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Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (, ; he, רומן ארקדיביץ' אברמוביץ'; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, a
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 Foo ...
football club in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England, and is the primary owner of the private investment company
Millhouse LLC Millhouse Capital is a British registered company. It was created in 2001 to manage assets owned by the Russian businessman Roman Abramovich and his partners. Overview The chairman of the company is Russian-American businessman Eugene Shvidl ...
. He has Russian, Israeli and Portuguese citizenship. He was formerly
Governor of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug The governor of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (russian: Губернатор Чукотского автономного округа) is the chief executive of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Chukotka, an autonomous region in the Russian Far East. Histo ...
from 2000 to 2008. According to ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'', Abramovich's net worth was 14.5 billion in 2021, making him the second-richest person in Israel, the eleventh-richest in Russia and the richest person in Portugal. Abramovich enriched himself in the years following the collapse of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in the 1990s, obtaining Russian state-owned assets at prices far below market value in Russia's controversial loans-for-shares privatisation program. Abramovich is considered to have a good relationship with Russian president
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
, an allegation Abramovich denied.


Early life

Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich was born on 24 October 1966 in
Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...
,
Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
,
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
(present-day Saratov, Russia). His family was of
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
descent and died when he was young. His mother, Irina, was a music teacher who died when Abramovich was one years old. His father, Aaron Abramovich Leibovich (1937−1969), worked in the economic council of the
Komi ASSR The Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (russian: Коми Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика; kv, Коми Автономнӧй Сӧветскӧй Социалистическӧй ...
, and passed away when he was three. Roman's maternal grandparents were Vasily Mikhailenko and Faina Borisovna Grutman, both born in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. It was to Saratov in the early days of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
that Roman's maternal grandmother fled from Ukraine. Irina was then three years old. Roman's paternal grandparents, Nachman Leibovich and Toybe (Tatyana) Stepanovna Abramovich, were
Belarusian Jews The history of the Jews in Belarus begins as early as the 8th century. Jews lived in all parts of the lands of modern Belarus. Jews were the third largest ethnic group in the country in the first half of the 20th century. In 1897, the Jewish po ...
. They lived in
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
and, after the revolution, moved to
Tauragė Tauragė (; see other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 21,520. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast, and not far from th ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, with the Lithuanian spelling of the family name being Abramavičius. In 1940, the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
(USSR) annexed Lithuania. Just before the Nazi German invasion of the USSR, the Soviets "cleared the anti-Soviet, criminal and socially dangerous element" with whole families being sent to
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
. Abramovich's grandparents were separated when
deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
. The father, mother and children – Leib, Abram and Aron (Arkady) – were in different cars. Many of the deportees died in the camps. Among them was the grandfather of Abramovich. Nachman Leibovich died in 1942 in the NKVD camp in the settlement of Resheti,
Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...
Territory. Having lost both parents before the age of 4, Abramovich was raised by relatives and spent much of his youth in the
Komi Republic The Komi Republic (russian: Республика Коми; kv, Коми Республика), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar. The population of the ...
in northern Russia. Abramovich is the Chairman of the
Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJCR; russian: Федерация Еврейских Общин России, ) is a Russian religious organization that unifies communities of Orthodox Judaism, mostly of Chabad Hassidic movement. I ...
, and a trustee of the Moscow Jewish Museum. Abramovich decided to establish a forest of some 25,000 new and rehabilitated trees, in memory of Lithuania's Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, plus a virtual memorial and tribute to Lithuanian Jewry (Seed a Memory) enabling people from all over the world to commemorate their ancestors' personal stories by naming a tree and including their name in the memorial.


Career


Business career

Abramovich entered the business world during his army service. He first worked as a street-trader, and then as a mechanic at a local factory. Abramovich attended the
Gubkin Institute of Oil and Gas The Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (russian: Российский государственный университет нефти и газа имени И. М. Губкина) is a public university in Moscow, Russia. The univer ...
in Moscow, then traded
commodities In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. The price of a comm ...
for the Swiss trading firm Runicom. In 1988, as
perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
created opportunities for privatization in the Soviet Union, Abramovich gained a chance to legitimise his old business. He and his first wife, Olga, set up a company making dolls. Within a few years his wealth spread from oil conglomerates to pig farms. He has traded in timber, sugar, food stuffs and other products. In 1992, he was arrested and sent to prison in a case of theft of government property.


Friendship with Boris Berezovsky

According to two different sources, Abramovich first met
Berezovsky Berezovsky or Berezowski ( ) is a surname of Slavic-language origin. Family nest of Berezovsky (gentry) is Bereziv village (nowadays 4 villages) in Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine. People * Antoni Berezowski (1847–1916), Polish revolutionary ...
either at a meeting with the Russian businessmen in 1993Strauss, Julius
Shy orphan who rose to join Russia's super-rich
''The Daily Telegraph''. 6 November 2003. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
or in the summer of 1995. Berezovsky and Abramovich registered an
offshore company The term "offshore company" or “offshore corporation” is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to: * a company, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshoring business pro ...
, Runicom Ltd., with five subsidiaries. Abramovich headed the Moscow affiliate of the Swiss firm, Runicom S.A. In August 1995, Boris Yeltsin
decreed A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
the creation of
Sibneft Gazprom Neft (russian: Газпром Нефть; formerly Sibneft, russian: Сибнефть, link=no), is the third largest oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about ...
, of which Abramovich and Berezovsky were thought to be top executives.


Acquisition of Sibneft, loans-for-shares, and aluminium wars

In 1995, Abramovich and Berezovsky acquired a controlling interest in the large oil company Sibneft in a rigged auction. The deal took place within the controversial
loans-for-shares program Privatization in Russia describes the series of post-Soviet Union, Soviet reforms that resulted in large-scale privatization of Russia's State-owned enterprise, state-owned assets, particularly in the industrial, energy, and financial sectors. M ...
and each partner paid US$100 million for half of the company, above the stake's stock market value of US$150 million at the time, and rapidly turned it up into billions. The fast-rising value of the company led many observers, in hindsight, to suggest that the real cost of the company should have been in the billions of dollars (it was worth US$2.7 billion at that time). Abramovich later admitted in court that he paid billions of dollars of bribes to government officials and gangsters to acquire and protect his assets. As of 2000, Sibneft annually produced US$3 billion worth of oil. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' claimed that he was assisted by
Badri Patarkatsishvili Arkady Shalvovich "Badri" Patarkatsishvili ( ka, ბადრი პატარკაციშვილი 31 October 1955 – 12 February 2008) was a Jewish-Georgian businessman who also became extensively involved in politics. He contested th ...
in the acquisition of Sibneft.Kennedy, Dominic
Roman Abramovich admits paying out billions on political favours
''The Times''. 5 July 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
After Sibneft, Abramovich's next target was the aluminium industry. After privatisation, the "aluminium wars" led to murders of
smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
plant managers, metals traders and journalists as groups battled for control of the industry. Abramovich was initially hesitant to enter into the aluminium business, claiming that "every three days someone was murdered in that business". Abramovich sold Sibneft to the Russian government for $13 billion in 2005.


Relationship with Boris Berezovsky and Badri Patarkatsishvili

In 2011, Abramovich's longtime business partner filed a civil suit, ''
Berezovsky v Abramovich is an English contract law case, concerning the formation of a contract that is informally made, and where evidence is contested. The case involved two Russian oligarchs, and was a direct consequence of the privatization in Russia that followed ...
'', in the
High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...
in London. He accused Abramovich of blackmail, breach of trust and breach of contract. The suit sought over £3 billion in damages. On 31 August 2012, the High Court dismissed the lawsuit. The High Court judge stated that because of the nature of the evidence, the case hinged on whether to believe Berezovsky or Abramovich's evidence. The judge found Berezovsky to be "an unimpressive, and inherently unreliable witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible concept, which could be moulded to suit his current purposes", whereas Abramovich was seen as "a truthful, and on the whole, reliable witness".


=Evidence in the case

= In 2011, a transcript emerged of a taped conversation that took place between Abramovich and Berezovsky at Le Bourget airport in December 2000.
Badri Patarkatsishvili Arkady Shalvovich "Badri" Patarkatsishvili ( ka, ბადრი პატარკაციშვილი 31 October 1955 – 12 February 2008) was a Jewish-Georgian businessman who also became extensively involved in politics. He contested th ...
, a close acquaintance of Berezovsky, was also present and secretly had the conversation recorded. During the discussion, Berezovsky spoke of how they should "legalise" their aluminium business, and later claimed in court that he was an undisclosed shareholder in the aluminium assets and that "legalisation" in this case meant to make his ownership "official". In response, Abramovich states in the transcript that they cannot legalise because the other party in the 50–50 joint venture (
Rusal United Company RUSAL, international public joint-stock company (russian: МКПАО «ОК РУСАЛ», MKPAO «ОК RUSAL») is the world's second largest aluminium company by primary production output (as of 2016). It was the largest until ov ...
) would need to do the same, in a supposed reference to his business partner
Oleg Deripaska Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska (russian: Олег Владимирович Дерипаска; born 2 January 1968) is a Russian billionaire and an industrialist. Deripaska enriched himself on previously state-owned assets that were privatized in ...
. Besides Deripaska, references are made to several other players in the aluminium industry at the time that would have had to "legalise" their stake. Abramovich's lawyers later claimed that "legalisation" meant structuring protection payments to Berezovsky to ensure they complied with Western antimoney-laundering regulations. ''The Times'' also observed: According to court-papers submitted by Abramovich, Abramovich mentions in the court-papers:


Investments in technology

In 2015, Abramovich invested and led a $30 million round of funding with businessman
OD Kobo Oded David "O. D." Kobo (Hebrew: קובו עודד) is a Hong Kong-born Internet businessman. He is the co-founder of PIR Equities and Israel Investment Partners (IIP), both employee owned private equity firms, and a member of the partnership ne ...
Chairman of PIR Equities.Abramovich leads $30m round in OD Kobo's music start-up
Globes.co.il. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
Music Messenger, the App That Nicki Minaj and David Guetta Invested In, Is Exploding -- Here's Why
billboard.com. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
Other partners include several well-known people from the music industry, among them
David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
,
Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...
,
Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( ), is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted "the Greatest DJ of All Time" by '' Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was ...
,
Avicii Tim Bergling (; 8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii (, ), was a Swedish DJ, remixer and music producer. At the age of 16, Bergling began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first rec ...
,
will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...
,
Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma M ...
, Dave Holmes (manager of
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
) and others. Also StoreDot, founded by Doron Myersdorf, where Abramovich has invested over $30 million.


Football


=Chelsea Football Club

= In June 2003, Abramovich became the owner of the companies that control
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in
West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...
. The previous owner of the club was
Ken Bates Kenneth William Bates (born 4 December 1931) is a British businessman, football executive and hotelier. He was involved in the development of Wembley Stadium and is the former owner and chairman of football clubs Chelsea and Leeds United. Bates ...
, who later bought
rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
. Chelsea immediately embarked on an ambitious programme of commercial development, with the aim of making it a worldwide brand at par with footballing dynasties such as
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
and
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
, and also announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art training complex in
Cobham, Surrey Cobham () is a large village in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, centred south-west of London and northeast of Guildford on the River Mole. It has a commercial/services High Street, a significant number of primary and private s ...
. Since the takeover, the club has won 18 major trophies – the UEFA Champions League twice, the UEFA Europa League twice, the UEFA Supercup twice, the Premier League five times, the FA Cup five times (with 2010 providing the club's first ever league and FA Cup double), and the League Cup three times, making Chelsea the most successful English trophy winning team during Abramovich's ownership, equal with Manchester United (who have also won 16 major trophies in the same time span). His tenure has also been marked by rapid turnover in managers. Detractors have used the term "Chelski" to refer to the new Chelsea under Abramovich, to highlight the modern phenomena of billionaires buying football clubs and "purchasing trophies", by using their personal wealth to snap up marquee players at will, distorting the transfer market, citing the acquisition of
Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko, or Andrii Mykolaiovych Shevchenko ( uk, Андрій Миколайович Шевченко, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian football manager, a former professional football player and a former politici ...
for a then-British record transfer fee of around £30 million (€35.3 million). In the year ending June 2005, Chelsea posted record losses of £140 million (€165 million) and the club was not expected to record a trading profit before 2010, although this decreased to reported losses of £80.2 million (€94.3 million) in the year ending June 2006. In a December 2006 interview, Abramovich stated that he expected Chelsea's transfer spending to fall in the years to come.
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
responded to the precarious profit/loss landscape of clubs, some owned by billionaires, but others simply financial juggernauts like Real Madrid, with
Financial Fair Play The UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations (FFP) are a set of regulations established to prevent professional football clubs spending more than they earn in the pursuit of success, and in doing so not getting into financial problems which might t ...
regulations. Chelsea finished their first season after the takeover in second place in 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 Foo ...
, up from fourth the previous year. They also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, which was eventually won by the surprise contender
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, managed by
José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...
. For Abramovich's second season at
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in L ...
, Mourinho was recruited as the new manager, replacing the incumbent
Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in It ...
. Chelsea ended the 2004–05 season as league champions for the first time in 50 years and only the second time in their history. Also high were Abramovich's spending regarding purchases of Portuguese football players. According to record newspaper accounts, he spent 165.1 million euros in Portugal: 90.9 with Benfica players, and 74.2 with
FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...
players. Abramovich is present at nearly every Chelsea game and shows visible emotion during matches, a sign taken by supporters to indicate a genuine love for the sport, and usually visits the players in the dressing room following each match. This stopped for a time in early 2007, when press reports appeared of a feud between Abramovich and manager Mourinho regarding the performance of certain players such as Andriy Shevchenko. On 1 July 2013, Chelsea celebrated ten years under Abramovich's ownership. Before the first game of the 2013–14 season against
Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
on 18 August 2013, Abramovich thanked Chelsea supporters for ten years of support in a short message on the front cover of the match programme, saying, "We have had a great decade together and the club could not have achieved it all without you. Thanks for your support and here's to many more years of success." In March 2017, Chelsea announced it had received approval for a revamped £500m stadium at Stamford Bridge with a capacity of up to 60,000. On 15 July 2018, the renewal of Abramovich's British visa by the Home Office, and his subsequent withdrawal of the application, in May 2018 Chelsea halted plans to build a £500m stadium in south-west London due to the "unfavourable investment climate" and the lack of assurances about Abramovich's immigration status. Abramovich was set to invest hundreds of millions of pounds for the construction of the stadium. Abramovich has been accused of purchasing Chelsea at the behest of Vladimir Putin, but he has denied the claim. ''Putin's People'', a book by journalist
Catherine Belton Catherine Elizabeth Belton is a journalist and writer. From 2007 to 2013, she was the Moscow correspondent for the ''Financial Times''. In '' Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West'', published in 2020, Belton exp ...
, a former ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' Moscow correspondent, formerly made such an assertion, but after libel action by Abramovich against Belton and the book's British publisher
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
, the claims were agreed in December 2021 to be stated as having no factual basis in future editions. In 2021, Abramovich was criticized for trying to enter Chelsea into the newly announced
European Super League The European Super League (ESL), officially The Super League, was a proposed seasonal club football competition that initially would have been contested by twenty European football clubs, twelve of them being the competition's founding members. ...
. The competition was widely scrutinized for encouraging greediness among the richer, larger football clubs, which would have undermined the significance of existing football competitions; however, just two days later, Abramovich pulled the club out of the new competition, with other English clubs following suit, causing the league to suspend operations. In 2022, it was reported that Abramovich was owed $2 billion from Chelsea F.C. According to ''Forbes'', Abramovich's loan is insurance in case the British government considers sanctioning him due to his close relationship with the Putin regime in Russia. On 26 February 2022, during the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...
, Abramovich handed over "stewardship and care" of Chelsea FC to the Chelsea Charitable Foundation. Abramovich released an official statement on 2 March 2022 confirming that he was selling the club due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Although the UK government froze Abramovich's assets in the United Kingdom on 10 March due to his "close ties with heKremlin", it was made clear that the Chelsea club will be allowed to operate in terms of activities which are football related. On 12 March, the Premier League disqualified Abramovich as a director of Chelsea Football Club. On 7 May 2022, Chelsea announced that a new ownership group led by
Todd Boehly Todd Boehly (born September 20, 1973) is an American businessman and investor. He is the co-founder, chairman, chief executive officer and controlling member of Eldridge Industries, a holding company headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is ...
and Clearlake Capital have agreed on the terms to acquire the club.


=CSKA Moscow

= In March 2004, Sibneft agreed to a three-year sponsorship deal worth €41.3 million (US$58 million) with the Russian team
CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...
. Although the company explained that the decision was made at management level, some viewed the deal as an attempt by Abramovich to counter accusations of being "unpatriotic" which were made at the time of the Chelsea purchase.
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
rules prevent one person owning more than one team participating in UEFA competitions, so Abramovich has no equity interest in CSKA. A lawyer, Alexandre Garese, is one of his partners in CSKA. Following an investigation, Abramovich was cleared by UEFA of having a conflict of interest. Nevertheless, he was named "most influential person in Russian football" in the Russian magazine ''Pro Sport'' at the end of June 2004. In May 2005, CSKA won the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
, becoming the first Russian club ever to win a major European football competition. In October 2005, however, Abramovich sold his interest in Sibneft and the company's new owner
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...
, which sponsors
Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...
, cancelled the sponsorship deal.


=Russian national team

= Abramovich also played a large role in bringing
Guus Hiddink Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...
to Russia to coach the
Russia national football team The Russia national football team (russian: Сборная России по футболу, Sbornaya Rossii po futbolu) represents the Russia, Russian Federation in men's international association football. It is controlled by the Russian Footb ...
. Piet de Visser, a former head scout of Hiddink's club
PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, whi ...
and now a personal assistant to Abramovich at Chelsea, recommended Hiddink to the Chelsea owner.


=National Academy of Football

= In addition to his involvement in professional football, Abramovich sponsors a foundation in Russia called the National Academy of Football. The organization sponsors youth sports programs throughout the country and has constructed more than fifty football pitches in various cities and towns. It also funds training programs for coaches, prints instruction materials, renovates sports facilities and takes top coaches and students on trips to visit professional football clubs in England, the Netherlands and Spain. In 2006 the Academy of Football took over the administration of the
Konoplyov football academy Yuri Konoplyov football academy (russian: Академия футбола имени Юрия Коноплёва) is a Russian youth football academy based in Togliatti. History The academy was founded in 2003 as SDYuShOR Krylia Sovetov. I ...
at Primorsky, near Togliatti,
Samara Oblast Samara Oblast ( rus, Сама́рская о́бласть, r=Samarskaya oblast, p=sɐˈmarskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localitie ...
, where over 1,000 youths are in residence, following the death at 38 of its founder, Yuri Konoplev.


Political career

In 1999, Abramovich was elected to the
State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...
as the representative for the
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukotka (russian: Чуко́тка), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug,, ''Čukotkakèn avtonomnykèn okrug'', is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an autonomous okrug situated in the Russian ...
, an impoverished region in the
Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
. He started the charity Pole of Hope to help the people of Chukotka, especially children, and in December 2000, was elected governor of Chukotka, replacing Aleksandr Nazarov. Abramovich was the governor of Chukotka from 2000 to 2008. It is believed that he invested over US$1.3 billion (€925 million) in the region. During his tenure, living standards improved, schools and housing were restored and new investors were drawn to the region. Abramovich was awarded the Order of Honour for his "huge contribution to the economic development of the autonomous district
f Chukotka F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
, by a decree signed by the President of Russia. In early July 2008, it was announced that President
Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
had accepted Abramovich's request to resign as governor of Chukotka, although his various charitable activities in the region would continue. In the period 2000–2006 the average salaries in Chukotka increased from about US$165 (€117/£100) per month in 2000 to US$826 (€588/£500) per month in 2006.


Informal Ukraine diplomacy

The day after the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, Abramovich was contacted by Ukrainian magnates and asked to function as informal envoy to Putin. Abramovich played a key role in the release of
Aiden Aslin Aiden Aslin (; born in 1994) is a British-born dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Ukraine who was captured by Russian forces in April 2022 while fighting as a Ukrainian Marine in Mariupol. He was sentenced to death on 9 June by authorities ...
and other foreign prisoners of war from Russian captivity.


Relationship with Russian leaders


Boris Yeltsin

By 1996, at the age of 30, Abramovich had become close to President
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
, and had moved into an apartment inside the
Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
at the invitation of the Yeltsin family. In 1999, the 33-year-old Abramovich was elected governor of the Russian province of Chukotka. He ran for a second term as governor in 2005. The Kremlin press service reported that Abramovich's name had been sent for approval as governor for another term to Chukotka's local parliament, which confirmed his appointment on 21 October 2005.


Vladimir Putin

Abramovich was the first person to recommend to Yeltsin that
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
be his successor as the Russian president. When Putin formed his first cabinet as Prime Minister in 1999, Abramovich interviewed each of the candidates for cabinet positions before they were approved. Subsequently, Abramovich would remain one of Putin's closest confidants. In 2007, Putin consulted in meetings with Abramovich on the question of who should be his successor as president; Medvedev was personally recommended by Abramovich. Chris Hutchins, a biographer of Putin, described the relationship between the Russian president and Abramovich as like that between a father and a favourite son. In the early 2000s, Abramovich said that when he addressed Putin he uses the Russian language's formal "вы" (like Spanish "usted" or German "Sie"), as opposed to the informal "ты" (like Spanish "tú" or German "du") as a mark of respect for Putin's seniority. Within the Kremlin, Abramovich was referred to as "Mr A". In September 2012, the England and Wales High Court judge
Elizabeth Gloster Dame Elizabeth Gloster, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (born 5 June 1949) is a British lawyer who was a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Vice-Presiden ...
claimed that Abramovich's influence on Putin was limited: "There was no evidential basis supporting the contention that Mr Abramovich was in a position to manipulate, or otherwise influence, President Putin, or officers in his administration, to exercise their powers in such a way as to enable Mr Abramovich to achieve his own commercial goals." Gloster oversaw the case between Russian oligarchs Boris Berezovsky and Abramovich. She found Berezovsky to be "an inherently unreliable witness" and sided with Abramovich in 2012. It later emerged that Gloster's stepson had been paid almost £500,000 to represent Abramovich as a barrister early in the case. Her stepson's involvement was alleged to be more than had been disclosed. Berezovsky stated, "Sometimes I have the impression that
Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
himself wrote this judgment". Gloster declined to comment. U.S. media reports that the U.S. intelligence community believes Abramovich is a "bag carrier", a financial middleman, for Putin.


=Sanctions

= Abramovich is one of many Russian oligarchs named in the
Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill was passed by the Senate on July 27, 2017, 98–2, after it passed the House 419 ...
, CAATSA, signed into law by President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
in 2017. He is one of the
Navalny 35 Navalny 35 (also known as the Navalny's List) are a group of Russian human rights abusers, kleptocrats, and corruptioners involved in poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The initial list contained 35 individu ...
. Following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
in 2022, on March 10, 2022 Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK as part of a group of seven Russian oligarchs. Abramovich had his UK assets frozen and a travel ban was put in place. The British government said the sanctions were in response to Abramovich's alleged ties to the Kremlin and said the companies Abramovich controls could be producing steel used in tanks deployed offensively by Russia in Ukraine. On March 15, 2022, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
followed suit and also imposed sanctions on Abramovich. Abramovich denies that he has close ties to
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
and the
Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
. In late March 2022, it was reported that Abromavich was house-hunting in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
, where his private plane had also been spotted, owing to the city's sanction-free status. In March 2022, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' reported that the United States administration deferred sanctions on Abramovich at the urging of President of Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
, because of the oligarch's potential role in negotiations with Russia. The Russian government spokesperson
Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov ( rus, Дмитрий Сергеевич Песков, p=pʲɪˈskof; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat and the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

= Alleged poisoning

= On 3 to 4 March 2022, Abramovich attended
peace talks on the Ukraine–Belarus border. Abramovich, Ukrainian politician
Rustem Umerov Rustem Umerov ( uk, Рустем Енверович Умеров; Crimean Tatar: Rustem Enver oğlu Umerov / Рустем Энвер огълу Умеров, born April 19, 1982 in Samarkand, Uzbek SSR) is a Ukrainian politician, businessman, ...
and one other negotiator suffered initial symptoms consistent with likely poisoning with an unknown chemical substance, involving "piercing pain in the eyes", inflammation of the eyes and skin with some
skin peeling Desquamation occurs when the outermost layer of a tissue, such as the skin, is shed. The term is . Physiologic desquamation Keratinocytes are the predominant cells of the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. Living keratinocytes reside in ...
. They all recovered quickly. ''
Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014 ...
'' investigated the allegation and said that chocolate or water that the three had consumed may have been laced with poison; experts took samples of the substance but were unable to identify the type of material used owing to the passage of time. Western sources said the low dosage of poison was aimed to serve as a warning, most likely to Abramovich, and suspected the attack may have been carried out by hardliners in Moscow who tried to sabotage peace talks. An unnamed US official said that the illness was caused by "environmental factors" rather than poisoning. Additionally, an official in the Ukrainian president's office, Ihor Zhovkva, informed the BBC that while he hadn't spoken to Mr Abramovich, participants of the Ukrainian delegation were "fine" and one had said the story was "false".
Frank Gardiner Frank Gardiner (1830 – c. 1882) was an Australian bushranger who gained infamy for his lead role in the a robbery of a gold escort at Eugowra, New South Wales in June 1862. It is considered the largest gold heist in Australian history. Gard ...
of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
said the US denial may be caused by a reluctance to respond in a retaliatory manner to Russia by accepting the deployment of chemical weapons in Ukraine. A spokesman for Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
said that he had no information about a suspected poisoning.


Controversies


Boris Berezovsky allegations

In 2011, Boris Berezovsky brought a civil case against Abramovich, called ''
Berezovsky v Abramovich is an English contract law case, concerning the formation of a contract that is informally made, and where evidence is contested. The case involved two Russian oligarchs, and was a direct consequence of the privatization in Russia that followed ...
'', in the
High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...
in London, but Berzovsky was unsuccessful in the case. These events are described in greater detail above .


Bribery

In 2008, ''The Times'' reported that court papers showed Abramovich admitting that he paid billions of dollars for political favours and protection fees for shares of Russia's oil and aluminium assets.The Times: "Roman Abramovich admits paying out billions on political favours"
5 July 2008.


Allegations of loan fraud

An allegation emerging from a Swiss investigation links Roman Abramovich, through a former company, and numerous other Russian politicians, industrialists and bankers to using a US$4.8 billion (€3.4 billion) loan from the IMF as personal
slush fund A slush fund is a fund or account that is not properly accounted, such as money used for corrupt or illegal purposes, especially in the political sphere. Such funds may be kept hidden and maintained separately from money that is used for legitim ...
; an audit sponsored by the IMF itself determined that all of the IMF funds had been used appropriately. In January 2005, the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focus ...
(EBRD) indicated that it would be suing Abramovich over a £9 million (US$14.9 million/€10.6 million) loan. The EBRD said that it is owed US$17.5 million (€12.45 million/£10.6 million) by Runicom, a Switzerland-based oil trading business which had been controlled by Abramovich and Eugene Shvidler. Abramovich's spokesman indicated that the loan had previously been repaid.


Antitrust law violation in Russia

Russia's
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
body, the
Federal Antimonopoly Service The Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia (FAS) (russian: Федеральная антимонопольная служба России, ФАС России) is the federal-level executive governmental organ that controls the execution of the ...
, claimed that Evraz Holding, owned in part by Abramovich, had breached
Russian competition law Antitrust issues in Russia are regulated by one law: Federal Law No. 135-FZ, “On the Protection of Competition", which entered into force on 26 October 2006. The “3rd antimonopoly package”, which entered into force in January 2012, is indica ...
by offering unfavourable terms for contractors and discriminating against domestic consumers for
coking Coking is the heating of coal in the absence of oxygen to a temperature above 600 °C to drive off the volatile components of the raw coal, leaving a hard, strong, porous material of high carbon content called coke. Coke consists almost ent ...
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
, a key material used in
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...
.


Dispute with Kolomoyskyi

According to Putin, Abramovich has been cheated by Ukrainian-Cypriot-Israeli oligarch Igor Kolomoyskyi. Putin claimed in 2014 that Kolomoyskyi had reneged on a contract with Abramovich, saying that the pair signed a multibillion-dollar deal on which Kolomoyskyi never delivered.


Pollution and climate change

According to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', in 2015 his $766m stake in Evraz, the steel and mining company, gave him ownership of about a quarter of Russia's largest coal mine, the Raspadskaya coal complex in Siberia, whose reserves represented 1.5GT of carbon emissions, comparable to the annual output of Russia itself. According to ''
The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Rober ...
'', "Roman Abramovich, who made most of his $19 billion fortune trading oil and gas, was the biggest polluter on our list" of most polluting billionaires, estimating "that he was responsible for at least 33,859 metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2018 – more than two-thirds from his yacht."


Funding of Israeli settlements

An investigation by BBC News Arabic has found that Abramovich controls companies that have donated $100 million to an
Israeli settler Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
organisation
Elad El'ad, also spelled Elad ( he, אלעד), is a city in the Central District of Israel. In the 1990s, it was built for a Haredi Jewish population and to a lesser extent, it was also built for a Religious Zionist Jewish population. Located about ...
, which aims to strengthen the Jewish connection to the annexed East Jerusalem, and renew the Jewish community in the
City of David "City of David" is a biblical and religious epithet for the ancient city of Jerusalem. It may also refer to: * City of David (archaeological site) - an archaeological excavation associated with ancient Jerusalem * Jerusalem Walls National Park ...
. Analysis of bank documents indicate Abramovich is the largest single donor to the organisation. The bank documents - known as the
FinCEN Files The FinCEN Files are documents from the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), that have been leaked to '' BuzzFeed News'' and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), and published globally on 20 ...
- were leaked to ''
BuzzFeed News ''BuzzFeed News'' is an American news website published by BuzzFeed. It has published a number of high-profile scoops, including the Steele dossier, for which it was heavily criticized, and the FinCEN Files. Since its establishment in 2011, it ...
'', then shared with the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C. with pe ...
(ICIJ) and the BBC.


Personal life


Marriages and children

Abramovich has been married and divorced three times. In December 1987, following a brief stint in the
Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...
, he married Olga Yurevna Lysova; they divorced in 1990. In October 1991, he married a former
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
stewardess A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are primar ...
, Irina Malandina. They have five children; Ilya, Arina, Sofia, Arkadiy and Anna.Miami Newsday: "Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich celebrates birth of his seventh child, his second with model Daria Zhukova"
14 April 2013.
His eldest daughter Anna is a graduate of
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and lives in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and his daughter Sofia is a professional equestrian who lives in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
after graduating from
Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...
. On 15 October 2006, the ''
News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...
'' reported that Irina had hired two top UK divorce lawyers, following reports of Abramovich's close relationship with the then 25-year-old
Dasha Zhukova Darya "Dasha" Alexandrovna Zhukova (russian: Дарья "Даша" Александровна Жукова; born 8 June 1981) is a Russian-American art collector, businesswoman, magazine editor, and socialite. She is the founder of the Garage M ...
, daughter of a prominent
Russian oligarch Russian oligarchs (Russian language, Russian: олигархи, Romanization of Russian, romanized: ''oligarkhi'') are business oligarchs of the Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Priv ...
,
Alexander Zhukov Alexander Dmitriyevich Zhukov (russian: Александр Дмитриевич Жуков; born 1 June 1956) is a Russian economist and politician. Zhukov was a member of the State Duma from 1994 to 2004. He is the First Deputy Chairman of t ...
. The Abramoviches replied that neither had consulted attorneys at that point. However, they later divorced in Russia in March 2007, with a reported settlement of US$300 million (€213 million). Abramovich married Zhukova in 2008, and they have two children, a son, Aaron Alexander, and a daughter, Leah Lou. In August 2017, the couple announced that they would separate; and their divorce was finalised in 2018.


Citizenships and residency

In May 2018, Abramovich became an
Israeli citizen Israeli citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Israel. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1950 Law of Return and 1952 Citizenship Law. Every Jew in the world has ...
a month after the UK delayed renewing his visa. Following the
poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal On 4 March 2018, Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were poisoned in the city of Salisbury, England. According to UK sources and the Organis ...
, British authorities delayed the renewal of his visa, as tensions rose between the UK and Russia. Abramovich had been travelling in and out of the UK for years on a Tier-1 investor visa, designed for wealthy foreigners who invest at least £2 million in Britain. Abramovich, who is Russian Jewish, exercised his right under Israel's Law of Return, which states that Jews from anywhere in the world can become citizens of Israel. As an Israeli, Abramovich can now visit Britain visa-free but is not permitted to work or conduct business transactions. Abramovich owns the Varsano boutique hotel in the
Neve Tzedek Neve Tzedek ( he, נְוֵה צֶדֶק, נווה צדק, ''lit.'' Abode of Justice) is a neighborhood located in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first Judaism, Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city of the ancient port of ...
neighborhood of
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, Israel, which he bought for 100 million
NIS Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to: Places * Niš, a city in Serbia * Nis, Iran, a village * Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands Businesses and organizations * Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry o ...
in 2015 from Israeli actress and model
Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter sh ...
's husband Yaron Varsano and Varsano's brother Guy. In January 2020, Abramovich purchased a property in
Herzliya Pituah Herzliya Pituach ( he, הרצליה פיתוח) is an affluent beachfront neighbourhood in the western part of the city of Herzliya, Israel, in the Tel Aviv District. It has about 10,000 residents. Home to many wealthy Israelis, it is known for it ...
, Israel, for a record 226 million NIS. In 2015, Abramovich donated approximately $30m to
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
to establish an innovative Center for
Nanoscience The nanoscopic scale (or nanoscale) usually refers to structures with a length scale applicable to nanotechnology, usually cited as 1–100 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. The nanoscopic scale is (roughly speaking) a lo ...
and
Nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
, which aspires to become one of the leading facilities in the Middle East. Among Abramovich's other beneficiaries is the
Sheba Medical Center Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer ( he, המרכז הרפואי ע"ש חיים שיבא – תל השומר), also Tel HaShomer Hospital, is the largest hospital in Israel, located in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan at Tel HaShome ...
in
Tel HaShomer Tel HaShomer ( he, תֵּל הַשּׁוֹמֵר, ''lit.'' Hill of the Guardsman) or Kiryat Krinitzi is a neighborhood in Ramat Gan, Israel. It is bordered to the north by Kiryat Ono, to the east by Yehud, and to the south by Or Yehuda. A major Isr ...
, Israel, to which he has donated in excess of $60m for various advanced medicine ventures. These include the establishment of a new nuclear medicine center spanning 2,000 sq.m., the Sheba Cancer and Cancer Research centers, the Pediatric Middle East Congenital Heart Center and the Sheba Heart Center. A donation that Abramovich made to Keren Kayemet LeIsrael-
Jewish National Fund Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subseq ...
(KKL-JNF) for a comprehensive forest rehabilitation program in the southern
Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...
desert, helps to combat the area's rising desertification and promotes increasing nature tourism to the area. Alongside his philanthropic activity, Abramovich has invested some $120m. in 20
Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...
start-ups ranging from medicine and renewable energy, to social media. Recently, due to the alarming increase in
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
cases in Israel, Abramovich gave
Sheba Hospital Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer ( he, המרכז הרפואי ע"ש חיים שיבא – תל השומר), also Tel HaShomer Hospital, is the largest hospital in Israel, located in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan at Tel HaShome ...
another donation for a new subterranean Intensive Care Unit, spanning 5,400 sq.m., to provide Israel with vital crisis response in times of national emergencies. Abramovich continuously contributes to
Jewish art Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not a faith-based religion, but an orthoprax and Ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, practic ...
and culture initiatives, such as the M.ART contemporary culture festival in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, Israel. Abramovich filed an application for a residence permit in the canton of Valais in July 2016, a tax-friendly home to successful businessmen, and planned to transfer his tax residency to the Swiss municipality. Valais authorities readily agreed to the request and transferred the application to the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration for approval. Once there, FedPol investigators expressed suspicions and opposed the request. As a result, Abramovich withdrew his application in June 2017. After a three-year legal saga, in 2021 Swiss authorities cleared Abramovich of any suspicion. In April 2021, Abramovich became a Portuguese citizen as part of the country's Nationality Act; his genealogy was vetted by experts who look for "evidence of interest in Sephardic ewishculture". Though ''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
'' noted that there is little known history of Sephardi Jews in Russia, Abramovich had donated money to projects honouring the legacy of Portuguese Sephardic Jews in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
, Germany. However, on 11 March 2022, the leader of the Jewish Community in
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, Rabbi Daniel Litvak, was arrested by Portuguese police at
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
airport amid allegations that certification of Sephardi Jewish origin had been issued corruptly in several cases.


Wealth

According to ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'', as of March 2016, Abramovich had a net worth of 7.6 
billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i.e ...
, ranking him as the 155th richest person in the world. Prior to the
2008 financial crisis 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
, he was considered to be the second richest person living within the United Kingdom. Early in 2009, ''The Times'' estimated that due to the global economic crisis he had lost £3 billion from his £11.7 billion wealth. In the summer of 2020, Abramovich sold the gold miner Highland Gold to Vladislav Sviblov. On 5 March 2021, ''Forbes'' listed his net worth at US$14.5 billion, ranking him 113 on the Billionaires 2020 ''Forbes'' list.


Wealth rankings


Charitable donations

Abramovich has reportedly donated more money to charity than any other living Russian. Between 2009 and 2013, Abramovich donated more than 2.5 billion to build schools, hospitals and infrastructure in Chukotka. Abramovich has reportedly spent approximately 1.5 bn on the Pole of Hope, his charity set up to help those in the Arctic region of Chukotka, where he was governor. In addition, Evraz Plc (EVR), the steelmaker partly owned by Abramovich, donated 164 million for social projects between 2010 through 2012, an amount that is excluded in Abramovich's 310 million donations during this period. Abramovich was recognized by the Forum for Jewish Culture and Religion for his contribution of more than $500 million to Jewish causes in Russia, the US, Britain, Portugal, Lithuania, Israel and elsewhere over the past 20 years. In June 2019, Abramovich donated $5 million to the
Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
, to support efforts to combat anti-Semitism globally. Abramovich decided to establish a forest of some 25,000 trees, in memory of Lithuania's Jews who perished in the Holocaust, plus a virtual memorial and tribute to Lithuanian Jewry. He also gave a substantial donation for the rehabilitation of the Jewish cemetery of Altona, now a neighborhood in the city of Hamburg. The project is carried out by B'nai B'rith International Portugal in partnership with Hamburg's Chabad. Abramovich donates money to the
Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
movement and along with Michael Kadoorie and Jacob Safra, is one of the main benefactors of the Portuguese Jewish community and of B'nai B'rith International Portugal. Abramovich funds an extended programme in Israel that brings Jewish and Arab children together in football coaching sessions. More than 1,000 Arab and Jewish children each year will be brought together through football, with Chelsea funding the expanded set-up and club staff training local coaches. The expanded Playing Fair, Leading Peace programme will break down barriers and combat discrimination by mixing communities in Israel. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Abramovich paid for National Health Service, NHS staff to stay at the Stamford Bridge Millennium Hotel.


Opposition to anti-semitism and hatred

During Abramovich's ownership of the club, Chelsea agreed to a three-year partnership with the Anti-Defamation League to expand their Center on Extremism. Abramovich faced antisemitic messages during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis. Kick It Out (organisation), Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett hailed Chelsea's stance on fighting anti-Semitism, pledging the anti-discrimination organisation will now look to follow the lead of the club. "Historically it's been alleged that Kick It Out was formed to fight racism against black players and coaches. We looked at our strategy and realised we weren't doing enough on anti-Semitism and we brought together a group of stakeholders with vast experience in this area." The Chelsea Foundation has launched a new program in partnership with the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation and the Israeli Football Association, introducing football sessions for Arab and Jewish children across Israel, a partnership that was developed following Chelsea Women's visit to Israel in 2019, during which the team took part in football and education workshops with Arab and Jewish girls, benefiting 1,000 children in the first year alone.


Properties

In 2009, he bought 16 Kensington Palace Gardens in London, a 15-bedroom mansion, for £90 million. For $74 million, Abramovich purchased four Upper East Side townhouses in Manhattan in New York City; 9, 11, 13, and 15 East 75th Street. These townhouses are planned to be combined into a megamansion that will measure 19,400 square feet, and it is estimated that renovation costs will be an additional $100 million.


Car Collection

Abramovich is a prolific collector of rare and expensive automobiles, and is a VIP client at both Bugatti and Pagani. The majority of his car collection is stored in Lausanne, Switzerland and is valued in excess of $45 million. The collection includes: * Pagani Zonda R * Pagani Huayra BC * Pagani Imola (#4 of 5) * Lamborghini Reventón * Maserati MC12 * Aston Martin Vulcan * Ferrari FXX-K #72 * Bugatti Veyron 16.4 * Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Sang Noir * Bugatti Chiron * Bugatti Chiron Sport * Bugatti Divo * Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Straßenversion


Yachts

Abramovich has become the world's greatest spender on luxury yachts, and always maintains a fleet of yachts which the media have called "Abramovich's Navy": ;Current boats * ''Eclipse (yacht), ''Eclipse'''' – Built in Germany by Blohm + Voss, she was launched in September 2009. Abramovich was due to take delivery of the yacht in December 2009, but was delayed for almost a year after extensive sea trials. The yacht's interior and exterior were designed by Terence Disdale. Eclipse is believed to have cost Abramovich around US$400 million and was the world's largest privately owned yacht until it was eclipsed in 2013 by the Azzam (yacht), ''Azzam''. The specification includes at least two swimming pools, a cinema, two helicopter landing-pads, several on-board tenders and a submarine that can be launched and dive to a depth of 160 ft. She is also equipped with armour plating surrounding the bridge and Abramovich's master suite, as well as bullet proof windows. * ''Solaris (yacht), Solaris'' * A 2022 ''Financial Times'' report linked Abramovich to the 67-meter yacht ''Garçon'', which is moored in Antigua. ;Former boats * Pelorus (yacht), ''Pelorus'' – Built by Lurssen for Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh in 2003, original owner of M/Y Coral Island and M/Y Sussurro, who received six offers to sell her before she was even completed. The Sheikh accepted the highest bid which was Abramovich. The interior was designed by Terence Disdale. The exterior was designed by Tim Heywood. Pelorus was refitted by Blohm + Voss in 2005 adding a new forward helipad and zero speed stabilizers. Given to Irina in 2009 as part of the divorce settlement; she was approached on David Geffen's behalf by broker Merle Wood, with Geffen paying US$300 million to take ownership in 2011. * '':de:Sussurro, Sussurro'' – Built by Feadship in 1998 for Sheikh Abdul Mohsen Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh. * ''Ecstasea'' – Largest Feadship built at launch in 2004 for Abramovich. She has a gas turbine alongside the conventional diesels which gives her high cruising speed. Abramovich sold the boat to the Al Nayhan family in 2009. * Le Grand Bleu (yacht), ''Le Grand Bleu'' – Formerly owned by John McCaw; Abramovich bought the expedition yacht in 2003 and had her completely refitted by Blohm + Voss, including a swim platform and sports dock. He presented her as a gift to his associate and friend Eugene Shvidler in June 2006. * Luna (yacht), ''Luna'' – Built by Lloyd Werft and delivered to Roman Abramovich in 2009 as an upgraded replacement for his Le Grand Bleu expedition yacht. Sold to close friend, Azerbaijani-born billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, in April 2014 for US$360m. Boasts a 1 million litre fuel tank, 7 engines outputting 15,000 hp propelling Luna to a maximum speed of 25 knots, 8 tenders, 15 cm ice-class steel hull and 10 VIP Cabins.


Aircraft

Abramovich owns a private Boeing 767, Boeing 767-33A/ER, registered in Aruba as P4-MES. It is known as ''The Bandit'' due to its livery. Originally the aircraft was ordered by Hawaiian Airlines but the order was cancelled and Abramovich bought it from Boeing. Abramovich had it refitted it to his own requirements by Andrew Winch, who designed the interior and exterior. The aircraft was estimated in 2016 to cost 300 million and its interior is reported to include a 30-seat dining room, a boardroom, master bedrooms, luxury bathrooms with showers, and a spacious living room. The aircraft has the same air missile avoidance system as Air Force One. In 2021 Abramovich exchanged the Boeing 767 for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.


Other interests and activities


Art

Abramovich sponsored an exhibition of photographs of Uzbekistan by renowned Soviet photographer Max Penson (1893–1959) which opened on 29 November 2006 at the Gilbert Collection at Somerset House in London. He previously funded the exhibition "Quiet Resistance: Russian Pictorial Photography 1900s–1930s" at the same gallery in 2005. Both exhibits were organized by the Moscow House of Photography. In May 2008, Abramovich emerged as a major buyer in the international art auction market. He purchased Francis Bacon (painter), Francis Bacon's ''Triptych, 1976, Triptych 1976'' for €61.4 million (US$86.3 million) (a record price for a post-war work of art) and Lucian Freud's ''Benefits Supervisor Sleeping'' for €23.9 million (US$33.6 million) (a record price for a work by a living artist). His former wife Dasha Zhukova manages the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Garage Center for Contemporary Culture – a gallery of contemporary art in Moscow that was initially housed in the historical Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage building by Konstantin Melnikov. The building, neglected for decades and partially taken apart by previous tenants, was restored in 2007–2008 and reopened to the public in September 2008. Speed and expense of restoration is credited to sponsorship by Abramovich.


New Year's Eve celebrations

In 2011, Abramovich hired the Red Hot Chili Peppers to perform at his estate in Baie de Gouverneur in St. Barth. The performance included a special appearance from Toots Hibbert. He reportedly spent £5 million on 300 guests, including George Lucas, Martha Stewart, Marc Jacobs, and Jimmy Buffett. In 2014, he hired English singer Robbie Williams to headline a New Year's dinner for
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
's "inner circle". The party took place in Moscow and appears to have been the inspiration for Williams' song "Party Like a Russian".


See also

*List of Jews in sports (non-players) * List of Russian people by net worth, List of Russian billionaires *
Russian oligarch Russian oligarchs (Russian language, Russian: олигархи, Romanization of Russian, romanized: ''oligarkhi'') are business oligarchs of the Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Priv ...
s * List of people and organizations sanctioned during the Russo-Ukrainian War * List of Jews born in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union#Business figures, List of Jews born in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union


References


Citations


Sources

*


Further reading

* * * *


External links


Abramovich's profile and assets on Russian Asset Tracker

Forbes: Roman Abramovich

''Roman Abramovich: Not Your Everyday Owner''
(Bleacher Report, 2010)

(2005) * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19438316 BBC Profile: Roman Abramovich] (31 August 2012)
The Main People in the Russian Art
(2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Abramovich, Roman Roman Abramovich, 1966 births Living people Russian football chairmen and investors Chelsea F.C. chairmen and investors Governors of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Jewish Russian politicians Third convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Politicians from Saratov Abramovich family Russian billionaires Russian expatriates in Israel Russian businesspeople in the oil industry Russian chief executives Russian emigrants to Israel Russian investors Russian Jews Israeli Jews Israeli investors Israeli billionaires Israeli businesspeople Israeli chief executives Portuguese billionaires Portuguese expatriates in Israel Portuguese businesspeople Portuguese chief executives Portuguese emigrants to Israel Portuguese Jews Yukos Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Naturalized citizens of Israel Naturalised citizens of Portugal Russian businesspeople in the United Kingdom Russian businesspeople in Israel Israeli expatriates in the United Kingdom Portuguese expatriates in the United Kingdom People named in the Paradise Papers Kutafin Moscow State Law University alumni Russian oligarchs Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions