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Roman AbramovichRussian businessman, investor, billionaire, politician and former governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.
Date of Birth: 24.10.1966
Country:  Russia |
Content:
Biography of Roman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich was born on October 24, 1966, in Saratov, in a Jewish family. His mother passed away when he was only one year old, and his father died in an accident on a construction site when Roman was four. He was raised by his uncle's family in Uhta and then moved to Moscow to live with another uncle in 1974. After completing his military service in Kirzhach, Abramovich was accepted into the forestry faculty of the Uhta Industrial Institute but did not graduate.
Business and Political Career
In the late 1980s, Abramovich became an entrepreneur and ventured into oil trading in the 1990s. He established close ties with Boris Berezovsky and became part of Russian President Boris Yeltsin's inner circle. In 1996, Abramovich became a member of the board of directors of AO "Noyabrskneftegaz" and took over the management of the Moscow branch of "Sibneft." He was elected to the board of directors of "Sibneft" later that year. In 1999, he was elected to the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (Chukotka) as a representative.
During his time as governor, Abramovich invested over $2.5 billion in the development of Chukotka, making him the most generous philanthropist in Russia. In 2003, he purchased the English football club Chelsea, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, and subsequently settled in the UK. In 2005, he sold his stake in "Sibneft" to Gazprom for $13.1 billion.
Despite multiple attempts to resign as governor, Abramovich changed his decision each time after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Chris Hutchins, Putin's biographer, their relationship was described as that of a father and his favorite son. Abramovich stated that he addressed Putin using the formal "you" because of the age difference.
Personal Life and Legal Issues
Abramovich was married to Olga Lysova from December 1987 to 1990 and then to Irina Malandina from October 1991 to March 2007. He has two sons and three daughters from his second marriage. After the divorce, Malandina received a settlement of $300 million. Currently, the oil magnate is in a relationship with designer Daria Zhukova, with whom he has a son named Aaron and a daughter named Leia.
In 1992, Abramovich was arrested and detained on suspicion of embezzlement of state property. The company "AVEKS-Komi" sent a train with 55 tank cars of diesel fuel worth 3.8 million rubles from Uhta to Syktyvkar. The train disappeared en route and the fuel ended up in Riga, becoming the property of the company "AVK," where Abramovich served as CEO. However, the criminal case was closed on December 1, 1992, due to the lack of evidence.
In 2008, Abramovich's former business partner Boris Berezovsky claimed that he had been harassed and threatened by Abramovich to sell his valuable assets below their real value. In 2011, Berezovsky filed a civil lawsuit against Abramovich in the High Court of London, accusing him of blackmail, breach of trust, and violation of contract terms, and demanding compensation of 3 billion rubles. The lawsuit was dismissed on August 31, 2012.
Abramovich owns three luxury yachts, namely "Eclipse," "Luna," and "Sussurro." He sold his yachts "Pelorus" and "Ecstasea" and gifted the yacht "Le Grand Bleu" to Evgeny Shvidler, the head of the company "Millhouse, LLC." In addition, he owns a custom-built Boeing 767-33A/ER, an A340-313X aircraft, three Eurocopter helicopters, as well as armored limousines, a Ducati motorcycle, and several cars.
