- Roman Abramovich studied oil and gas trading at Moscow’s Gubkin Institute of Oil and Gas
- His first job was as a street vendor, and his second was as a mechanic at a nearby manufacturing facility
- When he was in the military, Abramovich made his first foray into the commercial sector
- Abramovich says Chelsea owes him $2 billion (£1.5bn). After nearly 20 years of ownership, the Russian Oligarch recently announced he was handing over “the stewardship and care” of Chelsea FC.
The rags to riches story of Roman Abramovich, the billionaire businessman who owns Chelsea is nothing short of a fairy tale.
Abramovich, a Russian billionaire is currently the talk of the town over his bid to sell Chelsea FC for an estimated $4.1 billion (£3billion).
The sale comes amid a sustained Russia Ukraine crisis now on its seventh day. But, his rise to the top of the matrix is exhilarating.
Here is everything you need to know about the Russian oligarch.
HOW RICH IS ROMAN ABRAMOVICH?
Forbes estimates Abramovich’s wealth to be at least $12.4B. He is the 142nd wealthiest person in the world.
Roman Abramovich. Photo/Sky Sports
In addition to owning a boat worth more than $500 million, Abramovich has properties in the UK, France, the US, the Caribbean and Russia.
When he was in the military, Abramovich made his first foray into the commercial sector. His first job was as a street vendor, and his second was as a mechanic at a nearby manufacturing facility.
Before joining Runicom, Abramovich studied oil and gas trading at Moscow’s Gubkin Institute of Oil and Gas.
In 1988, as perestroika opened the Soviet Union up to privatization, Roman Abramovich was able to re-establish his former business as a legitimate entity.
HOW DID ROMAN ABRAMOVICH MAKE HIS MONEY?
He established a doll-making business together with his first wife Olga Yurevna Lysova. During the course of a few years, he amassed a fortune from oil companies to pig farms.
He later diversified his business interests to selling sugarcane, timber, and foodstuff. However, theft of government property case resulted in his arrest and imprisonment in 1992.
But, his journey to the billionaires club started when he met Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky. Berezovsky and Abramovich set up an offshore company called Runicom Ltd, together with five other companies.
Abramovich led the Moscow branch of the Swiss company, Runicom S.A. At a meeting in August 1995, Boris Yeltsin made Sibneft, which Abramovich and Berezovsky were thought to run.
The two Russian oligarchs bought a majority stake in Sibneft – an oil company – in 1995. The loan-for-shares program was contentious at the time as each partner paid $100 million for half of the company, above the stake’s stock market worth of $150 million at the time.
They quickly transformed the investment into billions of dollars. Due to its rapidly expanding market value, many observers now believe that the company should have cost billions of dollars (at the time, it was worth $2.7 billion).
Abramovich would later admit to paying millions of dollars in bribes to government officials and gangsters in order to acquire and defend his holdings.
A report by The Times stated that Badri Patarkatsishvili was involved in the purchase of Sibneft. In the year 2000, Sibneft produced oil worth $3 billion annually.
Next on Abramovich’s business hit list was the aluminium industry which he was hesitant to get into.
HOW MUCH DO CHELSEA OWE ROMAN ABRAMOVICH?
Abramovich says Chelsea owes him $2 billion (£1.5bn). After nearly 20 years of ownership, the Russian Oligarch recently announced he was handing over “the stewardship and care” of Chelsea FC.
He left it to the trustees of the soccer team’s charitable foundation. This follows the United Kingdom’s sanctions against Russia and its wealthy oligarchs over the invasion of Ukraine.
In 2003, the billionaire paid $190 million for Chelsea FC, which Forbes says is currently worth $3.2 billion.
In light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chris Bryant, a Member of Parliament argues that Abramovich should not be permitted to own a soccer team in Britain.
Other British MPs called for Abramovich to be sanctioned. When he recently announced handing over the club to trustees, he did not explain why he did so.
ESPN reports that Abramovich had the final say on important personnel decisions, but he hasn’t been involved in the day-to-day running of the team.
WHY IS CHELSEA BEING SOLD?
Roman Abramovich. Photo/The Pride of London
In the wake of listing Chelsea on the market this week, Roman Abramovich has reportedly encouraged interested parties to submit bids to buy the club.
At Stamford Bridge, the club’s 55-year-old manager is under pressure and anticipated to receive bids from interested parties this week.
Hansjorg Wyss, a wealthy Swiss businessman, is one of several interested parties.
With an American-based merchant bank claiming to be in control of the sale, potential purchasers are being approached by the Russian-born owner.
As Abramovich seeks a £4 billion sale of Chelsea, the club is yet to reply to reports that the club is for sale.
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