Biography of Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska is the chairman of the supervisory board of one of the largest diversified industrial groups in Russia, Basic Element, which unites assets owned by the entrepreneur both in Russia and abroad, and the founder of the fund for supporting social innovations of the Volnoye Delo Foundation, one of the largest organizations in Russia, working in the field of charity. Until 2021, Deripaska was the main shareholder and president of En+ Group and Rusal.
Deripaska Oleg Vladimirovich
Work from early childhood
In 1979, when the boy was 11 years old, his parents took him to Ust-Labinsk. At the same age, he got a job at the factory where his mother worked as an assistant electrician. Of course, he studied, but instead of hanging out in the yard with the boys and relaxing, he earned his own bread.
He was taught this way by his mother’s parents, with whom he was raised for the last four years. His grandfather taught him: if you want to eat, go earn money. He went through the entire Great Patriotic War and told his grandson about all the hardships and hunger of those times.
From early childhood, Deripaska loved to read. His favorite writers are Mine Reed and Jack London. Later he fell in love with mathematics and technical literature. In his spacious office today, hundreds of different books are stored on the shelves that influenced his worldview and in some way contributed to his current position.
Childhood and education
Oleg Deripaska was born on January 2, 1968 in the city of Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod region (formerly called Gorky region). His father Vladimir Deripaska died when the boy was one year old. Until the age of 11, Oleg was raised by his grandparents, who lived in the Kuban, near Ust-Labinsk. Later, the boy moved to his mother Valentina Petrovna Deripaska directly in Ust-Labinsk.
Deripaska in his youth
According to teachers at Ust-Labinsk school No. 2, Deripaska was a very diligent student with a penchant for exact sciences. In the final certificate he had one B - for essay. After graduating from school in 1985, Deripaska entered the physics department of Moscow State University (department of quantum statistics and field theory), where he was also known as one of the most talented students of the course. After his first year he was drafted into the army. He served two years in the missile forces near Chita, and in 1988 he returned to study.
After graduating from Moscow State University in 1993, Deripaska entered the famous Pleshka, where he studied economics and received a master's degree in 1996.
Oleg Deripaska: biography of his youth
Oleg was born into an ordinary working-class family in the Gorky region, the city of Dzerzhinsk, in January 1968. His parents were native Kuban residents and gave their eight-year-old son to be raised by his grandparents in a small village in the Ust-Labinsky district, in the Krasnodar Territory.
Grandfather and grandmother had a small farm plot, where Oleg Deripaska began to work from the very moment he arrived. As he later said, it was his grandfather and grandmother who played the main role in his life. They raised their grandson strictly, taught him to work on the land and to strict labor discipline.
Way to success
While still a student, Deripaska earned the first money of his future fortune in a construction team, having also visited remote corners of Russia and the CIS countries. With his student friends, he opened his first business - the limited liability partnership “Military Investment and Trading Company”. The company was engaged in the supply of metals abroad.
Oleg Deripaska in his youth
In 1992, he headed (the future "Aluminproduct") and opened branches in Samara and Krasnoyarsk. The year 1993 passed for the businessman under the auspices of participation in the privatization of the Sayan Aluminum Plant - Deripaska acquired part of its shares and by 1994 received a controlling stake and became general director.
Deripaska was CEO of SAZ from 1994 to 1997
In 1997, Deripaska founded the industrial group “Siberian Aluminum” (in 2001 renamed “Basic Element”, “BasEl”), which by 2004 became one of the top ten world leaders in aluminum production. In 2000, Deripaska began collaborating with Roman Abramovich. The oligarchs combined their assets (Sibal and Sibneft), as a result of which Russian Aluminum OJSC (RusAl) was born. The partnership ended in 2004 with Deripaska's purchase of Abramovich's share.
In 2006, cooperation between Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg, who headed the board of directors of the Siberian-Ural Aluminum Company, began. After combining their assets, it became a leader in aluminum production on a global scale.
Currently, the Basic Element holding includes enterprises operating in the fields of energy, mining, metallurgy, financial services, construction, aviation, agribusiness and others.
“Volnoye Delo” – Oleg Deripaska Foundation
Oleg Deripaska has always been a person who is not indifferent to other people's problems. This character trait of his was the main reason for opening a charitable foundation. In 1998, when he himself was not yet a wealthy person, Oleg began to allocate his own money to help others.
Now “Volnoye Delo” is one of the twelve largest Russian charitable foundations, according to Forbes magazine. Over the entire period of its existence, more than ten billion dollars have been allocated for its activities, and over five hundred projects have been implemented in fifty regions of the country.
The main focus of the fund:
- health and sports;
- science and education;
- spiritual rebirth;
- culture;
- animal protection;
- development of territories;
- environment protection.
The foundation also supports healthcare, solves social problems, helps the Hermitage and many other museums and theaters. Opens shelters for homeless animals, which is especially important at the present time.
On Oleg’s initiative, many free clubs and sections have been opened for children and teenagers. For example, “Robotics”, where every child will be able to discover the talent of a design engineer.
Since 2004, the Phanagorian archaeological expedition of the Krasnodar Territory has also been supported by the Volnoe Delo Foundation.
In 2014, another direction of the fund appeared - early career guidance for schoolchildren. This helps many students decide on their future profession while still at school age, which allows them to study the necessary subjects closely, attend preparatory courses, and include additional classes in their study schedule.
Personal life of Oleg Deripaska
In 2001, Oleg Deripaska married Valentin Yumashev's daughter Polina. The couple met while visiting Roman Abramovich, who was then the entrepreneur’s partner. A year and a half after marriage, Yumashev became the husband of Boris Yeltsin’s daughter Tatyana. Thus, Deripaska became a member of Boris Nikolaevich’s family. In 2017, the couple divorced.
Wedding of Oleg Deripaska and Polina Yumasheva
Deripaska has two children. Son Peter was born in 2001, and daughter Maria two years later.
Family member of Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin
Oleg never had relatives in the government. But it just so happened that with his marriage he acquired them.
Oleg Deripaska met his wife Polina through Abramovich. Polina’s father is Valentin Yumashev, who after his daughter’s wedding himself married Yeltsin’s daughter Tatyana. Polina became the “granddaughter” of Boris Nikolaevich, and Oleg became her husband. That's how we became related.
The children of Oleg Deripaska, whose photos are not so easy to find in the public domain, are the most important thing in the life of a businessman. He has a son, Pert, and a daughter, Maria.
State
At the beginning of 2007, Forbes magazine estimated Oleg Deripaska's fortune at $13.3 billion. The entrepreneur was in 40th place in the ranking of the richest people in the world. He was in 6th place on the Russian list. In 2008, his fortune reached $28 billion, making him our richest compatriot.
In 2008, Deripaska became the richest man in Russia.
But after the financial crisis, the owner of Basic Element lost, according to various estimates, from 16 to 32 billion dollars. But in 2018, Forbes estimated the personal fortune of Deripaska, who was subject to American sanctions, at $3.3 billion.
Oleg Deripaska's family
Deripaska hides his personal life in every possible way, so many journalists are unable to find out anything important and interesting about him. Everyone knows only one of his women - his wife Polina , with whom he has been together since 2001. Polina is the daughter of former head of government Valentin Yumashev . Their union took place due to connections between Yumashev and Deripaska.
A few years after the wedding, there were rumors that the couple divorced, unable to build a stable relationship. But Deripaska denied all these assumptions even at that time. In 2001, the couple had a son, and in 2003, Polina gave birth to Oleg’s daughter.
In 2010, the press actively discussed Polina's affair with her friend Alexander Mamut , but these rumors were refuted. Oleg had no suspicions that his beloved wife was capable of treason.
Oleg Deripaska's children grow up inquisitive and educated, play sports, and develop in every possible way. Deripaska is trying to give his children everything that was not there in his childhood. He will provide them with high-quality, expensive education abroad, and will open up opportunities for them that will allow them to achieve even greater success in life than he himself. Oleg does not like to discuss the life of children with the press; he tries to avoid any provocative questions, keeping all confidential information within the circle of his family. Oleg's wife is also not included in the discussion. Despite the fact that the couple has been together for a long time, Deripaska does not want to discuss their personal life, giving the press a reason for gossip and condemnation.
As of 2021, the couple lives amicably and peacefully; they try their best to hide any family news from journalists, so as not to expose themselves or their children to gossip. Deripaska is engaged in business, adding millions to his fortune every year.
Oleg Deripaska's childhood and parents
The first years of the oligarch’s life cannot be called rosy. The future aluminum king was born on January 2, 1968. Its homeland was Dzerzhinsk, located near the large regional center - the city of Gorky, which later returned its old name - Nizhny Novgorod. A year later, the family’s joy was overshadowed by tragic events. The sudden death of Oleg's father left him an orphan.
In order to provide her son with everything necessary, in 1975 the boy’s mother, Valentina Petrovna, was forced to place the child in the care of her parents. For four years, the boy was under the supervision of his grandparents, who ran a small farm in the Krasnodar region. This period in Deripaska’s biography was not wasted. Participating in agricultural work, he developed discipline and hard work from an early age. The boy received his first knowledge at a local rural school.
Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska
The next stage for Oleg was Ust-Labinsk school No. 2, where he continued his studies from 1979 to 1985. In this institution, Deripaska was known as an exemplary student. The well-read boy easily mastered subjects, among which he especially stood out in mathematics and physics. His level of knowledge allowed him to participate and win competitions and solve problems for high school students.
In an effort to make life easier for his mother, who had to constantly work to support her family, Oleg began working at the age of 11, performing the duties of an electrician’s assistant at one of the local enterprises. Confidently comprehending science. Oleg Deripaska was not a “crammer” and did not alienate himself from the interests of his peers. He was involved in many sports and although he often showed promise, none of them brought him to the rank of professional.
OLEG DERIPASKA'S GRADUATE SCHOOL CERTIFICATE INCLUDED ONLY ONE FOUR IN LITERATURE, WHICH DID NOT ALLOW HIM TO REACH THE GOLD MEDAL.
Deripaska's childhood
Oleg Vladimirovich is practically my age. Born in 1968 in the provincial city of Dzerzhinsk, but spent his childhood in Ust-Labinsk, Krasnodar Territory. Studying at school was easy. During tests, I managed to solve my own problems and help other students. With such intelligence and kindness, the boy earned the respect of his classmates.
A well-read and intelligent boy, he won Olympiads in various subjects. Oleg was most drawn to technical disciplines. Hence the choice of the physics department of Moscow State University. After completing his studies at the university, he received a second higher education in economics at the Academy. G. V. Plekhanov.
