Farhad Moshiri ( fa, اردوان فرهاد ﻣﺸﻴﺮى; born 18 May 1955) is a
British-Iranian businessman based in
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
. He is the chairman and a shareholder of USM, a diversified Russian holding company with significant interests across the metals and mining, telecoms, technology and internet sectors. Moshiri is also the majority owner of
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
football club
Everton.
Early life
Moshiri was born in the
Imperial State of Iran
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, T ...
, and his parents left just before the
1979 revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
.
His father, Majid, (1926–2020) was an army doctor who trained as a pathologist and later became a senior military judge and his mother's family owned Iran's leading publishing house, ''
Kayhan''.
He studied economics and statistics at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
, and subsequently qualified in the UK as a
chartered certified accountant
Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (ACCA). It has 240,952 members and 541,930 future members worldwi ...
.
Career
Moshiri worked for various professional services firms including
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...
(1979–1985),
Pannell Kerr Forster (1985–1987) and
Deloitte & Touche
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...
(1987–1992), latterly as a senior manager in Deloitte's audit division. Between 1993 and 2006, he served as Executive Director of GNE Group plc and later served as Chief Executive Officer of Europe Steel Limited (formerly Europe Steel plc) from 2000 to 2008. Between 2006 and 2013, he served as the chairman of
Metalloinvest, following which he was appointed as chairman of USM Holdings.
Arsenal
Moshiri and longstanding business partner
Alisher Usmanov
Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov (russian: Алишер Бурханович Усманов; born 9 September 1953) is an Uzbek-born Russian businessman and oligarch. By 2022, Usmanov had an estimated net worth of $19.5 billion and was among the w ...
were co-owners of Red & White Holdings, which bought 14.65% of the shares in
Arsenal F.C. from former club vice-chairman
David Dein
David Barry Dein (b. 7 September 1943) is a British businessman, known for being a former co-owner and vice-chairman of Arsenal Football Club, and former vice-chairman of the Football Association.
Dein was vice-chairman of Arsenal between 198 ...
in August 2007. On 18 September 2007, Red and White Holdings increased their stake in Arsenal to 21%, and on 28 September 2007 to 23%, a week after Moshiri announced that he wanted at least a 25% holding in the football club. As of June 2012, Red and White Holdings have acquired at least 29.72%. Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman told
BBC Radio 5 Live, "They've said previously they are not going to make a bid for the company and they want to be long-term shareholders."
Everton
In February 2016 it was announced that Moshiri had sold his stake in Arsenal Football Club to Red & White Holdings partner Usmanov in a bid to raise capital required to launch a takeover at
Everton F.C. On 27 February, the club officially confirmed Moshiri's purchase of a 49.9% stake in the club, which was ratified two weeks later by the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
. In January 2022, Moshiri increased his shares in the club to 94%.
Personal life
Moshiri lives in Monaco.
His former wife
Nazenin Ansari
Nazenin Ansari ( fa, نازنین انصاری) is an Iranian journalist, managing editor of '' Kayhan London'' ( fa, کیهان لندن), a weekly Persian-language newspaper critical of the current government of Iran (not to be confused with the ...
is a London-based Iranian journalist, managing editor of ''Kayhan London'', a weekly Persian-language newspaper, and series producer at
Manoto
Manoto ( Persian: من و تو ) is an international free-to-air Persian language general entertainment channel launched in October 2010, owned by Marjan Television Network. It is based in London and its programs include documentaries, films, s ...
, an international free-to-air Persian language TV channel. They have two children.
According to the
Sunday Times Rich List in 2021, Moshiri has an estimated net worth £1.7bn.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moshiri, Farhad
1955 births
Living people
Alumni of University College London
Arsenal F.C. directors and chairmen
British expatriates in Monaco
English football chairmen and investors
English people of Iranian descent
Everton F.C. directors and chairmen
Iranian billionaires
Iranian businesspeople
Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Iranian football chairmen and investors
Businesspeople of Iranian descent