Rotenberg Arkady Romanovich - the largest domestic businessman, dollar billionaire and honored worker of physical culture of the Russian Federation. His name is always present in the ranking of the richest people in the country, and professional activities and personal life attract the attention of millions of people. How did Rotenberg get rich? What is the secret of his successful entrepreneurial activity? Answers to these and many other questions can be obtained by reading the biography of Arkady Romanovich.
Judo childhood
In 1951, in Leningrad, in an intelligent family, Arkady Rotenberg was born. The billionaire never hid his nationality, therefore it is no secret to anyone that he is Jewish by birth. Parents from early childhood accustomed Arkady to the sport. In elementary grades, the boy attended the acrobatics section, and at the age of 12, under the guidance of the famous Leningrad coach Anatoly Solomonovich Rakhlin, he began to master judo. Later, Arkady shared a passion for Japanese martial art with his younger brother Boris, who was born in 1957.
In judo, Rotenberg showed great hopes, repeatedly winning prizes at city competitions. Rakhlin was pleased with the achievements of his pupil and predicted a bright future for him in professional sports, but he subsequently chose a coaching job. It is noteworthy that, simultaneously with Rotenberg, Anatoly Solomonovich coached young Vladimir Putin. Both boys represented the same weight category, due to which they repeatedly performed in pairs and went to the competitions of young judokas together. Passion for the fight made Rotenberg and Putin good friends, and over time, their friendship became even stronger.
Work as a trainer, scientific activity
Shortly after graduation, Arkady Rotenberg was drafted into the army. The biography of this period of his life looks very vague, since there is no information about exactly where the current oligarch served and what he did immediately after demobilization. At the age of 21, Rotenberg became a student at the State University of Physical Education in Leningrad, which he graduated in 1978. Having received a diploma, he worked for the next 15 years as a judo and sambo trainer in Leningrad sports schools. In addition, Rotenberg was actively engaged in scientific activities, defended his candidate and doctoral dissertations. He authored several dozen books on the organization of the training process in martial arts.
Relations with Putin
Engaged in coaching and scientific work, did not lose touch with Vladimir Putin Rotenberg Arkady. In the early 90s, the current President of Russia headed the Committee on Foreign Relations at the Mayor's Office of St. Petersburg. Despite the constant employment, he did not deny himself the pleasure of practicing judo further. The constant sparring partner of Vladimir Vladimirovich in training was his childhood friend Arkady Rotenberg. A long-standing friendship led to the fact that when in 1998 Putin initiated the creation of the Yavara-Neva judo club in St. Petersburg, he invited Arkady Romanovich to the post of general director.
Business development
Rotenberg began his commercial career in 1991, having founded the cooperative society "Owl", which organizes and conduct competitions in judo, sambo and other martial arts.The sports business brought Arkady Romanovich a good income. However, the struggle was not the only thing that interested the novice entrepreneur in this period. Thinking about expanding his business, he began to engage in barter deliveries of goods from Finland to Russia. His brother, who was invited to work in Helsinki in the early 90s, became an assistant to him in this matter. Arkady and Boris Rotenberg earned their first capital by supplying products for the branches of the Gazprom oil company specializing in the construction of gas pipelines. Barter operations were carried out through the company Baltic Business Partners, established at the end of 1991, co-founded by Arkady Romanovich.
By the end of the 90s, Rotenberg became a well-known businessman in the Northern capital, possessing the necessary connections and able to solve any issue with a single phone call. With his direct participation in this period, several companies were founded (Grant, RKK, Shield). In 1997, the entrepreneur became the founder of the International Information and Analytical Center. At the turn of the century, Arkady Romanovich became a member of the board of directors of the large St. Petersburg company Talion, a restaurant, hotel, construction and gambling business.
Banking activity
In 2001, Rotenberg with his long-time friend, and part-time one more friend of Putin’s childhood, Konstantin Goloshchapov bought the Northern Sea Route bank (abbreviated as “SMP Bank”) and headed its board of directors. After some time, Goloshchapov thought about leaving the business and sold his block of shares to the younger brother of his companion. After this transaction, Arkady and Boris Rotenberg became the main owners of SMP Bank. Their shareholding was 80%. To date "Northern Sea Route" continues to be controlled by the Rotenberg brothers. With more than 100 representative offices in 40 cities of Russia, he owns assets in the amount of 348 billion rubles and is one of the largest banks in the country. In 2008, the Bashkirian InvestCapitalBank was acquired by the Rotenberg Bank and became one of its branches. Towards the end of the 2000s, the Northern Sea Route got so firmly on its feet that it began to engage in insurance activities. For these purposes, against its background, the company "SMP Insurance" was founded.
Sale of pipes and construction of gas pipelines
In 2002, Boris Arkady Romanovich’s brother decided to go into the pipe business, acquiring a 25% stake in Gaztaged, the largest monopolist in this field. The remaining 75% was held by Gazprom's subsidiary, Gazkomplektimpeks. Soon, an older brother joined Boris. After the liquidation of Gaztaged, the Rotenbergs jointly created Pipe Metal Rolling and Pipe Industry companies selling pipes to Gazprom. A well-built business strategy has allowed them to quickly become competitive in the market and win profitable tenders.
Working closely with Gazprom, Rotenberg thought about starting his own gas pipeline business. At the end of 2007, he created the Stroygazmontazh company, which in a few months acquired 5 subsidiary construction companies from Gazprom. The purchase cost the businessman almost 8.4 billion rubles and allowed him to create a large competitive company, bringing huge profits. In March 2008, Stroygazmontazh Arkady Rotenberg wins a tender for the construction of the ground part gas main "Nord Stream". Soon, a businessman, out of competition, receives orders for the construction of gas pipelines from Dzhubga to Sochi and from Sakhalin to Vladivostok, and also wins a number of profitable tenders. His Stroygazmontazh becomes a thriving holding company and a monopolist in the gas construction market.
Status and secret of success
Today, Rotenberg Arkady continues to actively develop his business and has established himself as a serious and reliable partner. The companies belonging to him completed state orders in excess of 1 trillion rubles. Thanks to successful commercial activities, Arkady Romanovich managed to make a fortune of 1 billion rubles by 2012 and take 1153 place in the world ranking of the rich, compiled by Forbes magazine. In subsequent years, Rothenberg increased its capital to $ 3.9 billion.
What is the secret to the success of the Petersburg oligarch? According to skeptics, the influential friends of Arkady Rotenberg provide him with patronage in doing business. Speaking about the entrepreneur’s friendly relations, they first of all mean Vladimir Putin, whom he has known since adolescence. It is noteworthy that the period of the formation of the Rotenberg empire begins immediately after the current President came to power. It was at this time that Arkady Romanovich acquired a bank, became a monopolist in gas construction, and his companies received favorable government orders for astronomical amounts. However, Rotenberg himself in every way denies the fact of Vladimir Vladimirovich's involvement in the formation of his business. He claims that successful entrepreneurial activity is the result of his many years of hard work, and close acquaintance with Putin has nothing to do with it. Whether it is true or not, it is unknown, but it is obvious that Arkady Rotenberg is often mentioned in the media as the best friend of Vladimir Vladimirovich.
Billionaire wives
Arkady Romanovich was married twice. The first time he married in his early youth. His chosen one was a girl named Galina. She gave birth to a wife, daughter Lilia, the sons of Igor and Paul. The businessman prefers not to disclose information about his first marriage. In 2005, he married a second time Arkady Rotenberg. His wife Natalya gave him a daughter, Varvara, and a son, Arkady. In 2013, the couple decided to divorce. After the dissolution of the marriage, Natalia Rotenberg moved with her children to a permanent residence in England. Interestingly, the second time Arkady Romanovich was getting divorced almost simultaneously with his friend Putin. Information that Vladimir Vladimirovich and his wife Lyudmila no longer live together, leaked to the media shortly after Natalia ceased to be the legal wife of Arkady Rotenberg.
Children's life and activities
Today is free from marriage obligations Arkady Rotenberg. The children of the oligarch live separately from him. The eldest son Igor, born in 1973, followed in his father's footsteps and went into business. He is a co-owner of a number of profitable companies, including Gazprom-drilling, Glosav, Mosenergo's fuel and energy complex, etc. Thanks to commercial activities, the fortune of Rotenberg's eldest son in 2015 amounted to $ 470 million. Igor Arkadevich is married, has three children.
The youngest son from his first marriage, Igor is now 16 years old. Despite his young age, he is considered a fairly promising Russian hockey player. Since 2014, he has been playing at the positions of the striker in the St. Petersburg hockey club Dynamo-99, and is also part of the junior national team of the Russian Federation. Mentor Igor is a famous coach Evgeny Filinov.
Information about what the daughter of Arkady Romanovich from her first marriage, Lilia, was not in the media. As for the children of the oligarch born to him by Natalya Rotenberg, they are still small enough to attract the attention of journalists. The younger siblings of a billionaire live with their mother, who is the legal representative of their interests.
Businessman and sanctions
Due to the conflict that arose as a result of the accession of the Crimean Peninsula to Russia, in the summer of 2014, Rotenberg Arkady Romanovich, along with other politicians and businessmen close to Vladimir Putin, was included in the list of citizens who were subject to visa and economic sanctions of the United States and countries The European Union. After 2 months, the Italian authorities decided to confiscate all the real estate of the oligarch located on their territory. As a result, Rotenberg lost four forks in different parts of the Apennine Peninsula, a hotel in Rome, apartments in Cagliari and two companies. According to experts, the total value of the seized property reached 30 million euros.
The sanctions not only painfully hit the billionaire’s pocket, but also deprived him of the opportunity to pay alimony to children from his second marriage, who live in the UK, because all international money transfers from people who were on the “black list” of the European Union were frozen. In this regard, the ex-wife of Arkady Rotenberg Natalya brought him a claim for property claims. As a result of a long lawsuit, the former wife of the oligarch managed to ensure that money transfers for the maintenance of their children were transferred to her Russian account.
Despite the harsh policies of the United States and the European Union towards Russians close to Vladimir Putin, Rotenberg Arkady continues to be one of the most successful domestic businessmen. The losses from sanctions against him and other citizens of the Russian Federation, whose overseas property turned out to be arrested, were recovered from the state budget. This became possible thanks to the bill adopted by the State Duma in October 2014, popularly known as the "Rotenberg Law".
The activities of the oligarch in recent years
In the midst of sanctions, Arkady Romanovich continues to implement new projects and build bold plans for the future. In 2014, he acquired a controlling stake in the Russian television holding Red Square, which is filming most television programs for Channel One. In the same year, Arkady Rotenberg's Stroygazmontazh company received a state order for the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait, which should connect Crimea to territorial Russia. The billionaire, who began his career with sports, does not forget about him today. Since 2015, he has been supporting the development of children's hockey in the country. Rotenberg also continues to hold the post of general director of the judo club Yavara-Neva and is Vice President of the Russian Judo Federation.
