Godoo ranked first among the richest people in the country. The businessman's fortune is estimated at $18.4 billion, which allows Mikhelson to occupy the 60th position in the TOP the richest people in the world. To such financial success the billionaire came at the expense of remarkable diligence and determination, as he began his career as a foreman at an oil pipeline construction enterprise, rising to the head of Novatek, the second largest gas company in Russia.
Mikhelson Leonid Viktorovich was born on August 11, 1955 in Kaspiysk, located in Dagestan. Leonid's father, Viktor Zelmanovich, worked as an oil pipeline builder, and after the birth of his son became the director of Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy, the mother of the future oligarch, Praskovya Fedorovna, also worked in the construction industry. After the birth of their son, the Mikhelson family immediately moved to Novokuibyshevsk, where the future oligarch spent his childhood and youth.
AT school years Leonid Mikhelson paid much attention to education and was distinguished by high academic performance among his peers. From childhood, his father introduced his son to the oil and gas business, so he regularly took him to the oil fields with him.
In 1972, the oil and gas tycoon graduated from high school and entered the Kuibyshev Construction Institute, graduating with a degree in civil engineering. Cast young specialist Leonid Viktorovich went to explore Siberia, where he worked as a foreman on the construction of the largest Urengoy-Chelyabinsk gas pipeline.
After five years of work, Michelson's career path began to reach the first heights. First, the future oligarch was promoted to the position of head of the line at Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy, and soon became the chief engineer of a similar enterprise in Ryazan.
Business
The turning point in the career of Leonid Mikhelson was 1987, when the businessman's father died. Then Leonid Mikhelson headed Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy and this began his own independent biography of a businessman. The father took care of this appointment in advance, which caused considerable discontent among the working class of the trust. But the new head of the enterprise proved his professionalism in his position, so he soon became the most influential and respected specialist in the oil and gas sector, whom colleagues from all over Russia reckoned with.
In 1991, after the collapse of the USSR, Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy became the first Russian privatized enterprise, which was renamed SNP Nova. In the same period, under the leadership of Michelson, the national enterprise received a large-scale development in the Tyumen region, where it took under own control the largest gas field in the Vostochno-Tarkosalinsky area.
In 1994, Nova became controlled by Novafininvest, headed by Mikhelson. This company was no longer engaged in the construction of oil pipelines, but in the extraction of hydrocarbons. A couple of years later, this enterprise was transformed into a new big company- Novatek, which today has become the largest gas company in the Russian Federation after Gazprom.
In the late 90s, Leonid Mikhelson replenished his assets with the only Russian plant for the production of insulating materials for pipelines "Truboizolyatsiya". In 2005, he acquired the Purovsky condensate processing plant, which allowed Novatek to independently export gas through own terminal in the White Sea. This made Novatek the only non-state company on the Russian oil and gas market.
In addition to oil and gas, Leonid Mikhelson is interested in the banking sector. In 2000, the businessman established control over the Togliatti bank Svyazbusinessbank, which in 2008 was renamed the First United Bank. Leonid Mikhelson also became the owner of the Fund for the regional non-profit project "DAR". In 2011, the oil and gas tycoon became chairman of the board of directors of Sibur, Russia's largest petrochemical holding.
Like most Russian billionaires, Leonid Mikhelson is engaged in charity work. Leonid Viktorovich became the founder of the Foundation contemporary art"Victoria - The Art of Being Modern". This fund got its own name in honor of the daughter of the oligarch Victoria. The main idea of the foundation is the integration of Russian art into the global artistic context.
In addition, the foundation is engaged in educational and educational activities and holds events aimed at introducing those who wish to contemporary art. The official website of the fund lists more than a dozen institutions with which the fund cooperates in this matter.
In 2015, Artguide placed Leonid Mikhelson in sixth place on the list of personalities with the strongest influence on Russian art.
Personal life
The personal life of Leonid Mikhelson has few officially confirmed facts, since the billionaire does not like to flaunt his own life. It is known that at the beginning of his career, the businessman married his childhood friend Lyudmila, and has been living with his wife for more than 25 years.
In 1992, the only daughter, Victoria, was born to the Mikhelson spouses, who is called the richest heiress in Russia. The girl leads a secular lifestyle, participates in all sorts of fashion events and receptions of the capital's elite. The daughter of Leonid Viktorovich also participates in the development of her father's Foundation for Contemporary Art: the girl heads the Samara branch of the gallery, and also founded her own charitable foundation for kids.
In his free time from business, Leonid Mikhelson likes to devote time to his family and sports. Businessman is fond of volleyball. Leonid Mikhelson expressed this passion by becoming a sponsor of the NOVA volleyball club on his own small homeland- in Novokuibyshevsk. The businessman is also actively engaged in the development of infrastructure in his hometown: thanks to the billionaire, School No. 8, which he once graduated from, entered the TOP-100 of the best educational institutions in Russia.
In addition, Leonid Mikhelson is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Higher School of Economics and provides significant annual material support to the Higher School of Economics itself, as well as the Higher School of Economics Lyceum. The businessman is a member of boards of trustees and foreign cultural organizations. Leonid Mikhelson is a trustee of the Tate Gallery in London and the New Museum in New York.
Leonid Mikhelson now
In 2016, Leonid Mikhelson was included in the Forbes magazine lists as the richest Russian. On March 1, 2016, the businessman topped this rating for the first time, although he had already been included in the list itself more than once in other positions.
In 2017, Leonid Viktorovich did not lose ground and again topped the rating of the Russian part of the Forbes magazine's list of the richest people. In total, the list includes 200 Russian businessmen from Russia, and the total fortune of these people amounted to $450 billion. Also, according to the magazine's experts, the total number of dollar millionaires in Russia increased from 77 to 96 people compared to last year.
Such incomes of a businessman, especially those confirmed by the official rating, were attracted to Leonid Viktorovich new wave attention of both the press and Internet users. Detractors saw under financial condition Leonid Michelson secret conspiracies. The businessman was also reproached for his nationality, since the majority of Internet users, relying on his last name, consider the businessman a Jew, and informal ties with the ruling elite.
Some of the articles in the media that Mikhelson topped the rating even came out with the headline that the list of the richest people in Russia begins with a friend. Other sources claim that Leonid Mikhelson cannot be classified as a close friend of the president. The press calls the main link between Mikhelson and Putin. This is a business partner of Leonid Viktorovich and the second largest shareholder of Sibur, whom Western media even call the husband of Putin's youngest daughter.
Condition assessment
The fortune of Leonid Mikhelson in 2016 was estimated at $ 14.4 billion, which allowed Leonid Viktorovich to become the richest businessman in Russia. Compared to the previous year financial assets billionaire grew by $ 3 billion and raised the businessman to a leading position in the ranking of the richest Russians. Among the world's oligarchs, Leonid Viktorovich takes 60th place.
In 2017, the businessman became richer by another $4 billion. This year, experts estimated the fortune of Leonid Mikhelson at $18.4 billion. For 2017, the businessman owns shares of 24.8% in Novatek and 43.2% in Sibur ".
The businessman also owns 510 hectares near Sestroretsk, of which 370 hectares are alluvial land. Michelson plans to build real estate on these lands.
The press does not know anything about the businessman's foreign assets, both personal, such as houses or villas, and workers, including shares in holdings or other investments. But there are also no exact statements that the foreign property of a businessman does not exist.
Mikhelson believes that not everything can be measured in money. In his view, wealth is not the main thing, the main thing is that he creates something, his friend says. His goal is construction: he left the foremen and is proud of it. “Mikhelson himself with a shovel in the forefront is a trait that commands respect. He is a builder in the broadest sense of the word. He creates something all the time, and for him it has value, ”says a businessman who is well acquainted with the billionaire.
The son of a builder, Leonid Mikhelson came to the north of Tyumen from Samara after graduation - as a foreman at the construction site of the Urengoy - Chelyabinsk gas pipeline. He got up at six in the morning and, before going to work (the planning meeting began at seven), he could drink vodka at breakfast - he had to work with a special contingent. AT building management, where Mikhelson worked, they mainly sent yesterday's prisoners. The foreman did not particularly stand on ceremony with them, and when the police took the prisoners away from the construction site for bad behavior, Mikhelson often heard in his address: "We will meet with you in the zone."
But he also came across very decent people. In the north, Mikhelson learned to work with any contingent, his friend says. Since then, he has not drunk vodka, he prefers wine and even collects it. The Tyumen north of Michelson really hooked. Everything was done there to the limit of possibilities, he probably liked it, says his friend. And when Mikhelson was called to Samara to build the subway, he no longer wanted to go back, he liked building gas pipelines more. Shortly before his father's death, he headed Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy.
Enterprises in which he has significant influence, Novatek and Sibur, are now living in a permanent construction mode. In December 2017, Mikhelson completed the construction of a multibillion-dollar project - a gas liquefaction plant on the Yamal Peninsula with a capacity of about 16.5 million tons. Yamal LNG is already exporting commercial gas shipments. And Sibur plans to open in 2019 in Tobolsk one of the largest petrochemical enterprises in the country - Zapsibneftekhim with a capacity of more than 2 million tons of ethylene, propylene and butane-butylene fraction.
Mikhelson is very tough, direct, competent, able-bodied - this is how people who worked with him at different times describe Mikhelson. He does not exchange for trifles, sees the main thing and is ready for serious steps, thanks to this he makes a huge impression on people from his inner circle. His main partner is Gennady Timchenko, a billionaire and friend of Vladimir Putin.
First business Since 1987 he headed Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy, in 1991 he transformed the trust into a private enterprise Nova.
Number 33.8 billion rubles - Sibur's dividends for 2018. This is a record for the company.
Event In December 2018, Novatek launched the third line of the Yamal LNG project. The capacity of the entire gas liquefaction complex worth $27 billion is 16.5 million tons per year. Novatek's share of the LNG market approached 5%.
Deal In March 2019, Novatek sold 10% of its latest LNG project, Arctic LNG-2, on the Gydan Peninsula to Total. The project with a capacity of 19.8 million tons of LNG is being developed on the basis of the Utrenneye field with reserves of more than 1.1 trillion cubic meters. m of gas according to PRMS standards.
Charity Heads V-A-C fund(Victoria - the Art of Being Contemporary), named after Victoria's daughter. The foundation supports contemporary art, allocates grants to young artists and curators. In addition, he is an investor in the Victoria Gallery in Samara.
Core assets
Novatek (24.8%), Sibur (57.2%), OJSC First United Bank (Pervobank, about 75% of shares). Main partners: Leonid Simanovsky.
Biography
Graduated from the Kuibyshev Civil Engineering Institute with a degree in civil engineering in 1977. After graduation, he worked as a foreman at the construction of the Urengoy - Chelyabinsk gas pipeline, in 1985. became the chief engineer of the Ryazantruboprovodstroy trust, in 1987. headed Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy, which became the Nova joint-stock company and soon became part of the Novafininvest structure, which was engaged in gas production.
Mikhelson began buying up the shares of the Purneftegazgeologiya association, which owned several sites with large gas reserves; organized a network of oil and gas producing enterprises on the territory of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. With the assistance of the ex-manager of Purneftegazgeologia and the new vice-governor of the YaNAO Joseph Levinson OAO Novatek was established in 1996. started gas production at three major fields in the region.
By the end of the 1990s. Novafininvest bought Truboizolyatsiya, the only plant of insulating materials for pipelines in Russia. At the same time, a profitable deal was concluded with NGK Itera.
In 2003, Novafininvest OJSC was renamed Novatek. In the early 2000s. Michelson tried to attract investors. In 2002 managed to reach an agreement on the merger of oil and gas assets with Itera Igor Makarov but the deal was canceled without explanation. The agreement with the French Total on the sale of a blocking stake in Novatek was rejected by the FAS.
As a result, Mikhelson held an IPO, in 2005. by placing 19% of Novatek's shares on the LSE.
In 2010-2011 Mikhelson and Timchenko managed to resell the French Total shares of Novatek, owned by "Gazprombank", businessmen gained about $800 million from the deal.
In 2011 100% of the shares of the largest Russian petrochemical holding SIBUR was acquired by Sibur Limited, ultimate beneficiaries which are the shareholders of OAO Novatek: Leonid Mikhelson (57.5%) and Gennady Timchenko (37.5%).
In 2012 Novatek acquired a 49% stake in Northgas from Gazprom for $1.38 billion and 1% stake in Northgas from Gazprom.
In 2013, the name of Leonid Mikhelson was in third place in the overall ranking of the two hundred richest people in Russia. According to Forbes magazine, the personal fortune of the Russian businessman is estimated at $15.4 billion.
With a personal fortune of $ 11.7 billion, in 2014 he took 7th place among Russians included in the ranking of the richest people in the world (according to Forbes magazine).
In the fall of 2015, NOVATEK and the Chinese investment fund Silk Road Fund (SRF) signed a framework agreement on the acquisition by SRF of a 9.9% stake in the Yamal LNG project. After the deal is closed, the shareholder structure of OAO Yamal LNG will be as follows: OAO NOVATEK (50.1%), France's Total (20%), China's CNPC (20%) and China's SRF (9.9%).
Mikhelson, for his part, said that he welcomed the entry of the Silk Road Fund into Yamal LNG. He called the upcoming deal "continuation of mutually beneficial cooperation with Chinese partners as part of the development of Russian Arctic gas projects."
Strokes for a portrait
In 2009 created the Foundation for Contemporary Art "Victoria - The Art of Being Modern" with the aim of presenting Russian contemporary art in the West.
He is married and has a daughter, Victoria. In 2005 there were rumors about a possible divorce of Michelson, but the media did not provide details.
Was fond of volleyball. Novatek is a partner of the Nova volleyball team (Samara Region), the Dynamo hockey club (Moscow) and the Spartak basketball club (St. Petersburg).
Rumors
Mikhelson's father led the Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy trust and was considered an influential person not only in Kuibyshev, but also in Moscow. In 1987 Michelson's father died, after which the Minister of Construction of Oil and Gas Industry Enterprises of the USSR Vladimir Chirskov appointed his son as the new head of Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy. There were rumors that Michelson's father himself lobbied for this appointment before his death.
Novatek has become a major player thanks to the Yurkharovskoye gas condensate field. Mikhelson did not have the funds to purchase the site, but thanks to the inclusion Joseph Levinson As a shareholder of Novatek, Mikhelson managed to get a large bank loan from one of the state-owned banks.
In 2002 Novafininvest received a $500 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the development of Geoilbent, but the company never repaid the loan. Contrary to collateral obligations, the company sold the company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. The offices of Novatek were searched. The media claimed that Mikhelson could flee abroad, and the company could repeat the fate of Yukos, but this did not happen.
In 2005, newspapers wrote that NovaTEK was in danger of becoming another victim of Gazprom, which is trying in various ways to become a gas monopoly. At that time, the main owners of NovaTEK were Leonid Mikhelson and the Vice Governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Joseph Levinson. The latter succumbed to the pressure of Gazprom and gave Alexei Miller a controlling stake in NovaTEK. NovaTEK also tried to defend the chairman of the board of directors Leonid Simanovsky thanks to which NovaTEK enjoyed strong support from the authorities of the region, including the governor Vladimir Neyelov. A subsidiary of NovaTEK also received a license to develop the Yuzhno-Russkoye field, but later Gazprom took it away. In the fight for NovaTEK, Gazprom also used the prosecutor's office of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug - NovaTEK shareholders were charged with the withdrawal of assets and concealment of profits. The initiation of the criminal case coincided with NovaTEK's attempt to sell a blocking stake to the Franco-Belgian concern Total - if the shares had gone to the West, Gazprom would not have been able to establish control over the company. The deal with Total did not take place because the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, which had previously given permission for it, canceled its own decision. Subsequently, the Franco-Belgian concern Total finally abandoned the deal with NovaTEK because of the lack of transparency in the sources of the company's assets.
Newspapers wrote about the troubles of Leonid Mikhelson in 2005, when law enforcement officers seized documents in the offices of NovaTEK in Samara, Salekhard and Moscow - in connection with the filing of two civil suits by the prosecutor's office of the Yamalo-Nenets District - about the unlawful transfer of 5.6% to VEB shares of NovaTEK, owned Regional Fund development of Yamal, and on the annulment of the very creation of the fund.
Mikhelson's name was heard in the media in 2005 in connection with the trial in the Stavropol Territory. Cypriot company Broadwood Trading & Investments Ltd. (BTI, owns a 34% stake in Geoilbent), acting in the interests of NK Russneft, accused the management of NovaTEK of violating its priority right to buy out shares of Geoilbent. NovaTEK was going to sell its 66% stake in Geoilbent to LUKOIL oil company at a reduced price; to complete the transaction, LUKOIL needed the approval of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). In order to reduce the chances of the second co-owner of Geoilbent LLC to challenge the transaction, the management of NovaTEK sold its stake in a deal that did not involve a direct purchase: NovaTEK contributed its LLC shares to the authorized capital of an oil holding company registered in Salekhard, which was owned by a subsidiary structure of LUKOIL. Newspapers wrote that Mikhelson only pretended to be a tender, tried to get from the heads of corporations that were not taken into account by anyone additional payments"live" money. Versions of why Michelson needs funds were expressed differently: for support and his future political party, on the divorce proceedings of Michelson or on reducing the traditional shares of their partners, Levinson and Simanovsky.
In 2005, newspapers wrote about financial fraud in NovaTEK, mentioning the names of Michelson's partners - Leonid Simanovsky and Joseph Levinson. It was said that in official speeches Levinzon estimated the reserves of Yurkharovneftegaz's gas fields at 9 billion cubic meters. When Gazprom's subsidiaries abandoned the Yurkharovskoye field, and it came under the control of NovaTEK, it turned out that these reserves were approaching a trillion cubic meters. Levinzon was accused of actively manipulating the access of mining companies to the most profitable deposits in terms of production in favor of NovaTEK. For example, the transfer of Purneftegazgeologiya to NovaTEK was accompanied by the dilution of a 30% stake in Gazprom's subsidiary, OAO Zapsibgazprom, and the disappearance of significant investments in an incomprehensible way.
Leonid Mikhelson was accused by a number of media outlets of staging a scandal around the construction of a palace on Istra, which allegedly belonged to the head of Gazprom. There were suggestions in the press that Mikhelson was trying in various ways to get into the board of directors of Gazprom, so he organized the collection of compromising evidence on Miller. In particular, panoramic photographs of the palace on the banks of the Istra River near Moscow and 32 hectares of the palace complex were taken from a helicopter. The information campaign against Miller coincided with the timing of the next meeting of Gazprom's shareholders. The goal was to compromise Miller by the fact that in a time of crisis for the country, he allows himself to spend the money of the people's Gazprom on personal luxury. Thus, journalists believe, Mikhelson is implementing his plans to join the board of directors of Gazprom.
Michelson's company NovaTEK figured in a case initiated in 2005 over the theft of money from Mezhregiongaz, a subsidiary of Gazprom. Six persons became defendants in the criminal case. The Ministry of Internal Affairs brought charges in absentia to the Deputy General Director of Mezhregiongaz Igor Dmitriev, Director of the Department "NovaTEK" Alexander Lyadov(died in 2007) Galina Sheremet, citizen Gulyaeva(former CEO and Chief Accountant LLC "Trastinvestgaz", TIG), Dmitry Novikov(general director of TIG), as well as to a certain citizen Kataev, posing as the general director of LLC Investment Agency Intellect and Law. They are accused of abuse of power and causing property damage.
They wrote that Mikhelson was able to save his business only because he gave a share in NovaTEK to a friend Vladimir Putin Gennady Timchenko. The Volga Resources fund, owned by the latter, increased its stake in NovaTEK to 18.2% of the shares (Timchenko acquired 13.13% of the shares from Cartagena Development Inc) and now its stake exceeds the share of the company's management. It was an asset swap - Timchenko sold a 51% stake in Yamal LNG to Mikhelson's company cheaper than the market and thereby increased his stake in NovaTEK. Leonid Mikhelson was forced to include Timchenko on the company's board of directors. This deal, according to analysts, means the establishment of the state's strategic control over NovaTEK.
The richest Russian in 2016, according to Forbes magazine, was Leonid Mikhelson. The 60-year-old billionaire not only outdid the notorious Mikhail Fridman, Alisher Usmanov and Vladimir Potanin in the rating of moneybags - as it turned out, in a difficult crisis year for everyone, Mikhelson managed to increase his personal fortune by almost 3 billion (!) Dollars, bringing it to an indicator of $14.4 billion. Our Version decided to take a closer look at the entrepreneur and the secrets of his success.
“I believe that not everything in this life depends only on you. I think that only 40% of success is work, brains, determination, and 60% is luck and the ability to use it, ”the billionaire once admitted. So it is - the whole life of Leonid Mikhelson proves: the talent to be at the right time in the right place, to please the right people and establish useful contacts - that's the best and the right way reach the pinnacle of prosperity.
Way up
As a child, little Lenya, like many romantic teenagers, dreamed of becoming a pilot. However, his origin played a role - his father led the Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy trust, which was the largest specialized enterprise in the system of the Ministry of Construction of the Oil and Gas Industry of the USSR. Therefore, having received a certificate of maturity, Mikhelson also moved to a construction institute, after which he left for the taiga to lay the Urengoy-Chelyabinsk gas pipeline.
The career of a young builder rolled like snow, and in 1987 Leonid Mikhelson replaced his father as director of the trust. One could only dream of such a position, but the coming times opened up even wider opportunities for energetic and enterprising people. In 1991, under the leadership of Michelson, Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy was the first in its region to go through the process of corporatization and became a private joint-stock company, receiving the name Samara People's Enterprise Nova. It was it that became the foundation on which the NOVATEK company subsequently grew, the chairman of the board and the main owner of which is Leonid Mikhelson.
Similar stories, when “red directors” turned into owners of their enterprises, happened everywhere in the 90s. However, few of them were able to keep the Soviet inheritance received almost for nothing, and not just turn into an oligarch. But Leonid Mikhelson knew the secret.
So, in the early 90s, Mikhelson met Iosif Levinzon, who headed the Purneftegazgeologiya company, which had gas reserves of about 1 trillion cubic meters. “Purneftegazgeologiya didn’t have money to develop these reserves, but the Michelson trust agreed to deal with its projects in exchange for partial payment for the work with shares of companies that owned licenses for the fields,” Forbes wrote. – These assets eventually became the backbone of NOVATEK's business. Levinson in 1996 was appointed first deputy governor of the YaNAO, and his company came under the control of Michelson.
In 1991, under the leadership of Michelson, Kuibyshevtrubo-provodstroy was the first to go through the corporatization process and become a private joint-stock company. NOVATEK grew up on its foundation.
It must be assumed that, having moved to the chair of the head of one of the largest Russian gas producing regions, Levinson is unlikely to have interrupted a strong friendship. However, Leonid Mikhelson himself categorically denies that, having become vice-governor, Levinzon allegedly assisted NOVATEK, including in obtaining a license for deposits. Of course, there is no reason not to believe him.
On this topic
Representatives of the consulting agency Brand Finance awarded Aeroflot with another award as one of the most recognizable global brands. In line with Russian company cost Ferrari, Coca-Cola, Shell, Hilton and a number of others.
Gas is everything
And yet, special efforts and talents are required in order to create the country's largest private gas company in the conditions of Gazprom's strict monopoly. Michelson and his NOVATEK succeeded.
Now many are wondering - how did Gazprom, in principle, allow the appearance of a competitor? In principle, at first it was difficult to talk about any kind of competition. In 2004, NOVATEK's shareholders even decided to sell a blocking stake to the French concern Total - the company needed money to launch a major project in Yamal. And in 2006, Mikhelson even sold 19.9% of the company's shares to Gazprom. However, another event can be called a turning point in his fate - soon the notorious head of the largest oil trader Gunvor, Gennady Timchenko, who was rumored to be included in the circle of close friends of the president, soon became a shareholder of NOVATEK. NOVATEK has ceased to experience difficulties in funds. In 2011, the company took a strategic step by announcing the conclusion of an agreement with the French and the sale of a block of shares to Total. Cooperation with the largest international concern instantly made NOVATEK a company of state importance, and its chairman of the board - a special figure in domestic business.
The partnership with Gennady Timchenko grew stronger and expanded. At the end of 2011, together with a respected partner, Leonid Mikhelson acquired Sibur, the largest petrochemical holding in Eastern Europe. The business of the partners was also brilliant in the gas market. In 2012, the incredible happened - NOVATEK destroyed Gazprom's export monopoly by signing a contract with the German company EnBW for the supply of 2 billion cubic meters of gas. After that, rumors even began to circulate that Alexei Miller might soon lose his post as head of Gazprom, and his chair would be handed over to Leonid Mikhelson ...
However, this time again, Mikhelson sharply dismisses any assumptions that the key to the success of his business was a mutually beneficial partnership with Timchenko. However, be that as it may, the names of companions are increasingly heard together. In 2013, a scandal erupted. At that time, many media outlets told the story of the sale of a stake in NOVATEK, as a result of which, as Forbes reported, Timchenko and Mikhelson earned $800 million. As a result of a complex multi-move, Gazprom lost its stake in NOVATEK, having sold a large block of shares at a 30% discount to the market. “As a result of such a deal, the Gazprom group lost about 30 billion rubles,” politician Vladimir Ryzhkov wrote in Novaya Gazeta, urging law enforcement find a solution. However, they did not find any violations of the law and refused to open a criminal case.
Competitor of Gazprom
However, the partnership with Timchenko almost hit the pocket of Leonid Mikhelson. At least, such fears were expressed by experts after the United States included NOVATEK in the sanctions list in July 2014, which caused the company to lose access to the American financial market. However, it soon became clear that Russian authorities and the truth is they don’t leave their own - Mikhelson, as the head of NOVATEK, was received in the Kremlin, where he was promised to allocate 150 billion rubles from the National Welfare Fund for the construction of a plant for liquefying natural gas in Yamal.
And now another news has come - business partners are going to seriously encroach on the position of Gazprom, seeking permission to export gas produced by NOVATEK to Europe through Gazprom Export. According to Vedomosti, to resolve this issue, the company immediately turned directly to Vladimir Putin. Dmitry Peskov has already stated that there will be no official comments on this matter. Therefore, observers advise to simply wait for the development of events, the result of which is unlikely to be not in favor of NOVATEK. "Luck and the ability to use it" - remember?
Top 10 richest people in Russia:
Leonid Mikhelson (NOVATEK, Sibur) – $14.4 billion
Mikhail Fridman (Alfa Group) - $13.3 billion.
Alisher Usmanov (Metalloinvest, Megafon) - $12.5 billion.
Vladimir Potanin (Interros) - $12.1 billion.
Gennady Timchenko (Stroytransgaz, Sibur) - $11.4 billion.
Alexey Mordashov (Severstal) – $10.9 billion
Viktor Vekselberg (Renova) - $10.5 billion.
Vladimir Lisin (NLMK) – $9.3 billion
Vagit Alekperov (LUKOIL) - $8.9 billion.
German Khan (Alfa Group) - $8.7 billion.
Leonid Mikhelson is one of the richest people in Russia. His life and destiny are a vivid example of perseverance, purposefulness and remarkable diligence. He began his career as a simple superintendent and some time later reached simply fantastic heights. Today he is CEO and largest shareholder of the Novatek company, as well as the chairman of the board of directors of the SIBUR petrochemical holding. His name is on the list of the richest people in Russia, and his personal fortune is estimated at billions of dollars.But how did these metamorphoses come about? In this article we will talk about life and career path one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Russia.
Childhood and youth of Leonid Michelson
The future billionaire was born in Dagestan, but he almost never lived in his native Kaspiysk. All his childhood and youth were spent in the city of Novokuibyshevsk, where immediately after the birth of his son his parents moved. Here in the Samara region, Leonid's father was engaged in the construction of an oil pipeline. In this field, Viktor Zelmanovich (namely, that was the name of Leonid Mikhelson's father) was quite successful and very soon received the position of director of the Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy trust for his merits. Thus, from an early age, the life of our today's hero and his family was inextricably linked with oil production.After graduating from school number 8 in his native Novokuibyshevsk, Leonid entered the Kuibyshev Civil Engineering Institute, where he began to study as a civil engineer. In 1977, Mikhelson received a diploma and, as a young specialist, went to Siberia, where he began to build the first branch of the Urengoy-Chelyabinsk large gas pipeline. In this place, he worked as a foreman, but soon he began to make serious progress in the service, which did not go unnoticed by his superiors. Mikhelson earned respect among colleagues and began to rapidly climb the career ladder.
In 1983, Leonid Mikhelson took over as head of the line at the construction of one of the branches of the gas pipeline, which was carried out under the auspices of his father's company. Thus, the future billionaire began to work for Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy. However, two years later he was transferred to Ryazan, where he took the post of chief engineer of Ryazantruboprovodstroy.
The further career path of Leonid Mikhelson
The turning point in the career of a young manager was 1987. During this period, Leonid Mikhelson's father died suddenly, and his son became one of the main candidates for the position of head of Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy. In the end, there was no surprise, and it was Michelson Jr. who took the post of head of the company.From that moment in the life of Leonid Viktorovich there were significant changes. He became one of the most influential people in the region, and therefore everyone had to reckon with his opinion. In 1991, "at the suggestion" of Michelson, Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy became the first privatized enterprise in Russia, which at the same moment received a new name - Samara People's Enterprise Nova. In this difficult period for the entire industry, Leonid Viktorovich managed to shift the vector economic activity firms in the Tyumen region, where he very soon received the right to control a large gas field belonging to the Vostochno-Tarkosalinsky area. It is noteworthy that this field was one of the few that Gazprom did not get.
Yurevich and Michelson
In 1994, Mikhelson headed the Novafininvest company, which was no longer engaged in the construction of oil pipelines, but in the production of hydrocarbons. The next step of Leonid Viktorovich was an active purchase of shares in the Purneftegazgeologiya association, which owned licenses for the development of a number of fields. In the end, the actual takeover of this enterprise took place, which in turn laid the foundation for a new company - OAO Novatek. In 1996, the organization began gas and oil production at the Vostochno-Tarkosalinskoye field, which became the first in a long list of fields entrusted to Novatek.
Leonid Mikhelson now
Things were going uphill, but it was during this period that reports began to appear in the press about the dishonest game on the part of Mikhelson, namely the actual bribery of the Deputy Governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District Iosif Levinzon (who was included in the shareholders of Novatek OJSC), as well as the use budget funds in the form of loans from state banks (which again were provided through Joseph Levinson).Leonid Mikhelson became a shareholder of SIBUR
However, one way or another, Leonid Mikhelson soon became one of the most influential people in Russia. The Novatek company created by him is currently the second in the Russian Federation in terms of the number of hydrocarbons produced. After the actual strengthening of Gazprom in the early 2000s, the Michelson enterprise is the only independent player in the Russian oil and gas market.
At present, in addition to the named company, Leonid Mikhelson also owns about 75 percent of the large Samara bank OAO Pervobank. In addition, the businessman is the largest shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of SIBUR, which also operates in the petrochemical sector.
In 2013, the name of Leonid Mikhelson was in third place in the overall ranking of the two hundred richest people in Russia. According to Forbes magazine, the personal fortune of the Russian businessman is estimated at $15.4 billion.
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