Alisher Usmanov Net Worth: $18 Billion
Category: Richest Business › Richest Billionaires
Birthdate: September 9, 1953 (70 years old)
Birthplace: Chust, Uzbekistan
Gender: Male
Profession: Businessperson, Investor
Nationality: Russia
Alisher Usmanov is an Uzbek-born Russian businessman with a net worth of $18 billion. Usmanov has amassed his wealth through mining, lumber, and various other investments. He is the majority shareholder of the Russian industrial conglomerate Metalloinvest, which he founded to manage Gazprom’s metals interests. Usmanov’s business interests span precious metals, iron ore, steel, natural gas, and media companies. He served as chairman of Gazprom Investholding from 2000 to 2014, overseeing Gazprom’s most challenging financial transactions. Usmanov was also a major shareholder in London’s Arsenal Football Club until he sold his 30% stake for close to $700 million in 2018.
Early Life
Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov was born on September 9, 1953, in Chust, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union. He grew up in Tashkent, where his father worked as a state prosecutor. Usmanov moved to Moscow to pursue a diplomatic career and attended the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, graduating with a degree in international law in 1976. He later worked as the director of the Foreign Economic Association of the Soviet Peace Committee.
Career
Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Usmanov became a millionaire by forming Agroplast, a company producing plastic bags. He held various executive positions in the 1990s, including Deputy General Director of Intercross JSC and head of Interfin Interbank Investment and Finance Company. He also served as First Deputy Chairman of MAPO-Bank and adviser to Moscow Aviation Industrial Enterprise’s General Director.
In the late 1990s, Usmanov became General Director of Gazprom Investholding, a position he held until 2014. He acquired stakes in several Australian mining companies through USM Holdings, which also invested $100 million in the esports organization Virtus Pro in 2015. In 2021, Metalloinvest and USM announced plans to build one of the world’s largest HBI plants in Russia.
Usmanov invested $200 million in Facebook in 2009, making approximately $1 billion when he sold his stakes in 2012. He has also invested in Apple, Airbnb, Groupon, and Alibaba. In 2006, he purchased the newspaper “Kommersant” for $200 million and acquired stakes in Russian sports and music channels.
Personal Life
In 1980, Usmanov was convicted of corruption, fraud, and theft of state property, resulting in an eight-year prison sentence, though he was released after six years. His conviction was vacated in 2000 by the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan. Usmanov is Muslim and married Irina Viner, a Jewish rhythmic gymnastics coach, in 1992. He adopted her son, Anton, who is a real estate investor.
Usmanov has owned two luxury yachts named Dilbar, paying $250 million for the first in 2008 and $800 million for the second in 2015. The second Dilbar was seized by German authorities in March 2022 due to sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Philanthropy
Usmanov has donated more than £4 billion to charity over the past two decades and was named “Philanthropist of the Year” by the Russian version of “Forbes” in 2012. He established the Art, Science and Sport Charity Fund in 2006. He has served as a trustee for various educational and geographical societies and has been honored with numerous awards, including the Medal of Honor of Russia and the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
Real Estate
Usmanov owns several properties on the island of Sardinia, one of which was seized by Italian police in March 2022. He also owned an £82 million London home and a mansion in Surrey, which were transferred into irrevocable trusts in 2006.
