How did Mikhail Fridman get rich? Mikhail Fridman: biography, activities, family Figures and Facts

September 2001, "Bear-guts, Catcatcher"

Sergey Stepovoy

The secretary timidly entered the office, clutching an envelope to her chest with both hands.

- What? Did you bring it?

- For one trip, Mikhail Maratovich. As requested.

- Okay, leave it.

The secretary put the envelope on the edge of the table and quietly left.

The owner of the office took the envelope, opened it and turned it over in his hands for a long time, looking carefully at the ticket for one trip on the metro...

Mikhail Fridman has a lot in common with Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky. Although Friedman does not like both of them. He speaks disdainfully about the first one in private conversations: “Well, you goat, you missed it all.” He calls the second one even more briefly: “Pederast.”

Fridman began his career as an oligarch with the resale of theater tickets, like Gusinsky, and the carpet trade, like Berezovsky (Boris Abramovich in his youth dabbled in farce and was even detained at one of the airports with carpets. - “.!”).

The founding father of Alfa Group loves to mingle with bandits, as does the former head of Media-MOST. And he still retains a pathological craving for trading operations, as well as for cash, just like the former head of LogoVAZ. (After one of the receptions at LogoVAZ, Berezovsky ordered all the remnants of the buffet table to be taken to his dacha. Boris Abramovich invited Chernomyrdin and Rybkin and their wives to dinner. - “!”)

Today, Alfa Group is trying to become the heir to both “equidistant” oligarchs - to finance both NTV and Kremlin administration officials, along with State Duma deputies, combined.

In all the biographies of the head of Alfa Group, Mikhail Fridman, the same “gentlemanly” set of personal qualities of the oligarch is present. Greedy. Cowardly. He is vindictive. Suspicious. Doesn't trust anyone. Prone to depression and suicide. He never shows his bad condition in public.

But perhaps best of all, the character of Mikhail Fridman is characterized by the story that is included at the beginning of the note.

Last year, Fridman bet with Aven that he could travel one stop on the subway without security. I passed. And then he told everyone for a long time about how he traveled on the subway and how the passengers around him looked at him, clearly recognizing him.

When winning, show-off, or principle are at stake, Friedman will never back down.

Osya and Motya

Misha Friedman was born on April 21, 1964 in a real devout Jewish family. In Lviv. Misha was a late, and therefore loved and spoiled child.

The parents of the future oligarch lived very amicably. Both worked as engineers in the defense industry at “mailboxes”. Both were members of the CPSU, but at the same time maintained ties with the local Jewish community. Misha was forbidden to talk about this at school. They were not allowed to bring friends into the house. They were afraid of Jewish pogroms.

On important religious holidays, Misha's father forced him to wear a kippah. They wore kippahs only at home. By the way, Friedman still keeps his children's pile at home, carefully packed in a plastic bag.

At the age of six, Misha was circumcised. The circumcision was performed by a representative of the local community. After the operation, inflammation began. I had to send the boy to the hospital. Parents were very worried about this. Mainly because they might report it to work. However, everything worked out both medically and along party lines.
The operation left a deep mark on the boy’s soul. Friedman still doesn't like Orthodox Jews. He calls them “peace-faced.”

Today Friedman's parents live in Cologne. We left for Germany quite recently, almost the last of the entire local Jewish community.

Misha studied well at school. Always been fat. School nicknames: Zhirtrestbronsausage and Mishka-kishka, Koshkodav. Although Misha loved animals very much. I was only afraid of big dogs.

Mikhail Fridman is still worried about his obesity. At one time I even took Thai pills. I lost a little weight, but gained it back very quickly, and even to excess.

Two canaries lived in the Friedmans’ house: Osya and Motya. When Osya died, Misha cried for a long time, but did not tell anyone why he was suffering. Misha was a very sentimental boy. He hid his sensitivity behind ostentatious rudeness.

In the ninth grade, Misha fell deeply in love with his classmate Olya Karmel for the first time. The girl ignored his advances, after which Misha was going to commit suicide.

He climbed onto the roof of a five-story building with a pack of tazepam. I wanted to poison myself and then jump off the roof, but I didn’t dare. Two hours later, Misha, crying, was found on the roof by his mother and uncle. After this incident, Misha wrote poetry to Olya for some time:

And you walked, cutting the air with your hand. And you sang, shaking your head to the beat... Olya saved the poems of all her fans. Later she published the collection in the Lvov publishing house “3IB” (“Call.” - “!”). Misha's poems are signed as Mikhail Map. F.

The beautiful Olya became an actress. He is friends with Ingeborga Dapkunaite (“Intergirl”, “Burnt by the Sun.” - “!”). Recently Friedman invited Dapkunaite to a restaurant. During lunch, I asked her for a long time how Olya lived.

All the goats

Misha graduated from school with one B in Russian. I went to Moscow to study at MIPT. Missed one point. He blames the “peace-faced” for all his youthful failures.

In one of his interviews, Mikhail Fridman said that he graduated from school without a medal and did not enter the Physics and Technology Institute due to the “fifth column”.

Entered the Institute of Steel and Alloys (MISiS). He studied on the same course with the famous parodist Mikhail Grushevsky. The parodist jokes that when he came up to receive his student ID, the dean of the faculty looked at him and asked: “Friedman?” - “No, just Grushevsky.” “Well, that’s not bad either,” the professor agreed.

Misha has always been attracted to the bohemian circle. After entering MISiS, he tried to join the institute team of the Club of the Cheerful and Resourceful, but Friedman was not accepted into KVN. Misha was too uptight and afraid of the public. He joked according to the “goat himself” principle.

By the way, “goat” is still the most common word in Friedman’s vocabulary. "The President is an asshole." “Potanin is such a goat.” “Kasyanov - well, he’s still that goat”...

Mikhail lived in a student dormitory. My parents sent money, but not much. Mikhail fell in love with Moscow immediately. He tried to get married, but was not popular with Muscovites. He was assertive in his interactions with girls. He could approach any beauty for a bet. When they rejected him, he pretended that he didn’t care.

Mikhail married fellow student Maria from Voronezh, a neighbor in the dorm. At the wedding, Maria was already heavily pregnant. Friedman's parents did not approve of this marriage. Now his wife and two daughters, Katya and Laura, live in France.

They live in Paris. And in the summer - in St. Tropez, - says Mikhail Fridman. - My wife gave birth there, in France, for medical reasons: there is high-quality medicine there. Before the crisis, she and the children traveled back and forth, and after I left them there. My children are small, six years old and three. In Paris they go to an American school, where Americans and English teach. What I'm especially happy about is that they have 18 or 19 different nationalities in their school! I looked at a cool magazine: there are Japanese, Koreans, Americans, blacks, yellows, whites... My children feel very cosmopolitan. At school everything is in English, they play in the sandbox with French children, and the housekeeper is French, but with us, of course, in Russian. Three languages!

In fact, Friedman practically does not maintain contact with his wife. After the scandal with the wife of Alexei Mordashov (Mordashov’s wife sued the head of Severstal for the division of property. - “!”), Mikhail Fridman urgently increased the family’s allowance. Maria is a very shy and modest woman, she is not interested in Russian life.

Today Mikhail Fridman lives very secluded, alone, with a security guard. He doesn't invite anyone home. Heterosexual. Sometimes he orders a prostitute. Collects samurai swords. Lazy. Loves to eat.

Ticket to big business

While studying at MISiS, Mikhail developed another passion (besides bohemia) - a love of banknotes. It is impossible to find a person to whom Friedman ever lent money.

Mikhail combined both of his passions as a student - he was engaged in theatrical "crowbar". Simply put, he speculated on theater tickets. This is how he himself talks about it in an interview with Kommersant newspaper correspondent Igor Svinarenko:

I'm interested in the theater! I handled tickets for the best performances. Remember how it was? Students line up at the ticket office in the evening, and in the morning a crowd from the same university comes up and joins them at the front of the line.

- Were you standing in line all night?

- No! I coordinated. On Wednesdays I held meetings, determined and set tasks. It’s funny, but I still hold meetings on Wednesdays - you know, it’s become a habit since then.

- How were those tickets divided?

- The one who stood in line received one pair of tickets, and the other was due to me.

- Did you resell tickets?

- How can you! Of course not. I earned money differently - working as a loader in a store, and besides money, I also always had food at hand... And tickets were exchanged - for subscriptions, for coupons, which, in turn, were exchanged for Georgian wine from the VDNKh tasting room... and etc.

Mikhail Maratovich is a little modest. He sold tickets at a speculative price at the Bolshoi Theater. His place is the second column on the right, if you stand facing the theater.

Recently, Friedman even joked that someday a memorial plaque would be hung on this column. There, at the Bolshoi, Gusinsky, Vasiliev and Milyukov were selling tickets (Moscow Commodity Exchange - “!”).

But Mikhail Fridman did not work for long. Having organized the ticket business, he moved on to selling consumer goods. Fridman still boasts that in Soviet times he wore a blue Levi's for 200 rubles.

In his third year, Friedman tried his hand at producing - he organized an informal youth club “Strawberry Glade” in the MISiS dormitory. He held discos. He invited famous bards and underground musicians. After the concerts, Friedman personally handed the musicians envelopes containing their fees (20-30 rubles each).

At first, Mikhail Fridman’s business was built on the “buy and sell” principle, and the trading (trading and intermediary. - “!”) company “Alfa-Eco” (established on October 30, 1989 - “!”) for a long time was the head of the consortium “ Alpha Group".

By the way, Alfa-Eco sold handmade carpets, sugar, tea and cigarettes. In 1992, it joined the federal program for the export of oil and petroleum products for government needs. In 1994, Alfa-Eco's export volume for this item alone reached 10 million tons.

Reliable partner

Once asked if other oligarchs could say a kind word about him, Friedman replied: “Probably they could. Because they have a positive experience with me. I didn’t do anything bad to them.”

At least one of the oligarchs - the head of Impexbank, member of the Presidential Council of Entrepreneurs Oleg Kiselev - can say a lot of kind words about Mikhail Fridman.

Kiselev graduated from MISiS in 1977, then graduated from graduate school. He worked as deputy director of the Institute of Physical Chemistry, where Friedman was assigned (thanks to tickets. - “!”).
Fridman and Kiselev together established the Alfa Photo cooperative, which supplied computers. And Alfa-Photo, in turn, was one of the two founders of the Alfa-Eco JV, of which Kiselev became the director.

Three years later, in 1992, when the joint venture switched from carpets to oil, Fridman forced Kiselev out of business.
The main instrument of “pressure” was the leader of the Moskvoretskaya organized crime group, former boxer (participant of the Seoul Olympics. - “!”) Alexander Kurbatov - Kurbat. And the last straw is family drama.

At that moment Kiselev was having an affair with one of the Moscow beauties. He even bought her an apartment. When Kiselev, before breaking up with Friedman, raised the question of dividing property, Mishina’s prostitute friend called Kiselev’s wife and told everything about his affair. The family almost fell apart. Kiselev left Alpha, leaving the entire business to Friedman.

Today, Kiselev and Friedman often meet at various events with the president. Mikhail Maratovich calmly looks into the face of his former partner. He is confident that “everything turned out right with Oleg.”

Friedman is sincerely confident that he is smarter than everyone else. Indeed, he is smart, but all the smart thoughts that he expresses are necessarily saturated with vulgarity and cynicism.

He despises all his brothers in the oligarchic workshop. He calls Potanin a “fraud guy” or simply a “goat.” He considers him his main competitor. He doesn’t miss a single opportunity to annoy the head of Interros.

Gives everyone nicknames. He doesn't call anyone by name behind their backs. For some reason, the president is called hanurik in a narrow circle. Nemtsova - with a broom. Perhaps he only speaks respectfully about Chubais, because he is “ideological and loves money.”

Sweet deal

At the beginning of 1995, an intestinal epidemic occurred in a small Far Eastern town. After examining the patients, it turned out that the cause of the poisoning was opium, which was contained in granulated sugar. Sugar was sold at the local market.

Very quickly the police found out that the sugar sellers had stolen it from the railway. We also found out the details of the goods that were traveling from China to Moscow. And soon the Alfa-Eco office on Novy Arbat was blocked by officers from the Moscow City Police Department and riot police.

And here is how the APN website interprets these events:“With the assistance of Aven, Alfa-Eco, through a front Chinese company, entered into a contract for the supply of granulated sugar in bags from China using the Russian merchant fleet.

In bags on marked pallets, along with sugar, there were plastic bags with the drug. The unloading of sugar was carried out under the control of a Chechen group, and then it, along with drugs, was sent by railcars to recipients in central Russia.

The drugs were then seized and sent to Europe by couriers or through air bases supplying the West Coast with food.

The money from the operation went through Vienna to the accounts of Alfa-Eco, which made it possible to quite quickly strengthen the financial position of this structure.”

The story with drugs wanders from one article about Alfa Group to another. It was especially aggressively promoted during the period of Alpha’s struggle with Mikhail Cherny for Nizhnevartovsknefgegaz (the main production enterprise of TNK. - “!”).

Mikhail Fridman was suspected of dealing drugs during his student youth. Allegedly, at this time representatives of the “Bauman brigade” contacted Misha, who needed a reliable network of drug distributors.

In the second half of the 80s, the main consumer of dope was the artistic crowd. Misha with his “ticket” team and connections in the bohemian environment could come in handy. By the way, one of the reasons for Kiselev’s departure from Alfa-Eco is Friedman’s promiscuity in business (constant focus on adventure - “!”) and connections - the KGB, bandits, prostitutes, drug dealers...

They write very timidly about the beginning of Mikhail Fridman’s cooperation with the KGB in anti-Alfi materials: “I talked with the curator of MISiS through the KGB of the USSR, Yuri Mikhailovich Kitaev.” Although Friedman himself takes these conversations very calmly.

During his student years, Mikhail was absolutely loyal to the KGB and the special services.

I didn’t see anything wrong with supplying information that the authorities were interested in at the time. “These goats were not interested in any dissidents. I myself was a dissenter then. They were interested in drugs, antiques and connections with foreigners. How they bought our antiques and took them away.”

Even then, Friedman regarded his contacts with the KGB as a “cover” for blackmail. He considers everything that brings good money to be a good business. I am sure that business and morality are incompatible. In general, he believes that there is no morality in nature, it was invented for beautiful chatter. “Which laws in my coordinate system are good and which are bad - I know even without a state. Another thing is that I prefer to lead peaceful coexistence with the state, and in cases where its ideas about life coincide with mine, I can even support it.”

Buy Sell

At the end of May 1995, the President of Alfa Bank, Petr Aven, met in a strictly secret atmosphere with the Vice President of CS First Boston (CSFB) David Mulford.

From the moment of this meeting, Alfa Group began to gradually transform from a trading company with a semi-criminal image into an industrial corporation with a diversified business (the semi-criminal image, however, was preserved. - “!”). And Friedman from a “finger kid” to an oligarch.

“The problems for CSFB in Russia began after almost all the employees of the Russian subsidiary KS First Boston left it along with the head, Mr. Boris Jordan (this was reported by the Kommersant weekly in No. 20 of May 30, 1995). One of the largest Western investors in Russia lost his “eyes and ears” here.

Trying to quickly fill this gap, D. Mulford personally arrived in Moscow. The former US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury was faced with a very specific task: not just to make new appointments within one of the branches, but to find new partners and select a team that could adequately represent the company’s interests in the Russian market.

As Kommersant correspondents learned, during his visit, Mr. Mulford had a confidential meeting with Mr. Peter Aven, who is not unknown in Russia. According to our information, the negotiations were successful, the parties parted quite satisfied with each other and the results of the meeting, and it seems that Mr. P. Aven had more reasons for joy - such an offer is very tempting even for him (as, indeed, for “Alpha structures” closely associated with it, since it opens up good prospects for them). In any case, P. Aven does not hide his satisfaction and, as Kommersant learned from circles close to the president of Alfa Bank, in the presence of his entourage he declares that CSFB is “in his pocket”, since his candidacy strongly supported by D. Mulford.”

This is a quote from an article in the Kommersant newspaper. But the note itself never appeared, although it was already in the layout page.

It is not known for certain what the former Minister of Russia and the former Deputy Secretary of the US Treasury were talking about. However, after this meeting, things really took off for Alpha.

Alex Knaster moved to Alfa Bank from CSFB, after which the former cash settlement center of Friedman’s trading empire entered all government authorized lists.

Alfa Group, paired with the Renova company (reaching out to the leaders of the US Democratic Party - “!”) “won” the competition for the Tyumen Oil Company (TNK). It is unnecessary to remind how privatization competitions were “won” in Russia.

TNK, the only Russian oil company, received a loan ($0.5 billion - “!”) from the American EXIM Bank in the post-default period.

In addition, Alpha bought ONA-KO for $800 million. And today Potanin’s Interros is unceremoniously pushing out of SIDANCO and will soon, apparently, push out of RUSIA-Petroleum (Kovykta gas condensate field, about 2 trillion cubic meters of gas. - “!”)

At the same time, Potanin’s partner in SIDANKO and Kovykta, British Petroleum, turns a blind eye to Alpha’s antics. And he even encourages them, declaring that he is only interested in one strategic investor from the Russian side.

In order to get a normal price for SIDANCO from TNK, Potanin even had to resort to blackmail, threatening to collapse the international consortium that owns a blocking stake in Svyazinvest.

It is curious that with such expenses, Alpha’s appetite does not decrease. Today the group is fighting in several directions: for the NOSTA metallurgical plant, for Yugraneft, for the financial flows of Minatom, for Rospan International (560 billion cubic meters of gas), etc.

At the same time, Alpha always has $1 billion in its correspondent account in one of the Croatian banks.

Have you seen this?!

Simultaneously with the growth of the economic power of Alfa Group, Alfa’s political influence also grew at a parallel rate.

Today, the political potential of Alpha is difficult to overestimate. The Kremlin administration was occupied by the “alfistas” Surkov, Abramov and Popov. In the Duma under “Alpha”, according to various estimates, there are 40 “bears”, 30 “people’s deputies”, 15 farmers, 7 “Rosregionists”, 15 communists and at least 7 committees.

To be completely accurate, all this time the power and influence of Pyotr Aven (and not Fridman or “Alpha” - “!”), who today is already called the “new Berezovsky” and the “Kremlin puppeteer,” has been growing. After Peter Aven’s negotiations with Mulford, Mikhail Fridman, despite the fact that he owns approximately 70 percent of Alfa Group’s total assets, somehow stepped aside.

Friedman perked up only at the moment when Alpha set a course for the absorption of Media-MOST. Mikhail Maratovich was faced with the prospect of heading the Russian Jewish Congress (REC), one of the founders of which he had been one of the founders and permanent vice-president since its founding.

The post of president of the RJC gave Friedman a chance to equalize his influence in Alpha with the influence of Aven. Friedman did a lot to remove Gusinsky. He even began to negotiate with people who could influence the final resolution of the issue.

During the negotiations, Friedman was reminded of his contemptuous word “side-faced,” his reluctance to help the community with money, and his lack of faith. Friedman literally exploded: “What are you talking about? I'm circumcised. I suffered for so many years as a child because of this...”

One of those present jokingly expressed doubt that Friedman is circumcised. To which the latter shouted “Did you see this?!” presented material evidence to everyone present.

This story spread throughout Jewish Moscow. Friedman never became president of the RJC. The Congress was headed by Leonid Nevzlin from Yukos.

The failure with REC broke Friedman. They say that Mikhail Maratovich is going to sell his assets in Alpha. They even name the amount he is ready to be satisfied with - $3 billion.

Friedman likes to say that “you have to live where the money is”...

Fridman Mikhail Maratovich

Place of Birth. Lvov (Ukraine).

Education:
In 1986 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys.

Primary activity
Chairman of the board of directors of the Alfa Group consortium, vice-president of the Russian Jewish Congress.

Family status
Married. Two daughters - Katya and Laura. The wife came to Moscow from Irkutsk and studied with her future husband in the same course. In 2000, she graduated from design courses in Paris.

The main stages of the biography

In 1986-1988 - design engineer at the Elektrostal plant in Elektrostal, Moscow region.

In 1988, he organized the Courier cooperative, which specialized in window cleaning.

In 1983 he created the Alfa Photo company (sales of computers and copying equipment).

Since 1990 - founder of Apfa-Capital.

Since 1991 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfa Bank.

From 1995 to 1998 - member of the board of directors of CJSC Public Russian Television.

Since 1996 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alfa Group consortium.

Since January 1996 - founder and Vice-President of the Russian Jewish Congress (REC), head of the RJC Culture Committee.

Since 1996 - member of the board of directors of OJSC Oil Company SIDANCO.

Since October 1996 - member of the Council on Banking Activities under the Government of the Russian Federation.

In 1998, after the merger of Alfa Bank and Alfa Capital, he became chairman of the board of directors of Alfa Bank.

In September 1998, he stated that the Russian banking system would survive if a “narrow circle” of 5-6 banking institutions was formed and the expansion of foreign banks was limited.

Since 1998 - member of the board of directors of CJSC Trading House Perekrestok.

In February 2001, he was included in the Entrepreneurship Council under the Government of the Russian Federation.

In the summer of 2001, he was included in the list of the richest people on the planet compiled by Forbes magazine. According to the magazine, Friedman owns $1.3 billion.

Mr. Friedman is a member of the Supervisory Board of VEON Ltd. (until March 30, 2017, the name of the Company was VimpelCom Ltd.), member of the Supervisory Board of X5 Retail Group N.V.

In December 2009, the business newspaper Vedomosti named Mikhail Fridman “Businessman of 2009.” Thus, journalists noted the successes of Alfa-Bank during the financial and economic crisis.

In June 2007, Mikhail Fridman and Alfa-Bank President Petr Aven were awarded for “Creating a successful Russian brand” and were awarded the title of Full Members of the International Brand Academy for their outstanding contribution to the development of society. The Academy noted that the Alfa-Bank brand is one of the oldest national trademarks. Alfa-Bank was the only bank awarded the “Best Russian Brands” award.

In September 2006, Mikhail Fridman was recognized as “Businessman of the Year - 2006” according to the results of the annual national award “GQ Person of the Year”, organized by GQ magazine. This award is considered prestigious and one of the most objective in the world, since the winners are selected exclusively by voting by the magazine's readers.

In November 2004, Mikhail Fridman became the winner of the Darin Prize in the Grand Prix category of the Russian Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship for his outstanding personal contribution to the development of domestic business and entrepreneurship.

In August 2004, Fortune magazine included Mikhail Fridman in the list of the 25 most influential businessmen in Europe.

According to the Institute of Economic Strategies, compiled in June 2004, Mikhail Fridman and the Alfa Group consortium took 1st place in the ratings of “100 most strategic managers” and “100 most strategic companies” with the highest AAA rating status and the maximum overall level of strategicity 88 ,0.

In April 2004, the Financial Times newspaper (04/20/2004) named Mikhail Fridman one of the 25 business leaders of the new Europe. The Financial Times gave Mikhail Fridman credit for the 2003 deal to sell TNK shares to BP and noted its “creativity.”

In December 2003, according to the Vedomosti newspaper, Mikhail Fridman received the title “Entrepreneur of the Year”. The key factors that determined the awarding of the title were two successful transactions carried out in 2003 - the creation of the united company TNK-BP and the acquisition by Alfa Group of a blocking stake in OJSC Megafon.

In July 2003, Mikhail Fridman was included in the list of 25 most outstanding managers, entrepreneurs, innovators and financiers in Europe, compiled by Business Week magazine (07/07/2003). According to Business Week, the deal between TNK and BP served as a reason for highly assessing the activities of Mikhail Fridman in 2003.

In May 2003, Mikhail Fridman received the “Golden Dish” award from the American Academy of Achievement in Washington (USA). This award is awarded to famous politicians, business, economic, cultural and artistic figures from different countries who have become an example for young people around the world.
In June 2002, Mikhail Fridman topped the list of heads of cross-industry groups in the ranking of the 1000 most professional managers in Russia (Association of Managers, Kommersant Publishing House).

In December 2001, Mikhail Fridman topped the rating of the 1000 most professional managers in Russia (Association of Managers, Kommersant Publishing House). Also, according to the Vedomosti newspaper, Mikhail Fridman was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year 2001 for the most effective business management.

He is a member of the Bureau and the Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers), and oversees the issue of judicial reform. He is a member of the National Council for Corporate Governance, an advisory body that unites the heads of the largest Russian companies and federal authorities. Member of the International Advisory Council on Foreign Relations (USA).

Born in Lvov (Ukraine) in 1964. Graduated from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys in 1986.

Mikhail Fridman started his business back in the late 80s, long before the era of privatization. He is one of the few who not only preserved it during the 25 years of “perestroika”, but turned it into the largest financial and industrial group significant for the Russian economy.

 

Mikhail Fridman is a Russian businessman, ranked second in the Russian Forbes ranking of billionaires in 2016. His fortune is estimated at $13.3 billion. He is number 63 on the Forbes world list.

• Place and date of birth. April 21, 1964, Lvov
• Education. 1986, Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys
• Capital. The main shareholder of the Alfa Group consortium, which includes in Russia: Alfa-Bank, the chain of food stores X 5 Retail Group (Pyaterochka, Perekrestok), Rosvodokanal, investment company A 1. Owns a controlling stake in the international group LetterOne Holdings.

Mikhail Fridman is a private person, distinctly far from politics. He gives few interviews, does not appear on screens, and does not participate in public battles. Many business analysts, both Russian and foreign, call him a brilliant entrepreneur, and the transactions he completed are considered unique in scope and the size of the margin generated.

He says to himself: “I made mistakes, a lot of mistakes. But I would say this: statistically, the number of correct decisions exceeds the number of errors. Therefore, the overall balance is positive” (Snob interview, November 2015).

The beginning was simple: like everyone else

Fridman was born and graduated from high school in provincial Ukrainian Lvov. The family was simple, and even their nationality—Jews—was quite common there. The parents worked as engineers; the father, as part of the development team, was awarded the State Prize of the RSFSR. After graduating from school, I went to Moscow to enroll in physics and technology, and although I passed the exams with straight A's, I was not accepted. He still believes that the only reason is the “fifth column” in the passport. A year later he entered MISiS, from which he graduated in 1986.

I studied easily and managed to do everything in between. He worked as a loader in a store, stood in line for theater tickets, which were exchanged for scarce goods and useful connections, and organized bard concerts in the student dormitory. He was assigned to Elektrostal, as he himself says, thanks to existing connections, gifts and services. In two years of work, I earned a one-room apartment there and exchanged it for a communal apartment in Moscow. He considers this deal the most successful in his life, and claims that it was more difficult to do it than creating the TNK-BP oil company.

So, Friedman showed energy, dexterity and the ability to make the necessary contacts from a young age. It is interesting that the degree of usefulness was determined not only by status; he also knew how to create strong friendships. Student comrades: Khan, Kuzmichev, Kosogov - later became his business partners, and shareholders of both the Russian Alfa Group and the international LetterOne Holdings.

During his student years, Friedman met many people, thanks to whose support he subsequently developed his business: Pyotr Aven (Minister of Foreign Economic Relations under the Gaidar government), Vladislav Surkov (Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration), Alexander Kasyanenko (Perekrestok Trading House). Friedman knows how to maintain connections over the years.

How the “business empire” was built

The holding invests in the energy and telecommunications sectors. In the spring of 2015, he acquired the German oil company Dea, and intends to create an international business, considering all oil and gas regions of the world, including America, the Middle East and Asia. According to Vedomosti, the company's profit for 2015 amounted to 15 billion dollars, which is 1.5 more than a year earlier. At the beginning of 2016, Friedman invested $200 million in the Uber taxi service. He is attracted to technically modern ideas.

The British Financial Times writes about him: “Some experts believe that Friedman will receive a cold reception in the West when he tries to diversify his assets outside of Russia. But Friedman has many friends in high places who will pave the way for him. Lord Brown, who heads Friedman's new oil and gas venture L1 Energy, praised him this week as "tenacious, hard-working and one of the most astute and driven businessmen I know."

Mikhail Fridman may soon resign from the post of chairman of the board of directors of Alfa Bank, the Kommersant newspaper wrote on Tuesday.

Mikhail Maratovich Fridman is the chairman of the supervisory board of directors of the Alfa Group consortium, chairman of the boards of directors of TNK-BP and OJSC Alfa Bank. Fridman was born on April 21, 1964 in Lvov, Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine) into a family of engineers. M. Friedman's father was awarded the USSR State Prize for the development of identification systems for military aviation. In the first half of 2000, the parents moved permanently to Cologne (Germany).

While studying at one of the schools in Lvov, he attended piano lessons and organized a vocal and instrumental ensemble. I graduated from school with one “B” (in Russian). After graduating from school, he made two unsuccessful attempts to enroll in the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT). In 1986 he graduated from the faculty of non-ferrous and rare earth metals of the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys (MISiS).

While studying at MISiS, Mikhail Fridman became one of the founders of the informal youth club "Strawberry Glade".

In 1986 - laboratory assistant at one of the institutes in Lvov.

In 1986-1988 ‑ design engineer at the Elektrostal plant (Elektrostal, Moscow region); During the same period, he began to engage in entrepreneurial activities. In 1988, he created the cooperative enterprise "Courier" specializing in window cleaning.

In 1989, he created and headed the Alfa-Photo company, which specialized in the sale of computers and copying equipment.

In 1990, Mikhail Fridman created and headed the Alfa Capital check fund.

Since 1991 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Innovation Bank Alfa-Bank (CIB Alfa-Bank).

In 1995-1998 served on the board of directors of CJSC Public Russian Television (CJSC ORT).

Since 1996 - Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Directors of the Alfa Group Consortium, member of the Board of Directors of OJSC Siberian-Far Eastern Oil Company (OJSC NK SIDANKO).

In 1998, after the merger of Alfa Bank and Alfa Capital, he became chairman of the board of directors of Alfa Bank.
He was a member of the Banking Council and the Entrepreneurship Council under the Government of the Russian Federation.

Since March 11, 2003 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of TNK-BP. Member of the boards of directors of VimpelCom and X5 Retail Group N.V.

For the 2003 deal between TNK and BP, Mikhail Fridman was named one of the most outstanding entrepreneurs of the year (international magazine BusinessWeek) and one of the 25 business leaders of the new Europe (Financial Times).

Member of the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (Employers) - RSPP(r), oversees issues of judicial reform.

In January 1996, he became the founder and vice-president of the Russian Jewish Congress (REC). Currently, he is a member of the Bureau of the Presidium of the RJC.

Mikhail Maratovich Fridman is the main owner of Russia's largest financial and industrial association Alfa Group, whose assets include Alfa Bank, X5, AlfaStrakhovanie, A1, as well as the LetterOne Holdings group (VimpelCom, DEA Deutshe Erdoel, Turkcell), member of the leadership of the Russian Jewish Congress, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, and the private American organization Council on Foreign Relations.

The oligarch, who went down in the history of the domestic elite as an honest and respected businessman, was repeatedly referred to in the media as a calculating and authoritative intellectual with an aggressive form of doing business while ignoring the interests and opinions of other parties, and was also declared a European business leader, the most influential and outstanding entrepreneur of the year .

His fortune in 2015 was estimated by Forbes magazine at $14.6 billion. Thus, he ranked 68th in the world ranking of the richest people and second among Russian businessmen after Roman Abramovich.

Childhood and family of Mikhail Fridman

One of the richest and most powerful people in Russia was born in the Ukrainian city of Lvov on April 21, 1964 into a Jewish family. His relatives worked at a defense enterprise, were members of the CPSU, and his father was awarded the State Prize in the field of electronics.

Since childhood, Misha was surrounded by the love and care of his mother, grandmother and other relatives. He did not attend kindergarten; he was an excellent student at school. The boy studied piano and then organized a school vocal and instrumental ensemble, a popular form of musical creativity in those years.

After graduating in 1981, the young man entered the country’s leading university, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, but he was not accepted. According to one version, he did not pass the competition, according to another, the reason for the failure was the fateful “fifth count,” that is, nationality. Allegedly because of her, he, being an excellent student, also did not receive a gold medal at school and subsequently suffered a fiasco when entering graduate school.

Mikhail's second attempt to become a student was crowned with success - he entered the capital's Institute of Steel and Alloys. The choice of educational institution was allegedly determined by its location in the very center of Moscow, as well as the presence of a good House of Culture, where such pop stars as Yuri Vizbor and Vladimir Vysotsky gave concerts.

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Mikhail's student life was eventful. In addition to studying professional subjects, he was engaged in the resale of theater tickets, carpets, imported goods, and also created a youth night club operating in the institute dormitory under the auspices of the Komsomol organization, organized discos and performances by artists. During that period, he met Peter Aven, who moved in the same circles, being the head of the Moscow State University music club.

The beginning of the career of Mikhail Fridman

The young engineer began his dizzying ascent to the top of the business Olympus almost immediately after graduating from university in 1986. He was assigned to the town of Elektrostal near Moscow at the metallurgical plant of the same name, where he worked in a design bureau.

At the same time, he organized a cooperative for washing windows, then a cooperative for food delivery, and created, together with his cousin Dmitry, who graduated from the same institute a year earlier, companies that sold computer equipment.

In 1988, together with German Khan and Alexey Kuzmichev and with the assistance of Academician Alfimov, whose name allegedly served as the basis for the formation of the name of the current financial and investment empire, Friedman began to create it.

The very first at the birth of Alfa Group were the Alfa-Photo cooperative for the sale of copying machines and the Soviet-Swiss Alfa-Eco joint venture for the export of petroleum products and metallurgy products.

Among the many areas of activity of the consortium - gas and oil processing, trade in art and food products, insurance, telecommunications services, advanced technologies, investments - Alfa Bank is considered the cornerstone, the first in the country among private banks, which a businessman has headed since his establishment in December 1990. Subsequently, he owned a 37% stake in the financial institution (Khan owned 23%, Kuzmichev - 18%, bank president Peter Aven - 14%).

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In 1995, the oligarch was a member of the collective leadership body of ORT, in 2002 he headed the Conference of Leaders of Jewish Organizations of the Russian Federation, and has always strongly supported Jewish initiatives in the country and abroad.

In 2005, Alfa Group bought the X5 corporation for a billion dollars. It includes the Perekrestok and Karusel supermarket chains and Pyaterochka discount stores.

In 2008, the tycoon gave his leadership position at the bank to his deputy, ratings manager from Prague, Petr Šmide. In 2009, Mikhail Maratovich headed the oil company TNK-BP.

Personal life of Mikhail Fridman

The oligarch is divorced. With Olga, his ex-wife, they studied in the same course at MISiS. The girl then came from Irkutsk to study. Olga is interested in interior design; in 2000 she completed the relevant courses.

Married to her, they had two daughters, Larisa and Ekaterina. They were born and live with their mother in Paris, and in the summer they usually go on vacation to St. Tropez.

The girls attend a school where teaching is in English. They communicate with friends and acquaintances, of course, in French, and with their parents in Russian. That is, the daughters of an oligarch develop mental flexibility from childhood.

Many people talk about Friedman as a hardworking and talented entrepreneur, prone to charity, who achieved everything on his own, through his own labor, thanks to his intelligence, and not theft. He finances the Life Line children's aid fund.

One of the most famous businessmen in the Russian Federation remains a non-public person and lives a secluded life. Today he is an Israeli citizen, lives in London, loves fast driving, cinema, music, chess, and collects samurai swords. His parents moved from Lvov to Cologne at the beginning of the new century.

In 2001, Mikhail purchased a house in the elite suburb of the French capital Neuilly, which previously belonged to the ex-wife of Alain Delon, model and artist Mireille Darc. Next to the oligarch's estate are the mansions of the legendary actors Jean-Paul Belmondo and Sophie Marceau.

To recognize himself as part of the Jewish people, in 2012, Friedman, as part of a group of 12 Russian businessmen, made a three-day pilgrimage through the Israeli Arava desert to the holy city of Jerusalem. They spent the night in tents and traveled almost 20 kilometers every day.

Mikhail Fridman today

In 2012, Alfa Group increased its stake in the telecommunications company VimpelCom, which provides services under the Beeline brand, to 48 percent through the sale of MegaFon shares.
In the homeland of the financial magnate, in Lviv, Alfa-Bank (since 2011) has been the organizer of the annual jazz festival Alfa Jazz Fest. In 2015, over 5 days in the city, recognized as the cultural capital of Ukraine, more than a hundred performers from ten countries performed, including the legendary American composer and pianist Herbie Hancock, guitarist and vocalist George Benson, and Japanese pianist Hiromi.

As of the end of 2015, Alfa-Bank served 14 million individuals and 194 thousand legal entities. The number of branches and branches of a financial institution opened in Russia and abroad, including subsidiaries in the USA, the Netherlands, England, and Cyprus, reached 775.