but without giving up Russian citizenship. He is fond of the history of Ancient Mesopotamia and plans to invest in the creation of its memos. Collects painting by John Boyd. Panicky afraid of flying on planes and generally very carefully treats his life.
