Viktor Vekselberg - Business Empire

Business Empire

Victor Vekselberg was born in 1957 in Western Ukraine. He graduated from the Moscow Transportation Engineering Institute in 1979. In 1993, he became Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renova, one of Russia's most progressive investment and business development companies.

After working as an engineer in an obscure state lab for many years, Vekselberg moved to business in 1990. He rose to prominence after Boris Yeltsin's reelection in 1996 as co-owner and chairman of Tyumen Oil (TNK), one of Russia's largest oil and gas companies. He took a controlling interest in the company in 1997 and has subsequently developed a joint venture with BP. About the same time he co-founded SUAL Holding, later incorporated into RUSAL Company, which since grew to control Russia's largest aluminum business and is ranked first in the world. Later, he integrated those and other assets under the umbrella of Renova Group, delegating operating responsibilities to managers. Acting as a chairman of the executive board of TNK, he was instrumental in negotiating and establishing a 50–50 joint venture with British Petroleum in the largest private transaction in Russian history. He is currently a member of the board of directors and the vice-president of TNK-BP.

Vekselberg is now overseeing a vast restructuring of his assets: the division of property with partner Leonard Blavatnik, the merger of Renova's aluminium assets with those of Oleg Deripaska, and the integration of various electricity and telecommunications investment.

Viktor Vekselberg is often considered to be one of the remaining Russian oligarchs. His estimated net worth is $12.4 billion in 2012, and he is ranked as the 64th wealthiest person in the world.