As of September 2024, Vagit Alekperov was named Russia’s richest person and ranked as the 59th richest in the world, according to the Forbes billionaires list. He amassed his fortune working in the oil industry, starting off as an oil rig worker to later become a deputy minister in charge of overseeing the oil industry in the Soviet Union in 1990. Alekperov is now the part-owner and former director of Lukoil, now Russia‘s largest independent oil company.
Alekperov has famously stated that his entire life has been dedicated to work, with no friends outside his work. Forbes quoted Alekperov who said: “I have devoted my whole life to work. I have no friends and acquaintances outside my business world.”
Over the years, the billionaire gradually increased his stake in Lukoil, now owning about 30% of it.
After being sanctioned by the UK in 2022, Alekperov stepped down a few days later from his active role in Lukoil as the president retaining his shares.
Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 1950, his father worked in the oil industry, though he passed away when Alekperov was young.
After earning a master’s degree in engineering, Alekperov worked on oil rigs in the Caspian Sea and later became deputy minister of the Soviet Union’s oil industry.
In addition to his oil wealth, Alekperov expanded into banking and media, co-owning IFD Kapital Group, and even owned a Dutch luxury yacht-building company, which he transferred to a foundation in 2022.
In December 2024, Reuters reported that several Russian billionaires including Alekperov, had been linked to companies supplying chemicals to Russian explosive factories fueling the war in Ukraine.
Alekperov reportedly did not respond to comment requests sent by Reuters though Lukoil asserted that it “does not produce explosives or any related components.”