Making his name in the petroleum-rich fields of Azerbaijan and working his way up from an oil rig worker, Russia‘s richest man has now amassed a fortune 10 times larger than Richard Branson.
Vagit Alekperov, dubbed “the don,” is the part-owner and former director of Lukoil, now Russia‘s largest independent oil company. In 2021, the company reported a net income of $10.5 billion (£8.5million).
Alekperov was born in Baku, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan, in 1950, just as the region was undergoing an economic transformation after discovering masses of natural gas and petroleum.
His father, was also in the oil and gas industry, working in the oilfields his whole life, but died when Vagit was still a young boy – prompting Alekperov to follow in the footsteps of his late father.
After graduating with a master’s in science engineering, Alekperov went to work on Caspian sea oil rigs before becoming deputy minister of the oil industry in the Soviet Union.
As the Soviet Union began to fall, Alekperov took three large government-controlled oil fields and founded Lukoil. Having taken on various management and presidential roles at the company over the past few decades, Vagit slowly expanded his ownership.
The 74-year-old now owns around 30% of its shares, giving him a net worth of a staggering $27.2 billion (£22.1billion), making him the 72nd richest person in the world.
However, Lukoil was hit with heavy US sanctions in September 2014, and after more sanctions by the UK in 2022, he stepped down from any active role in the business – but still kept many of his shares.
In true oligarch fashion, Alekperov also has a stake in banking and media operations, being one of two main owners of also moved into banking and media. In May 2006, Alekperov was one of the two main owners of IFD Kapital group based in Moscow.
He also notably owned Dutch luxury superyacht builder Hessen after purchasing it through his Cyprus investment firm, although he transferred ownership to an independent Dutch foundation in 2022.
Forbes quoted Alekperov as saying: “I have devoted my whole life to work. I have no friends and acquaintances outside my business world.”
Although Vagit is officially Russia‘s richest man on the Forbes rich list, unsurprisingly it is widely thought the country’s actual richest man is the person who runs it.
Vladimir Putin earns a relatively modest annual salary of $140,000 (£113,839), according to official documents from the Kremlin. Living in a modest 800-square foot apartment with a trailer, and owning just three cars according to Fortune.
However, he may be worth much, much more and hiding a secret lavish life with potentially billions in undisclosed assets. He is often seen flashing luxury watches worth multiple times his salary. Reports from Fortune also believe he owns a $1.4billion (£1.14billion) Black Sea mansion, and the Foreign Office also makes links to a £566 million yacht.
Some experts believe his actual net worth is $200billion (£162.6billion) placing him between Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos on the rich list – although the extent of his wealth cannot be uncovered.