Victor Vekselberg

Victor Vekselberg

Viktor Vekselberg was born on April 14, 1957 in the Ukrainian town of Drohobych in Western Ukraine. Since childhood, he was surrounded by numerous relatives on his mother’s side, but he had no relatives on his father’s side. The thing is that Mr. Vekselberg was born into a Jewish family that lived near the state border. During World War II, the billionaire's hometown was occupied by German troops.

In 1944, the Germans shot all local Jews, including about 20 relatives of Viktor Feliksovich. Despite the not entirely complete family composition, the boy grew up quiet and inquisitive, which is why, already in his school years, he took his first post as secretary of the Komsomol organization.

An excellent student, an activist and a reliable comrade - these are his main characteristics remaining from that time. Vekselberg's favorite school subject was mathematics, but other sciences were easy for him. At the end of his schooling, the future financial tycoon was given a silver medal; he was separated from the “gold” by a “B” in his essay.

Education of Viktor Vekselberg

At school No. 3, where Viktor Vekselberg once studied, they still remember him as a diligent, positive Komsomol member, not much different from other guys. Victor's parents were also little different from ordinary Soviet citizens. His mother, Elena Evtropovna Morozova, worked at an oil refinery in the city of Drohobych as a workshop engineer. Father, Felix Solomonovich Vekselberg, worked in the repair and construction department.

Parents spent almost all their time at work, so the grandmother was mainly involved in raising the young billionaire and his sister Yulia. Education As a high school student, Viktor Vekselberg dreamed of Moscow State University. He was actively preparing for admission and even took part-time studies at the School of Mechanics and Mathematics. However, many family acquaintances categorically dissuaded the young man from entering the Moscow State University.

State University, emphasizing his not very “Russian” surname. As a result, Victor still listens to the advice of his elders and enters MIIT in the rather serious department of “automation and computer technology.” The student years were as fun for the founder of the Renova Group of Companies as for all other young people of that time. Classes, sports sections and cultural events in the form of theaters and concerts took up all my free time.

It is noteworthy that Leonid Blavatnik studied in Vekselberg’s parallel group, who much later would become Viktor Feliksovich’s business partner. In 1974 he graduated from Drohobych Secondary School No. 3 (now it is Secondary School No. 3). In 1979, he graduated with honors from the Department of Automated Control Systems of the Moscow Institute of Railway Transport Engineers. Enters graduate school at the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Viktor Vekselberg and Leonard Blavatnik

Career and business of Viktor Vekselberg There are many “difficult” moments associated with his last name in the biography of Viktor Vekselberg. So, for example, after graduating from MIIT, young Victor could not get a job. As the billionaire himself assures, potential employers did not even look at his honors diploma, and immediately upon mentioning the “dissonant” surname they gave a clear refusal. As a result of this, the graduate was forced to receive a so-called “free” diploma, which gave him the opportunity to independently search for work.

Victor Vekselberg

And here close family friends again came to the aid of Viktor Feliksovich, who helped him get a job as a “pump design and software developer” in a regular design bureau. The young specialist’s tasks included traveling to oil fields, but the difficult work never bothered Mr. Vekselberg. In 1990, during the collapse of the Soviet Union, the future billionaire focused his energies on business development, resulting in the birth of many interesting, ambitious projects.

Left: Chairman of the Board of Directors of AFK Sistema Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Chairman of the Board of Gazprom OJSC Alexey Miller and co-owner of the Renova Group, President of the Skolkovo Foundation Viktor Vekselberg

Briefly, his career in his biography looks like this: 1990 - foundation. Its main specialization is the export of non-ferrous metals abroad, in particular to the USA; 1990 – establishment of OLIMP LLP, KAM LLC, Renova LLC.

Education

Having successfully graduated from high school, he decided to continue his education. To do this, he entered graduate school at the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. This allowed the aspiring scientist to get a place in a special design bureau that specialized in Konnas rodless pumps.

It was at this enterprise that he began his official career. In the biography of Viktor Vekselberg, the hero of our article, it occupies a special place, since he quickly managed to move up the career ladder. In a relatively short period of time, he rose from an ordinary employee to the head of a laboratory.

In 1990, when it became obvious that the Soviet Union was falling apart, the hero of our article decided to radically change his life. Since then, the biography of Viktor Feliksovich Vekselberg has become closely connected with business. The first thing he did was found a cooperative, which became the launching pad for his future success.

Victor Vekselberg and business

Today, Viktor Feliksovich Vekselberg continues to hold the post of Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of Renova Group of Companies; 1996 – founding of OJSC SUAL (Siberian-Ural Aluminum Company).

Viktor Vekselberg and Oleg Deripaska

Now SAUL includes more than 20 enterprises located in 11 regions of the Russian Federation. In 2005, Viktor Vekselberg resigned from the company's board of directors; 2000 – entry into the RSPP (Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs); April 2002 – September 2003 – chairmanship of the board of JSC Tyumen Oil Company; 2003 – 2013 – current member of the Board of Directors of TNK-BP; 2007 – 2012 – chairmanship of the board of directors.

Career[ | ]

In 1978-1990 Vekselberg worked as a researcher and head of the laboratory of the Special Design Bureau for Rodless Pumps (OKB BN Konnas).

Since 1989 - General Director of JSC NPO COMVEK.

JSC "GK "Renova"[ | ]

In October 1990, Viktor Vekselberg (NPO ComVek) and Leonid Blavatnik (Access Industries) created the joint venture Renova.[11]

Since October 1990 - Deputy General Director of the Renova JV, then - President of Renova CJSC. Since 2004 - Chairman of the Group's Supervisory Committee. Since 2010 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Group. The group is represented in 36 regions of Russia, as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia and America. [ source not specified 1194 days

][
citation not provided 1194 days
] More than 80% of the total volume of investments of the Renova Group are long-term investments in the Russian economy.[
source not specified 1194 days
] More than 134,000[12] people work in companies included in the Renova Group.

Activities in Switzerland[ | ]

In July 2006, it announced the purchase of a 10.25% stake in the Swiss concern Oerlikon, and in May 2007, the Group acquired a blocking stake in the Swiss engineering and machine-building concern Sulzer.[13]

Renova gradually increased its shares in the concerns, and today its share in Oerlikon is 44.7%, and in Sulzer - 62.86%.[14]

On August 18, 2009, Viktor Vekselberg and his representatives managed to establish control over the management of the engineering company Sulzer AG. At that time, he did not own a controlling stake, although he was the largest shareholder. However, the entry of his representatives into the company's management caused objections and attempts at resistance from the previous management. However, Vekselberg managed to gain the support of other shareholders and appoint his representatives Jürgen Dormann and Klaus Sturan to the company’s management bodies, thus acquiring a majority of votes on the company’s board of directors.[15]

Vekselberg's business activity in Switzerland was not cloudless: the Federal Department of Finance (Swiss Ministry of Finance) at various times conducted investigations under administrative criminal law against Vekselberg, Pechik and Stumpf on suspicion of violating their obligations arising from stock exchange legislation as part of the acquisition of shares in Oerlikon and Sulzer .

The opening of the criminal case against Sulzer in April 2009 coincided with negotiations between Switzerland and the United States to remove bank secrecy from the accounts of businessmen suspected of tax evasion in the United States.[16]

In October 2010, it was reported that Viktor Vekselberg and two other businessmen paid 10 million Swiss francs ($10.4 million) in compensation to settle claims by the authorities.

Vekselberg considers his Swiss assets a strategic investment that allowed Renova to achieve synergies through access to technology.[17]

An example of such a synergistic effect can be called the joint venture between Rusnano and Renova to create Russia’s largest production of solar modules based on the “thin film” technology of Oerlikon Solar - the Hevel company.[18]

In May 2010, Vekselberg announced[19] that he would move from Zurich to the canton of Zug: one of the factors was the abolition of lump-sum taxation in Zurich, for which the majority of citizens of the canton voted. In Zug the lump sum tax is still in effect.[19]

SUAL and RUSAL[ | ]

In 1996, one of the founders of Siberian-Ural Aluminum OJSC (SUAL), which united the Irkutsk and Ural aluminum smelters. Since 1996 - General Director of Siberian-Ural Aluminum Company OJSC (SUAL). Member of the Board of Directors of JSC SUAL. Since 2000 - president of the management. SUAL-Holding included: Irkutsk, Ural, Bogoslovsky and Kandalaksha aluminum smelters. Since January 2003 - Chairman of the Board of Directors. A distinctive feature of the Holding was the separation of functions of owners and managers in the company’s management bodies.

At the end of 2001, Vekselberg topped the rating of managers of non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises compiled by the business newspaper Vedomosti. In the same year, the Association of Managers recognized Vekselberg as one of the best entrepreneurs and corporate managers in Russia. [ citation not provided 1194 days

]

2007-2012 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the United Company Rusal (UC Rusal)[20].

Tyumen Oil Company and TNK-BP[ | ]

In September 1997, Vekselberg was elected to the board of directors of OJSC Tyumen Oil Company (TNK).

On April 28, 1998, at a meeting of the board of directors of JSC Tyumenneftegaz (a mining company within the structure of TNK), he was elected chairman of the board of directors of JSC Tyumenneftegaz.

On June 30, 1998, Viktor Vekselberg was again elected to the board of directors of TNK[21].

Since July 1998 - First Vice President, Deputy Chairman of the Board of TNK.

From June 1998 to 2000 - member of the board of directors of OJSC Nizhnevartovskneftegaz.

On June 25, 1999, he was re-elected to the board of directors of TNK.

On July 12, 1999, he was elected to the board of directors of OJSC Nizhnevartovsk Oil and Gas Production Enterprise. On the same day, he was elected to the board of directors of OJSC Samotlorneftegaz.

Since November 2000 - member of the board of directors of OJSC ONAKO.

Since July 2001 - Director for Strategic Planning and Corporate Development of TNK OJSC.

Since March 2002 - member of the board of directors of OJSC RUSIA Petroleum.

In April 2002, Vekselberg was appointed chairman of the board of the Tyumen Oil Company.

On September 1, 2003, BP, Alfa Group and Access/Renova (AAR) announced the creation of a strategic partnership and their intention to combine their oil assets in Russia and Ukraine.

Since September 2003 - member of the board of directors of TNK-BP.

Since 2005 - Executive Director for Gas Business Development at TNK-BP.

Since 2009 - Executive Director of TNK-BP.

Other assets[ | ]

Through the Cyprus company Winterlux Limited owns 39.4% of the shares of the Russian bank International Financial Club, and through Renova - 9.9% of Metcombank. After being included in the US sanctions list, this information disappeared from the website of the Russian Central Bank (this spread to all shareholders of the IFC, instead of information about which the bank’s website gives a “404 error”)[22][23]. Owns a number of real estate properties in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in particular since May 2014, through the Croatian company Vila Larus, the Belvedere Hotel.[24]. The Hotel Villa Feltrinelli on Lake Garda in Gargnano (Italy), located in the building of the villa of the same name, was purchased by Vekselberg. The villa was the last residence of Benito Mussolini[25].

Innovation center in Skolkovo[ | ]

Since March 2010 - coordinator of the Russian part of the innovation center in Skolkovo, since June - president of the Development Fund of the Center for the Development and Commercialization of New Technologies (Skolkovo Foundation) and co-chairman of the Board of the Skolkovo Foundation.

In an interview[26] with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on October 12, 2011, Vekselberg explained the reason for his participation in the project: “For me personally, this is very interesting. Skolkovo operates in five markets: energy, biomedicine, space and nuclear technology. We must not forget: I am actively working as an entrepreneur in these segments. Modernization of the Russian economy opens up enormous opportunities. I'm very immersed in this project, although some friends tell me: “Bullshit!” (Nonsense). But I like these kinds of challenges. I want to show that it works."[27].

Cultural and Historical Foundation “Link of Times”[ | ]

In April 2004, he established the Cultural and Historical Foundation “Link of Times” and headed its Board of Trustees.

Already the first project of the Link of Times Foundation - the acquisition in the United States of the world's largest private collection of works by the great Russian jeweler Peter Carl Faberge and its return to Russia - caused a colossal public outcry both in Russia and abroad. Now the Foundation is holding a series of exhibitions of the collection in the largest metropolitan and regional museums. The first location for the exhibition was the Moscow Kremlin, where the exhibition “Faberge: Lost and Found” from the collection of the Link of Times Foundation was held from May to July 2004. To date, the collection has been exhibited in 18 cities in Russia and the world.

Among the projects of the Link of Times Foundation:

• return from the USA of the bells of the St. Danilov Monastery;
• the return of the archive of the Russian philosopher Ivan Ilyin to Russia in 2006 and its transfer to Moscow State University for storage;
• restoration of the Vrubel Hall in the Tretyakov Gallery;
• restoration of the historical monument Fort Ross (California, USA).
• creation of the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg[28].

Status and position in the Forbes ranking[ | ]

In 2015, the American version of Forbes magazine estimated Viktor Vekselberg’s fortune at $12.5 billion (73rd place in the world)[29]. In the list of the 200 richest businessmen in Russia, compiled by the Russian version of Forbes magazine, Vekselberg ranks 4th[30].

In 2021, Forbes magazine placed the entrepreneur 100th in its new ranking of billionaires and 10th in the Russian list. Vekselberg's capital is $12.4 billion.[31]

In 2021, Viktor Vekselberg took 20th place in the ranking of “200 richest Russian businessmen” published by Forbes magazine. Over the year, his capital decreased by $1.5 billion and amounted to $9 billion[32].

According to Forbes magazine:

Viktor Vekselberg's net worth

Speaking about the biography and life of a famous Russian businessman, it is impossible not to mention his condition. According to Forbes magazine, the entrepreneur's fortune is now equal to 13.5 billion US dollars. In 2021, his fortune was estimated at $10.5 billion, and in 2021 – at $12.4 billion. The billionaire also owns: property in Croatia and Italy; collection of antiques belonging to Benito Mussolini. Vekselberg is one of the hundred richest people in the world and one of the 10 richest people in Russia.

Viktor Vekselberg - private life

The personal life of the financial tycoon looks calm and stable. His marriage to his wife Marina (nee Dobrynina) dates back more than 30 years. The young people met as students and have been walking the path of life together ever since. The wife gave Viktor Feliksovich two children with a difference of 9 years: son Alexander (born in 1988) and daughter Irina (born in 1979). Both children graduated from Yale University.

Today, son Alexander lives and works in the USA, developing and promoting his own technological project. Daughter Irina, after graduating from university, returned to her homeland to get a job at Renova Group of Companies as an investment specialist. In 2011, Irina gave her parents a grandson, Marat. It is noteworthy that finding a video or photo with Marina Vekselberg on the Internet is quite problematic, since the wife of a famous entrepreneur leads a rather modest lifestyle.

However, the reluctance to “shine” in front of journalists does not in any way prevent the former Mrs. Dobrynina from leading an active life. In particular, since 2002 she has been one of the leaders of the Good Century charity organization. In addition, Marina Vekselberg manages to oversee more than 100 programs for the development and reform of psychiatric care, and she also involves her husband in some of them. And he, in turn, is actively involved in the work of the Link of Times Foundation, whose main task is to return to their homeland the most outstanding works of Faberge.

Personal life

Photos of Viktor Vekselberg's family prove that his personal life was successful. While still a student, he married his classmate Marina Dobrynina. For more than 30 years, she has remained the keeper of the family hearth.

Viktor Vekselberg’s wife is not a public person; she practically does not appear at social events; her photos or details of her life can rarely be found on the Internet or in business magazines telling about the peculiarities of the life of oligarchs. At the same time, she has her own large-scale project - the Good Century charity foundation, the work of which she has been overseeing since 2002. The foundation helps children and adults with various mental disorders adapt to normal life in society.

The family of Viktor Vekselberg has two children. These are Alexander and Irina, who were educated in America, at Yale University. Currently, the oligarch’s son works in the USA, developing his own technological project.

Irina works in her father’s company as an investment specialist. In 2011, she gave birth to a son, who was named Marat. It is worth noting that almost nothing is known about the personal lives of Alexander and Irina; they, like their mother, prefer not to appear in public.

In addition to business, the hero of our article is actively involved in charity. First of all, he pays attention to the development of national culture. To do this, he created a foundation called “Link of Times,” which is dedicated to returning cultural property from abroad to Russia.

One of the main and loudest successes of this fund was the purchase of the private collection of Russian jeweler Peter Faberge. To place it in St. Petersburg, the oligarch created a special museum, in the construction of which about forty million dollars were invested. The billionaire can also credit the return to Russia of the archive of the Russian philosopher Ivan Ilyin and the bells of the St. Danilov Monastery.

The return of the Faberge collection to Russia caused a great public outcry. The Foundation is currently holding a series of exhibitions in the largest museums in the capital and other cities of the Russian Federation. For the first time, the returned collection was presented in the Moscow Kremlin, the exhibition was called “Faberge: Lost and Found.” At the moment, the collection has already visited 18 cities of the country.

Several years ago, information appeared in the media that Vekselberg was in a romantic relationship with the popular socialite Maria Conte. The girl became famous in 1999 when she opened her own holiday agency, serving only residents of Rublyovka.

In interviews with various publications, Maria repeatedly hinted at a connection with the oligarch, but she never openly announced the alleged affair. Recently, the girl gave birth to a daughter, Thais, in whose appearance some find much in common with Vekselberg, considering this confirmation that the businessman is really cheating on his wife. However, there are no facts confirming these rumors.

Currently, the main activity is aimed at expanding business areas. For example, at the end of 2021, the corporation advocated the development of a project to build an agricultural holding in the Komi Republic. About three and a half billion rubles were invested in it. This is not the first farmland of the hero of our article; he is already implementing similar projects in Chuvashia, the Sverdlovsk region, the Moscow region and the Perm region.

Vekselberg Viktor Feliksovich: biography, photo, family and children, business success story on News4Auto.ru.

Our life consists of everyday little things that in one way or another affect our well-being, mood and productivity. I didn’t get enough sleep - my head hurts; I drank coffee to improve the situation and cheer myself up - I became irritable. I really want to foresee everything, but I just can’t. Moreover, everyone around, as usual, gives advice: gluten in bread - don’t go near it, it will kill you; A chocolate bar in your pocket is a direct path to tooth loss. We collect the most popular questions about health, nutrition, diseases and give answers to them that will allow you to better understand what is good for your health.

Vekselberg and scandals in the media

But, as with any famous personality, various scandals periodically arise around the name of Mr. Vekselberg. For example, according to the latest news, Viktor Feliksovich plans to obtain a second citizenship in Switzerland, for which he and his family moved to a European state for permanent residence, where he currently lives.

Previously (in 2000), the famous businessman was suspected of having a relationship with the equally famous socialite Maria Conte. According to some sources, as a result of such a personal union, a girl, Thais, was born, very similar to her alleged father. Famous quotes from Viktor Vekselberg: “For me, being rich means, first of all, being responsible. Money is hard to earn, but it’s even harder to manage it correctly”; “You can’t be successful all the time”; “To be honest, no matter how much I tried to make predictions, I never got it right.”

Victor Vekselberg today

Now the activities of the billionaire and those managed by him are aimed at expanding the scope of their activities. In December 2021, the corporation invested 3.6 billion rubles in a project to build an agricultural holding in the Komi Republic. Similar farmland has already been created in the Perm region, Chuvashia, the Sverdlovsk region and the Moscow region. Victor also continues to work within the framework of the established “Link of Times” foundation. The foundation's first action, the acquisition and return to home of outstanding works by Faberge, caused a great public outcry.