ABRAMOVICH, Roman Arkadyevich
Businessman, former governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Area, 
Owner of Chelsea Football Club

Roman Abramovich (Роман Аркадьевич Абрамович) was born on October 24, 1966 in the city of Saratov. Orphaned as  a  young child, Ambramovich was raised by an uncle in the city of Ukhta in the Republic of Komi, then lived with the family of another uncle in Moscow. He dropped out of his studies at Moscow Vehicle Transport Institute and served in the army before turning his hand to business.

Abramovich is the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC. The Forbes list of the world’s richest men published in March 2010 ranked him the third richest man in Russia and fiftieth richest man in the world, with an estimated fortune of $11.2 billion. Having established a network of smaller companies including Uyut and Petroltrans in the early 1990s, in 1996 he took over oil company Sibneft with Boris Berezovsky under the controversial loans-for-shares program. He subsequently acquired a stake in aluminium company Rusal following a prolonged battle for the control of Russia’s aluminium industry, which left many businessmen, journalists and factory workers dead. Abramovich and Berezovsky subsequently parted company, with Berezovsky alleging that Abramovich intimidated him into selling his stake in Sibneft and Rusal for well below the market value.
 
In July 2003 Abramovich bought London-based Chelsea Football Club and began investing in it heavily. He appointed high-profile manager Jose Mourinho and signed a number of players for record breaking sums, including Ukrainian striker Andrei Shevchenko. Since Abramovich took over, the club has won six major trophies including the Premier League title and the League Cup and the FA Cup twice.  Abramovich is also credited with influencing manager Guus Hiddink to coach the Russian national team, after he was temporary manager of Chelsea for the final months of the 2008-2009 season. Abramovich also sponsors the National Academy of Football in Russia, a foundation which sponsors youth sports programs throughout Russia.

In 1999 Abramovich was elected to the State Duma as a representative for the Chukotka Autonomous Area. The following year he was elected governor of the region. Despite rarely visiting Chukotka during his time as governor, Abramovich poured millions of dollars into the region, improving living standards and education and attracting investment. He also founded the Pole of Hope charity that sends Chukotka children to summer camps and aids in food deliveries to remote areas of the region. Although he earlier expressed an interest in politics, Abramovich remains friendly with the Kremlin and appears to have no political ambition beyond his governorship. He was succeeded as governor of Chukotka by Roman Kopin in 2008.  

Abramovich divorced his second wife, Irina Malandina, in 2007. The couple have five children together. Since their divorced in 2007 Abramovich has had another child, Aaron Alexander, with model, it-girl and gallery manager, Dasha Zhukova. Since his most recent divorce, Abramovich has also emerged as a major buyer in the international art market, purchasing Francis Bacon’s “Triptych” and Lucian Freud’s “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping.” He is also believed to be behind the restoration of the Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage in Moscow, which houses a gallery of modern art managed by Zhukova.

Recompense for Talent (10/06/2009, Albina Kovalyova)

Mission Accomplished (07/03/2008, Sergei Balashov)

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