From rags to riches… to fleeing Western sanctions: How Roman Abramovich went from a penniless orphan to a billionaire oligarch recommending Putin for president
- Roman Abramovich yesterday sensationally confirmed his beloved Chelsea football club is up for sale
- It came as UK and other countries announced crackdowns on Russian oligarchs following invasion of Ukraine
- The businessman, 55, had a remarkable rise to make his billions, having been born penniless in Saratov
- Both his parents died when he was young, so he lived with other relative near Moscow from a young age
- He first starting making money flogging plastic dolls on a market stall after dropping out of two colleges
- His first move into making serious money came during the Soviet perestroika – meaning openness – reforms
- It was after that he become close with key Russian figures and would eventually become an adviser to Putin
He is best known in Britain for being the secretive Chelsea FC owner who would while away the hours cheering on his superstars at Stamford Bridge.
But Roman Abramovich, who yesterday sensationally confirmed his beloved football club is up for sale, has a checkered history as Russian oligarch and alleged crony of President Vladimir Putin, who last week launched a brutal invasion on Ukraine that has so far killed thousands.
The billionaire has been embroiled in court battles throughout the last 20 years, including allegations of blackmail (a London court dismissed the case against him in 2012), bribery (he admitted to paying out billions for political favours in 2008) and unproven accusations loan fraud.
Now his name is among those the British government is being urged to sanction.
He has also been questioned over his links to the Russian president, with him last year denying in court he was Putin’s ‘cashier’ in the West – but is still seen as one of his ‘enablers’. He is said to have been the first person to recommend Putin for president to Boris Yeltsin, before Putin assumed office in 2000.
Until recently he had mostly lived his hugely privileged life in peace, either onboard his superyachts, in his mansions or on one of the private jets that make up his £8.4billion empire. He has also found time to create a large family, including seven children – Ilya, Arina, Sofia, Arkadiy, Anna, Aaron and Leah – from two of his three ex-wives.
But he has now found himself in a scramble to sell assets before they are frozen after Putin invaded Ukraine, which swiftly brought calls – so far unheeded – for Abramovich to be sanctioned and have his west London football team stripped from him.
The businessman, 55, had a remarkable rise to make his billions, having been born penniless in Saratov, south west Russia. Both his parents died when he was young, and he was instead raised by his grandparents in Komi, Siberia, from the age of four. Both his grandparents Vasily and Faina, were from Ukraine and fled during the war.
His mother, Irina, died at the age of 28 from fatal blood poisoning shortly after Abramovich was born after she fell pregnant again. His father Arkady threw himself into work, with his young son going to live with his grandparents.
But in May 1969, Arkady was crushed by a crane at a construction site. Both his legs were badly injured, and he died a few days after the accident. Soon after, Abramovich went to live with his uncle, 200 miles from Moscow.
Despite his early loss, the billionaire – who is Jewish and holds Russian, Israeli and Portuguese citizenship – had no complaints about his childhood when speaking about it in the past. ‘In your childhood, you can’t compare things: one eats carrots, one eats candy, both taste good. As a child you cannot tell the difference,’ he once said.
He is best known in Britain for being the secretive Chelsea FC owner who would while away the hours cheering on his superstars at Stamford Bridge. But Roman Abramovich, who yesterday sensationally confirmed his beloved football club is up for sale, has a checkered history as Russian oligarch and alleged crony of President Vladimir Putin (pictured together in 2016)
Left: Roman Abramovich as a Soviet Union Army’s conscript. RightP Abramovich aged 1, with a female friend of a his family
Pictured: A 15-year-old Roman Abramovich is shown (centre) with two female friends in Ukhta, Russia
Roman Abramovich pictured marrying his first wife Olga in Moscow, Russia
Abramovich first starting making money flogging plastic dolls on a market stall after dropping out of two colleges in the late 1980s. According to a biography Roman Abramovich: The Billionaire, he still employs a woman who worked for him back then. He went on to sell rubber ducks from his Moscow apartment.
In 1987 after Abramovich served brief stint in the Soviet army, the parents of his first wife Olga Lysova gave the Russian 2,000 rubles as a wedding present. This allowed him to expand the range of products he sold to deodorants and perfumes.
His first move into making serious money came during the perestroika – meaning openness – reforms as the Soviet Union started to wind down under Mikhail Gorbachev. The changes loosened the regime’s grip on businesses, meaning oligarchs could rise by making their firms legal and buy up state-owned companies.
Abramovich has been accused of using ruthless determination to become one of the richest men in the world before he was 40. He was arrested in 1992, having allegedly used false documents to get 55 tankers of diesel, before the charges were dropped.
He said of the incident in 2011: ‘I have never falsified any documents. None of the people close to me has ever faked a document.’
He added: ‘If backdating documents is something that is not very ethical, then perhaps we could be accused of that. This practice existed in Russia and, for sure, we must have done it. In the course of this case we say that certain documents have been signed two days early, or not.’
His fortune boomed when he linked up with Boris Berezovsky, who run the national car dealer firm Lada, but who was also close with President Boris Yeltsin. It gave the rising businessman key access, which was pivotal to making huge sums in post-Soviet Russia, and he even lived in a flat in the Kremlin.
It is even said that Abramovich was the man who first recommended Vladimir Putin to Yeltsin as his successor as Russia’s president. When Putin first formed his cabinet as Prime Minister in 1999, Abramovich interviewed all the candidates before they were given approval.
Roman Abramovich with one of his first business partners Vladimir Tyurin in Russia. He would go on to become one of Russia’s richest men, and a close ally of Vladimir Putin
Roman Abramovich (first from the left) as a young man with school friends in Moscow, Russia
Roman Abramovich (circled) as a teenager with friends in Ukhta, Russia
Pictured: Roman Abramovich with Chelsea football players John Terry (left), Frank Lampard (second-right) and Eidur Gudjohnsen (right) as they celebrate winning the Premier League in 2005
In the following years, he would remain one of Putin’s closest allies, and in 2007, Putin consulted with Abramovich on who should be his own successor. Dmitry Medvedev – who served as president from 2008 to 2012 before Putin returned to the role – was also personally recommended by Abramovich.
When the USSR’s industry was carved up at the top table, Abramovich was there to make his first few billions – mainly by buying up oil company Sibneft.
Berezovsky and Abramovich purchased the firm for just £100million using the controversial loans-for-shares program – when it was estimated to be worth around £600million.
It was the starting blocks for the tycoon’s huge wealth, with him raking back around £1.8billion from the sale of Sibneft.
The bulk of Abramovich’s UK wealth is to be found in Evraz, a steel and mining giant listed on the London stock market, which he is the largest shareholder.
Aside from business, Abramovich also worked in politics, becoming the governor of the far eastern Chukotka region in 2000 – after winning 92 per-cent of the vote – and pumped £180million into it.
He first came on the radar to ordinary Britons when he bought Chelsea football club in 2003, and put enough money on the table to help them compete.
He transformed the team from outside challengers to a Premier League giant with the help of Jose Mourinho and huge signings such as Didier Drogba.
As well as his huge property portfolio, he also owns a series of superyachts, including the £450million Solaris (pictured), which has a missile detection system
Roman Abramovich’s Yacht ‘Eclipse’is pictured off Portofino in Italy on September 2, 2013
The Russian billionaire, 54, reportedly boasts a British property empire that includes a 15-bedroom mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens (pictured) that is believed to be now worth £125 million
An anti-oligarch activist puts a ‘blue plaque’ on the Kensington home of Roman Abramovich in Kensington, London
The billionaire Chelsea owner has faced renewed focus on his business activities in recent days but has always denied any wrongdoing or grounds for him to be sanctioned.
The billionaire is said to have not been seen at his Premier League football club’s south-west London home, Stamford Bridge, for months. Above: The oligarch celebrates with the Club World Cup that was won by his side in Abu Dhabi earlier this month
Mr Abramovich has an estimated wealth of £8.4billion.
As well as his huge property portfolio, he also owns a series of superyachts, including the £450million Solaris, which has a missile detection system.
Mr Abramovich has never held UK citizenship and made his money selling assets purchased from the state when the Soviet Union broke up.
He arrived at Chelsea in 2003 and transformed the team from outside challengers to a Premier League giant with the help of Jose Mourinho.
The bulk of Abramovich’s UK wealth is to be found in Evraz, a steel and mining giant listed on the London stock market.
Despite being highly secretive and preferring a life out of the spotlight, the billionaire has still led a glitzy lifestyle, with superyachts and private planes aplenty.
His two jets, which have two pilots reportedly on £160,000 a year, are personalised inside with a study and supposedly a bedroom with a mirror on the ceiling.
Once asked if the mirror helped improve his sex life, Abramovich replied: ‘No, but it does allow me to shave in bed.’
He also had three Eurocopter helicopters, two of them that were based in England, which meant he could avoid congestion in London. The helicopter pilots were also reportedly paid around £90,000 per year.
The billionaire is said to be less keen on road travel, but still boasted a range of stunning cars including a Ferrari, two Maybach limos, a Porche and a Rolls-Royce.
Meanwhile his property portfolio was also extensive – and expansive. In London, he created a five-storey town house in Belgravia by knocking six flats into one, making the house worth around £150million.
There was a £35million house in St Tropez, south of France, and he also owns homes in Russia, Sardinia, France, the West Indies and the US.
Abramovich lost a number of properties during his 2007 divorce from his second wife Irina, with whom he has five children.
She bagged a £30million home on the Riviera called Chateau de la Croe as well as an estate in Sussex called Fyning Hill, which Abramovich had bought for £18million.
Abramovich lost a number of properties during his 2007 divorce from his second wife Irina, with whom he has five children including Sofia (pictured)
Chelsea’s billionaire owner Roman Abramovich ‘has been effectively BARRED from living in Britain’
Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich is reported to have been effectively barred from living in Britain ever again.
The billionaire has not been seen at his Premier League football club’s south-west London home, Stamford Bridge, for months.
He withdrew his application for a British Tier 1 investor visa in 2018, after reported delays in his application following criticism of Russian oligarchs in the wake of the Salisbury poisonings.
According to The Sun, senior security sources now say it is unlikely that the 55-year-old will ever be allowed to live in Britain again.
Immigration officials are reportedly under instructions to make it impossible for Mr Abramovich – who owns a £125million mansion near Kensington Palace – to base himself in the UK.
His case is said to be being handled by the Home Office’s ‘Special Cases Unit’.
It comes after Mr Abramovich was named by MPs on Tuesday as being one of 35 oligarchs identified by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as one of the ‘key enablers’ of the ‘kleptocracy’ run by the country’s president Vladimir Putin.
He vehemently denies he is close to the Kremlin or has done anything that would merit sanctions being imposed against him – as Britain looked to impose sanctions on Russia amid rising tensions with Ukraine.
She fared better than his first wife, Olga, who he married when he was still a penniless student back in the Soviet Union.
When Abramovich, then 20, spotted Olga, a 23-year-old daughter of a high-ranking government diplomat, across a crowded restaurant in Ukhta in Russia’s Komi Republic in 1987, he was shy.
Afraid Olga would reject him, he sent a friend over to ask the geology student to dance. They later married and went on to share a one-bed flat in a tower block with Olga’s daughter Nastya – from a previous relationship.
But when Olga’s marriage to Abramovich ended in 1989 – amid him working long hours to make his fortune – he gave her only enough money to live on for two years.
He rented another flat for her further out of Moscow, but on the understanding she and her daughter would later move back into the flat on Tsvetnoi Boulevard because Olga wanted Nastya to attend a better school near there.
Abramovich soon shacked up with Irina, a London-based former Aeroflot stewardess who wed the Russian tycoon in 1991 as the USSR crumbled.
The then Ms Malandina met him when the Chelsea owner travelled on an Aeroflot plane when she worked as a flight attendant. Her father had died when she was two, and she grew up in poverty in the Soviet era.
During their marriage he switched from being a powerful but reclusive figure in Russia’s post-Soviet rollercoaster business and political world to becoming a household name in the West as owner of the London football club.
Their life together was compared to living in a ‘gilded cage’ with security guards who formerly worked for Russian and British intelligence.
They parted on good terms in 2007 – with their divorce settlement a closely guarded secret but thought to be £150million – and did not speak ill of each other.
Abramovich married his third wife, the magazine editor Dasha Zhukova, in 2008 but they divorced in 2017 and she is now with billionaire shipping heir Stavros Niarchos.
Dasha had son Aaron Alexander and daughter Leah Lou with her ex-husband and said they were committed to jointly raising their children together.
Court documents filed in New York showed Abrahmovich and Zhukova finalising their divorced in 2017 showed the settlement included over £90million worth of property to Dasha – including a Manhattan mansion. More recently he has been romantically linked to ballerina Diana Vishneva.
Abramovich soon shacked up with Irina (pictured), a London-based former Aeroflot stewardess who wed the Russian tycoon in 1991 as the USSR crumbled
Left: Abramovich has been married three times, most recently to magazine editor Dasha Zhukova between 2008 and 2017, and has seven children. Right: More recently he has been romantically linked to ballerina Diana Vishneva (pictured on stage as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet Kirov Ballet at the Coliseum)
During his marriages Abramovich also had to fight off a number of controversies that threatened to bring him down.
In 2011 the High Court heard he had used well-connected oligarch Boris Berezovsky as his ‘political godfather’ to help him conduct business deals in a country where police were ‘corrupt’ and courts ‘open to manipulation’.
The court heard the Chelsea owner believed it was his ‘moral obligation’ to hand Mr Berezovsky £1.3billion to fund his lavish lifestyle.
He gave his former friend the cash because he felt it was part of the ‘code of honour’ that had replaced the rule of law in Russia after the collapse of communism, it was alleged. But Abramovich won the case in 2012.
The judge said the claimant was ‘an unimpressive, and inherently unreliable, witness, who regarded truth as a transitory, flexible concept, which could be moulded to suit his current purposes’.
Meanwhile in 2008 he was accused of bribery, with court papers reportedly showing he admitted paying billions for political favours and protection fees for shares of Russia’s oil and aluminium assets.
There was also a claim in Switzerland he had links through a former firm to using a multi-billion pound loan from the IMF as a slush fund.
In 2005, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said it would suing him for £9million but he said the loan had already been paid back.
More recently, Abramovich has been linked to controversial Israeli settler organisations. A BBC probe found the businessman controlled companies that donated around £74million to Elad in Jerusalem.
In 2011 the High Court heard he had used well-connected oligarch Boris Berezovsky (pictured in 2012) as his ‘political godfather’ to help him conduct business deals in a country where police were ‘corrupt’ and courts ‘open to manipulation’
But today’s debate raging over whether to sanction the tycoon is the most severe pressure he has come under, with him last night handing over Chelsea FC to the trustees of the club’s charitable foundation.
In a statement posted on its website just before 7pm he said: ‘During my nearly 20-year ownership of Chelsea FC, I have always viewed my role as a custodian of the Club, whose job it is ensuring that we are as successful as we can be today, as well as build for the future, while also playing a positive role in our communities.
‘I have always taken decisions with the Club’s best interest at heart. I remain committed to these values. That is why I am today giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC.’
He added: ‘I believe that currently they are in the best position to look after the interests of the Club, players, staff, and fans.’
The trustees of the Chelsea Foundations are Bruce Buck, John Devine, Emma Hayes, Piara Powar, Seb Coe and Hugh Roberston.
His move came after Parliament was told he had been named as a person of interest in 2019 because of alleged links to the Russian state and alleged ‘association with corrupt activity and practices’.
And on Friday night it was claimed any attempts to place sanctions upon him could have been disastrous for the club.
The Times reported if that did happen it could have prompted him to ask Chelsea to pay him back £1.5billion it owes him.
Liverpool University football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire said: ‘If he feels he is being made a scapegoat for the activities of Putin then the worst-case scenario is he tries to call in the loan.
‘Then we’ve got a crisis. He and Putin could argue that it is the British government that has destroyed Chelsea Football Club.
‘There could be a lot of misrepresentation and accusations made from all parties if the British government does go down this route.
‘But I suspect this government will not want to upset football fans as we have a populist government. I suspect Chelsea’s legal team would be going through all the options.’
The billionaire was named in papers leaked to an MP yesterday that linked him to Vladimir Putin’s regime and ‘public association with corrupt activity and practices’.
The release of the Home Office document led to calls for him to be stripped of his right to own a football club in Britain.
Downing Street did not name him among those to be punished in the wake of Putin’s strike against Kyiv, instead naming five senior Russia-based cronies of the regime.
But he has been affected nonetheless, via turmoil created in global markets. Shares in mining firms Evraz and Polymetal International fell by between a quarter and a third.
Abramovich is Evraz’s largest shareholder and its shares tumbled to close 30 per cent down on the day – wiping nearly £300 million off his holding.
He has faced renewed focus on his business activities in recent days but has always denied any wrongdoing or grounds for him to be sanctioned.
Labour MP Chris Bryant used parliamentary privilege to share a leaked Home Office document in the Commons.
Chelsea FC has released a short statement addressing Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. General view of Stamford Bridge
He said the document was from 2019, and questioned why no action had yet been taken against the 55-year-old based on its warnings.
At business questions this morning the Rhondda MP and former minister said: ‘I have got hold of a leaked document from 2019 from the Home Office which says in relation to Mr Abramovich – ”As part of HMG’s Russia strategy aimed at targeting illicit finance and malign activity, Abramovich remains of interest to HMG due to his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices.
”An example of this is Abramovich admitting in court proceedings that he paid for political influence.
”Therefore HMG is focused on ensuring that individuals linked to to illicit finance and malign activity are unable to base themselves in the UK and will use the relevant tools at its disposal, including immigration powers to prevent this”.
‘That is nearly three years ago and yet remarkably little has been done in relation. Surely Mr Abramovich should no longer be able to own a football club in this country?
‘Surely we should be looking at seizing some of his assets including his £152million home? And making sure that other people who have had Tier 1 Visas like this are not engaged in malign activity?’
The billionaire has not been seen at his Premier League football club’s south-west London home, Stamford Bridge, for months.
He withdrew his application for a British Tier 1 investor visa in 2018, after reported delays in his application following criticism of Russian oligarchs in the wake of the Salisbury poisonings.
Downing Street would not be drawn on the claims about Roman Abramovich made in the Commons. The PM’s official spokesman said: ‘I couldn’t comment on individuals in that way or on leaked documents of that type.’
Roman Abramovich confirms £3bn Chelsea sale: Oligarch puts London club on the market as he seeks to distance himself from Putin and sanctions – pledging to donate any profits to the victims of Ukraine war in a bid to appease critics
Roman Abramovich sensationally confirmed that Chelsea is up for sale, with the Russian oligarch reportedly slapping a £3billion asking price on the London club while also writing off the £1.5billion debt he is owed from it.
In a surprise development just after 6pm, Russian Abramovich broke his silence to confirm he is in the process of selling Chelsea FC – with proceeds of the prospective sale to be donated to the victims of war in Ukraine.
MailOnline reported on Wednesday morning that the club had been put on the market, with a view to recouping at least £3billion, as Abramovich seeks to distance himself from Russian President Vladimir Putin and sanctions imposed on Russia by the west over its devastating and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement, Abramovich confirmed: ‘I would like to address the speculation in media over the past few days in relation to my ownership of Chelsea FC.
‘As I have stated before, I have always taken decisions with the Club’s best interest at heart. In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the Club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the Club, the fans, the employees, as well as the Club’s sponsors and partners.’
Abramovich said he will not be asking to be repaid £1.5billion in loans he has granted the club during 19 years of injecting cash to elevate the team into one of the most successful in Europe. ‘The sale of the Club will not be fast-tracked but will follow due process. I will not be asking for any loans to be repaid,’ he said.
‘This has never been about business nor money for me, but about pure passion for the game and Club. Moreover, I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated.
‘The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine. This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims, as well as supporting the long-term work of recovery.’
The speed of Abramovich’s pending exit from Chelsea is striking as he was trying to instigate a plan this past weekend to relinquish some control in order to keep the club under his ownership.
But as Russia’s war on Ukraine entered a seventh day, pressure was growing on the British government to include him among the wealthy Russians to be targeted in sanctions.
Earlier, it was reported that the billionaire had already begun a ‘fire sale’ of his sprawling London portfolio as he tries to offload Chelsea for £3billion and £200million worth of properties – with an MP claiming the Russian billionaire is acting quickly to stop his assets being frozen.
Labour’s Chris Bryant, using parliamentary privilege to avoid legal action, alleged the tycoon is selling his home and an apartment because he is ‘terrified of being sanctioned’, adding that he feared the government will soon run out of time to act.
Abramovich is worth £10.4bn ($12.5bn), according to Forbes, and owns a £150m Kensington mansion, a £22m penthouse, and more than £1.2bn of yachts, private jets, helicopters and supercars in Britain and globally.
Chelsea FC is his most valuable British asset, after the oligarch transformed its fortunes from outside challengers to Premier League giants with the help of Jose Mourinho and huge signings like Didier Drogba, so its sale will be a personal blow to the billionaire industrialist.
Abramovich is worth 10.4bn ($12.5bn), according to Forbes, and owns a £150m Kensington mansion, a £22m penthouse, and more than £1.2bn of yachts, private jets, helicopters and supercars based in Britain and around the world
Sources claim Abramovich believes Chelsea is worth north of £3bn – but the likelihood of receiving such offers appears small. Indeed, it seems inevitable that the Russian businessman will have to lower his expectations.
There is a sense that securing an American buyer might be the club’s best route towards a sale as investment from China, the Far East and Eastern Europe has dried up for clear political reasons.
Nevertheless, there has been strong indications that Abramovich will receive at least two firm offers for the club by the end of the week. The danger of a potential buy-out being wrecked by Abramovich being sanctioned by the UK government has added urgency to the situation.
Today, Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer pressed the Prime Minister on why Abramovich has not been sanctioned, claiming he had ‘links to the Russian state’ and ‘public association with corrupt activity and practices’.
Mr Johnson said it is not ‘appropriate’ for him to comment on individual cases. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has previously said she has a ‘hit list’ of oligarchs they are targeting, but has not named all of them.
Kremlin-linked billionaires are also facing fresh threats of asset seizures from the US, with Joe Biden using his State of the Union address to say America was coming to ‘seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets’.
Abramovich has never held UK citizenship, and made his fortune selling assets purchased from the state when the USSR broke up. He vehemently denies being close to the Kremlin or doing anything that would merit sanctions.
Immigration officials are reportedly under instructions to make it impossible for him to base himself in the UK. Scrutiny from MPs, and his status as the Britain’s best known Russian oligarch, makes him all the more vulnerable.
Abramovich has seven children from two of his ex-wives. The eldest, Anna, 29, is a Columbia University philosophy graduate who lives in New York, while Arkadiy, 27, is an industrial tycoon with substantial oil and gas investments.
Sofia, 26, lives in London and the ‘wild child’ ‘of the family, recently posted a message on Instagram attacking Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine. Less is known about Arina, 20, and Ilya, 18, or Aaron, 11 and Leah Lou, 7, who were both born in New York to his third wife, Dasha.
Abramovich’s current location is unknown, but he has recently been in Belarus ‘trying to help’ negotiate an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine following its illegal invasion of the country.
The conflict entered its seventh day today, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warning Russia was seeking to erase Ukraine and its people after officials said 2,000 civilians had been killed.
As pressure grows to punish anyone seen having aided Putin’s regime, here is a round-up of Abramovich’s assets in Britain, as well as yachts, cars and planes that are strewn across the world.
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