Most Russians associate the surname Matvienko with the former governor of the Northern capital and current head of the Federation Council Valentina Ivanovna. However, her son Sergei is no less famous. In the 90s, he became involved in a criminal case. Later, the young man came to his senses and started promoting his own business, thanks to which he managed to become a billionaire. In addition to financial success, Sergei Matvienko became famous for his affairs with beautiful women. Previously, his wife was the popular singer Zara, and today he is married to former fashion model Yulia Zaitseva.
Family
The future billionaire was born on May 5, 1973 into the family of Valentina Ivanovna and Vladimir Vasilyevich Matvienko. He was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Sergei's parents are graduates of the Leningrad Chemical-Pharmaceutical Institute. His mother was already an active public figure. Soon after graduating from the institute, she became the head of the department, and 6 years later - the first secretary of the Komsomol district committee. Sergei's father worked as a teacher at the Leningrad Military Medical Academy. It is clear that a child in such a family should have grown up to be a highly educated person. And so it happened. Sergei Matvienko received two higher educations. Valentina Ivanovna’s son has diplomas in popular specialties: “International Economics” and “Finance and Credit”.
Valentina Matvienko's husband - Vladimir Vasilyevich Matvienko
Having entered the institute, the young girl was completely busy with her studies and did not think about anything else. She could not even imagine that at the university she would meet her lifelong love, but, as they say, “man proposes, but God disposes.” Valentina Matvienko’s husband, Vladimir Vasilyevich Matvienko, studied at the same educational institution. They met, began to see each other often and soon realized that they were perfect for each other. After finishing their fourth year, the young people got married.
Before the beginning of the 2000s, Vladimir Vasilyevich worked in St. Petersburg as a teacher at the Military Academy. Outside of working hours, the man independently developed a plan for building a summer house outside the city.
Vladimir Vasilyevich retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Recently, his health has deteriorated significantly and he has to move only sitting in a wheelchair. Son Sergei wanted to move Matvienko to the capital, closer to himself and his mother. However, the former military man flatly refused, expressing a desire to continue living at his dacha and wait for his loved ones to visit. Even a specially trained woman was hired to help Vladimir with housework and, if something happens, she will be able to provide first aid.
Business
Sergey began his working career in 1992 as a manager at the Augustina investment check fund. After working there for 3 years, the young financier established his own in 1995. This was followed by the founding of the limited liability company Zodchiy. For some time, Sergey Vladimirovich Matvienko was listed as an employee of the banks Inkombank and Lenvneshtorg. In 2003, he was appointed vice president of Bank St. Petersburg. The son of Valentina Matvienko held this post until 2010. In parallel with this, since 2004, Sergei Vladimirovich began acting as vice president of another large financial institution - Vneshtorgbank. After 2 years, he became the founder of the closed joint-stock company VTB Capital. Investment projects and real estate of Vneshtorgbank came under the management of the established company. In 2010, he was appointed to the post of General Director of VTB Development. Among other things, Matvienko owns, which owns 28 subsidiaries and is engaged in activities in the field of cleaning, construction, media market and transportation. In the spring of 2012, Sergei Vladimirovich began overseeing the promising domestic e-sports project Moscow Five.
In 2011, Matvienko entered the list of the richest people in Russia. According to the rating of billionaires compiled by the domestic publication “Finance”, he took 486th place in the list of 500 possible. Experts estimated his assets at almost 5 billion rubles.
A dark spot in the billionaire's past
Today Sergei Matvienko, whose photo is presented in this article, is a successful businessman. High-ranking officials in Russia and abroad take him into account, and the best financiers in the world listen to his opinion. However, in his youth, Valentina Ivanovna’s son had problems with the law, which could not have the best impact on the development of his career. In 1994, young Matvienko became involved in a criminal case involving beating and robbery. Sergei at that time worked at the Augustina Foundation, and his famous mother served as the Russian Ambassador to Malta. For several years, the case materials were hidden from prying eyes, but at the beginning of the 2000s they fell into the hands of journalists and became available to the public. The information leak occurred just during the appointment of Valentina Matvienko as governor of St. Petersburg and could have been the beginning of the end of her political career. The woman was then able to retain her high position, but her son’s illegal act became the topic of many conversations.
Meet Zara
In 2004, Sergei Matvienko became the hero of gossip columns. The businessman’s personal life began to be discussed in the media in connection with his marriage to the young singer Zarifa Mgoyan, better known by her stage name Zara. Sergei saw a girl at one of the fashion shows, and he immediately liked her exotic beauty. Brought up in strict Eastern traditions, Zara did not reciprocate Matvienko’s feelings for a long time. In order to win her favor, the man began to beautifully look after her. He attended all her performances and gave her gorgeous bouquets of flowers. But Zara was in no hurry to let him into her life. Then the businessman decided to go all-in and proposed to the singer. The girl answered him with consent. Zara’s parents liked their daughter’s fiancé, and they gave the young couple their blessing. After Valentina Matvienko approved her son’s choice, preparations for the wedding began.
Sergey Matvienko will pay a reduced tax for a business center on Kazanskaya
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Pavel Goroshkov
JM Studio's presentation was modest, in keeping with the loft style. Guests were greeted by giggling boys with trays of glasses of champagne and fruit canapés. In a small hall, several rows of chairs were placed with bouquets of wild flowers on the seats. Models paraded between them, and the screens were replaced with projectors on which planes roared off and landed at Pulkovo.
Several dozen ladies, representing the color of Russian glamor, were somewhat dissonant with this situation. Thus, Milana Kerzhakova, the wife of football player Alexander Kerzhakova and the daughter of senator Vadim Tyulpanov, as well as the senator’s wife Natalya, arrived at the show. True, Milana did not look up from her phone even during the show: something more important was happening there.
Business women watched what was happening much more closely, and the whole cream of the influential ladies of St. Petersburg arrived at the show. Among the visitors, “DP” noticed the owner of the Babochka chain Khatulya Avsadzhanashvili, director of Principe Media Natalya Plekhanova, owner of the bilingual kindergarten American Kids Center Irina Loginova, restaurateur (co-owner of The Kitchen, etc.) Natalya Rukina and many others.
In general, absolutely any novice designer would envy the status and stardom of the show guests. In fact, such a designer could not even dream of stars at a modest launch show in a hipster loft. Here is the actress who played one of the main roles in the film by Valeria Gai Germanika “Everyone will die, but I will remain” Polina Filonenko, and the most famous St. Petersburg social couple Yuri and Natalya Dormidoshin, and even distinguished guests from other regions, for example, the wife of Pskov governor Andrei Turchak , Kira Turchak.
After the show, the ladies headed to the studio itself, which was located just around the corner, and started shopping. The owner of the studio does not name prices, but they assure that there are quite affordable models. Meanwhile, at one of the auctions of the Alexander Kerzhakov charity foundation, a studio dress was sold for 1.7 million rubles and turned out to be the most expensive lot.
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Family life and divorce
The wedding of the singer and businessman became a real social event. However, the spouses turned out to be very different in cultural upbringing and could not get along together. In addition, the banker’s young wife was interested in the career of a pop star, and not in the birth of an heir. Sergei's friends believed that, having married an influential and rich man, Zara was counting on his financial support. However, Matvienko was in no hurry to invest money in promoting his wife, and soon after the wedding, serious conflicts began between the newlyweds. Her high-ranking mother-in-law was not delighted with Zara’s ambitions either.
A year and a half after the wedding, the couple separated. The divorce of Zara and Sergei Matvienko cost the latter 500 thousand dollars. This is exactly the amount the young singer demanded from her husband as a payoff. She invested the money she received in her own promotion. Soon after the divorce, Valentina Matvienko’s ex-daughter-in-law met official Sergei Ivanov and married him in 2008. Zara's second marriage turned out to be more successful than the first. Today the couple are raising two sons and look quite happy.
Family, wives, children
The personal life of Sergei Matvienko also came to the attention of the curious press. His first wife was the singer Zara (in the world Zarifa Mgoyan). They met at a fashion show. The young businessman immediately liked the oriental beauty. He began to court her, but Zara did not accept his attentions. Then he decided to act like a man and proposed marriage to the girl. The bride's parents approved of the future marriage, Valentina Ivanovna was also not against it.
The wedding took place in 2004. The high-ranking mother-in-law insisted that the newlyweds not only sign at the registry office, but also get married according to Orthodox customs. Zara changed her religion. The wedding ceremony was held in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. But life together did not work out. The artist dreamed of a big career, stage, fame, but the man needed children. In addition, the husband was in no hurry to invest in his wife’s promotion. In 2006, the couple divorced. Zara demanded compensation of 500 thousand dollars and, naturally, received this money.
Wedding with Zara
Interesting fact! Zara soon married an official from the highest echelon of power, Sergei Ivanov. She has a happy marriage, a loving husband and two children.
Sergei Vladimirovich also did not waste time. He met Yulia Zaitseva, a graduate student at the Faculty of Economics. The girl amazed him with her beauty and intelligence. They got married in 2008, and in April 2009 a daughter appeared in the family. Matvienko’s wife does not like to appear at social functions, leads a closed life, is engaged in scientific activities (she is a candidate of economic sciences) and raising her daughter Arina. This woman gets enough attention from her husband.
Yulia and Arina Matvienko
Wedding with Yulia Zaitseva
Zara’s first husband, Sergei Matvienko, did not waste any time after the divorce. Photos of his new fiancee were kept secret for a long time and appeared in the media shortly before the wedding. The banker’s second wife was a student of the Faculty of Philology and fashion model Yulia Zaitseva. She is much younger than her chosen one: by the time she met her future husband, she was a little over 20 years old. The spectacular blonde captivated Sergei with her beauty and intelligence. Having fallen in love with the girl, Matvienko soon proposed to her.
The young people got married in St. Petersburg on the last day of November 2008. At the time of the wedding, Julia was already four months pregnant. She was dressed in a chic snow-white dress that successfully hid her rounded tummy. Only close relatives of the newlyweds were invited to the holiday, and immediately after its end the happy newlyweds went on a romantic trip to Italy for 7 days. Returning to Russia, Sergei went about his work, and his wife began to prepare to defend her PhD thesis in economics.
Birth of a daughter
Late in the evening of April 6, 2009, in an elite Swiss clinic, Yulia Matvienko, Sergei’s wife, gave birth to his daughter Arina. The birth of the baby on this very day became a real gift for her grandmother-politician, because on April 7, Valentina Ivanovna was preparing to celebrate her sixtieth birthday. The governor of St. Petersburg had long dreamed that her only son would give her a grandson or granddaughter, and finally, her wish came true. Valentina Matvienko was one of the first to congratulate her son and daughter-in-law on the birth of an heiress. In addition to her, many celebrities expressed their good wishes to the young family. But Sergei Vladimirovich Matvienko did not receive congratulations from his ex-wife. Zara, who had recently gotten married for the second time, ignored the joyful event in the life of her first husband.
Details of the family life of Sergei and Yulia Matvienko are not advertised today. The businessman’s second wife turned out to be a non-public person, so seeing her at fashionable events is almost impossible. The young woman is of little interest in social life. She is involved in raising her daughter and home, which her influential banker husband really likes.
Interesting details about the businessman
The biography of Sergei Matvienko contains many interesting facts from his life. For example, the famous businessman celebrated his 35th birthday in the luxurious Yusupov Palace, one of the main attractions of the Northern capital. The banker then spent about 60 thousand euros on his birthday celebration.
Despite his mother’s high status, Sergei Matvienko did not shy away from the army. For two years he served in the Russian border troops on the border with Finland.
There are a lot of rumors about Sergei Matvienko on the Internet. After his divorce from Zara, false information appeared on one of the websites that he died of a heroin overdose.
Valentina Matvienko's son loves to read. He always takes 5-6 books on business trips. In addition to literature, Sergei Vladimirovich is interested in classical music. His favorite composers are Chopin, Beethoven and Mozart.
Case Details
How did it happen that an educated, wealthy guy from a decent family became involved in crime? According to the protocol, Sergei Matvienko and his friend Evgeniy Murin (the son of a famous professor at the State University of St. Petersburg) severely beat their friend A. Rozhkov, and then tried to take away valuables from him to pay off a debt that he did not return to them. A criminal case was opened against the guys after committing a crime. They faced 4 to 10 years in prison.
Sergei Matvienko was arrested on the day the crime was committed, but three days later he was released home, having taken a written undertaking not to leave. The guy partially admitted his guilt. Murin was taken into custody after Matvienko was released from the pre-trial detention center. However, not a single one of Rozhkov’s offenders received the punishment they deserved. In 1994, the case was hushed up, apparently not without the intervention of the boys’ high-ranking parents. Soon after this, Matvienko plunged headlong into his own business, taking up the establishment, and his accomplice Murin went to re-educate into the army.
