Mikhail Fridman

Not to be confused with Michael Freedman.

Mikhail Fridman
Михаил Фридман
Fridman in 2015
Born (1964-04-21) 21 April 1964 (age 60)
Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Citizenship
Alma materMoscow Institute of Steel and Alloys
Occupation(s)Co-founder of LetterOne, Alfa Group, and Alfa-Bank
Years active1986–present
Known forIndigo Era
Children4
AwardsGolden Plate Award (2003)
Websitemikhail-fridman-site.com

Mikhail Maratovich Fridman (also transliterated Mikhail Friedman;[4][5][6][7] Russian: Михаил Маратович Фридман; Hebrew: מיכאיל פרידמן; born 21 April 1964) is a Ukrainian-born,[8] Russian–Israeli tycoon.[9][2][3] He is one of the co-founders of Alfa-Group, a multinational Russian conglomerate. According to Forbes, he was the second-richest Russian as of 2013 ($16.5 billion), moving down to ninth-richest Russian in 2023 ($12.6 billion).[10][11] In May 2017, he was also ranked as Russia's most important businessman by bne IntelliNews.[12] In February 2024, Fridman had a net worth of $13.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.[13]

In 1991, he co-founded Alfa-Bank, one of the largest private banks in Russia.[14] After serving as CEO of TNK-BP, the 50/50 TNK-BP joint venture, for nine years,[15] in 2013 he sold his stake in the company and co-founded the international investment company LetterOne (L1).[1] Until 2022 Fridman was chairman of the supervisory board of Alfa Group Consortium,[16] and also served on the boards of Alfa-Bank[17] and ABH Holdings.[17]

Prior to 2022, he was on the supervisory board of directors for VEON (formerly Vimpelcom)[18] and X5 Retail Group.[16] He is a member of the supervisory board of DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, which is owned by LetterOne.[19][20] Fridman has been a member of numerous public-facing bodies, including the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs,[21] the Public Chamber of Russia,[17][21] and the Council on Foreign Relations.[22]

In 2022, the EU imposed sanctions on Fridman in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Fridman claimed the EU's allegations were false and defamatory. He subsequently decided to step down from the boards of LetterOne and Alfa Group, so that they could avoid sanctions.[23] As reported by several media, Fridman has already filed lawsuits challenging sanctions on at least two occasions, like in July 2022[24] and in December 2022.[25]

In December 2022, a man reported by Russian state media to be Fridman was arrested in London by the UK's National Crime Agency, on charges of money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the Home Office and conspiracy to commit perjury.[26][27] The UK National Crime Agency did not name the man, stating only that it had detained a 58-year-old "wealthy Russian businessman" at a "multi-million-pound residence".[28] Subsequently, the agency scaled back its probe.[29] In September 2023 the National Crime Agency closed the investigation.[30][31]

In October 2023, Fridman reportedly announced to return to Russia.[32]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Forbes Billionaires was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Betta, Weronika (3 November 2017). "Mikhail Fridman: What does it take to become an entrepreneur?". Yale University. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ynet4806556 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Russia's oligarchs". The Guardian. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  5. ^ Mulvey, Stephen (27 October 2003). "Analysis: The Yukos puzzle". BBC News. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  6. ^ Chua, Amy (2004). World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability. Knopf Doubleday. pp. 84–85. ISBN 9780385503020.
  7. ^ Hoffman, David E. (2011). The Oligarchs: Wealth And Power In The New Russia. PublicAffairs. p. 328. ISBN 9781610391115.
  8. ^ "Mikhail Fridman, Ukrainian-born Russian Billionaire, Tells Employees: 'War Can Never Be the Answer'". WSJ. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference 50RichestJews was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "200 богатейших бизнесменов России — 2013".
  11. ^ "110 российских миллиардеров. Рейтинг Forbes — 2023".
  12. ^ "Bne_Magazine_May_2017_print".
  13. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index". Bloomberg.com.
  14. ^ "In the shadow of giants". The Economist. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference LetterOne profile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Alfa Group Profile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Alfa-Bank Profile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ "Supervisory board". VEON. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  19. ^ "Supervisory Board". DEA AG. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference deagroup was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Moscow Times profile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ "International Advisory Board" (PDF). Council on Foreign Relations. 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  23. ^ "Mikhail Fridman loses control of LetterOne after sanctions". Financial Times. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  24. ^ Colchester, Sara Ruberg and Max (16 July 2022). "Roman Abramovich, Other Sanctioned Russian Oligarchs Fight Back in Court". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  25. ^ "Sanctioned Billionaires Sue After EU Ultimatum to Declare Their Luxury Villas". Bloomberg. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023 – via www.bloomberg.com.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference NCA_12/27/2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ "Источник сообщил о задержании в Лондоне Михаила Фридмана". tass.ru. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  28. ^ "UK crime agency arrests 'wealthy Russian' over money laundering". Reuters. 3 December 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023 – via www.reuters.com.
  29. ^ "UK scales back probe into Mikhail Fridman four months after raid in London". Financial Times. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023 – via www.ft.com.
  30. ^ "UK Drops Probe Into Sanctioned Russian Billionaire Mikhail Fridman". Bloomberg.com. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  31. ^ "UK drops sanctions evasion probe into Russian billionaire Fridman". Yahoo News. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  32. ^ Fridman heads home, as pro-war lobby push for punishments against emigrants (18 October 2023)