Boris Ivanishvili
Encyclopedia
Boris Ivanishvili (born 1956 in Chorvila
) is a Georgian oligarch
with a net worth reported to be 5.5 billion dollars.
village of Chorvila. His father worked in a manganese factory. He graduated high school in Sachkhere
and went to Tbilisi State University
to study engineering and economics. In 1982, he went to Moscow to pursue a Ph.D in economics at the Moscow State University of Railway Engineering
.
He met Vitaly Malkin
, with whom he formed a partnership and they started selling computers, moved on to importing what was then a novelty in Russia, push-button telephone
s. The source of his wealth is metals and banking. Forbes's description of the secret of his success could apply to dozens of other oligarchs. "He bought firms that nobody needed for tens of millions of dollars and sold them for billions of dollars." He began to build his empire in 1990 when they set up Rossiysky Kredit Bank. It is still Ivanishvili's biggest holding. Over the years, he has sold other businesses he accumulated during country's privatization era and invested proceeds in Russian stock market. He has interests in hotels, including Hotel Lux
and a Russian chain of drugstores called Doctor Stoletov.
He is redeveloping a former factory in downtown Moscow into a deluxe housing development, the first blocks of which are supposed to be completed by 2011 or 2012. Deutsche Bank
was reportedly going to acquire a 10% stake in the project in October 2008, but the deal fell through due to the much changed economic conditions. Recently Ivanishvili became the subject of some interest in the art world, following his reported purchases of works by Pablo Picasso
and the contemporary artist Peter Doig
at auctions for prices well above their estimates. Ivanishvili now lives in the Georgian village of Chorvila
, where he was born. In October 2011 Ivanishvili declared that he would form a political party and take part in the 2012 parliamentary elections.
In March 2010, he ranked 173 in 2010 Forbes List of Billionaires, with a net worth 4.8 billion dollars.
In March 2011, he ranked 185th in 2011 Forbes List of Billionaires, with a net worth 5.5 billion dollars.
Chorvila
Chorvila is located in western Georgia, Imereti Region....
) is a Georgian oligarch
Business oligarch
Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet...
with a net worth reported to be 5.5 billion dollars.
Biographical details
Boris Ivanishvili was born the youngest of five children to a poor family in the GeorgianGeorgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
village of Chorvila. His father worked in a manganese factory. He graduated high school in Sachkhere
Sachkhere
Sachkhere is a town at the northern edge of the Imereti Province in Western Georgia....
and went to Tbilisi State University
Tbilisi State University
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University , better known as Tbilisi State University , is a university established on 8 February 1918 in Tbilisi, Georgia. TSU is the oldest university in the whole Caucasus region...
to study engineering and economics. In 1982, he went to Moscow to pursue a Ph.D in economics at the Moscow State University of Railway Engineering
Moscow State University of Railway Engineering
Moscow State University of Railway Engineering is the leading and largest higher education institution in the field of railway transport in Russia with more than 17,000...
.
He met Vitaly Malkin
Vitaly Malkin
Vitaly Malkin is a 56 years old Russian business oligarch and politician who was born near the city of Ekaterinburg in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast....
, with whom he formed a partnership and they started selling computers, moved on to importing what was then a novelty in Russia, push-button telephone
Push-button telephone
The push-button telephone was first invented in 1941, and is a telephone with push-buttons or keys, and which eventually replaced rotary dial telephones that were first used in 1891. The first push-button telephone was invented in the labs of Bell Telephone; however, these models were only...
s. The source of his wealth is metals and banking. Forbes's description of the secret of his success could apply to dozens of other oligarchs. "He bought firms that nobody needed for tens of millions of dollars and sold them for billions of dollars." He began to build his empire in 1990 when they set up Rossiysky Kredit Bank. It is still Ivanishvili's biggest holding. Over the years, he has sold other businesses he accumulated during country's privatization era and invested proceeds in Russian stock market. He has interests in hotels, including Hotel Lux
Hotel Lux
Hotel Lux was a hotel in Moscow that, during the early years of the Soviet Union, housed many leading exiled Communists. During the Nazi era, exiles from all over Europe went there, particularly from Germany. A number of them became leading figures in German politics in the postwar era...
and a Russian chain of drugstores called Doctor Stoletov.
He is redeveloping a former factory in downtown Moscow into a deluxe housing development, the first blocks of which are supposed to be completed by 2011 or 2012. Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
was reportedly going to acquire a 10% stake in the project in October 2008, but the deal fell through due to the much changed economic conditions. Recently Ivanishvili became the subject of some interest in the art world, following his reported purchases of works by Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
and the contemporary artist Peter Doig
Peter Doig
Peter Doig is a contemporary artist born in Scotland. In 2007, a painting of Doig's, entitled White Canoe, sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction record for a living European artist.-Early life:...
at auctions for prices well above their estimates. Ivanishvili now lives in the Georgian village of Chorvila
Chorvila
Chorvila is located in western Georgia, Imereti Region....
, where he was born. In October 2011 Ivanishvili declared that he would form a political party and take part in the 2012 parliamentary elections.
Personal
He is married with four children. He is rarely seen in the Georgian media but there are many stories about his generosity.In March 2010, he ranked 173 in 2010 Forbes List of Billionaires, with a net worth 4.8 billion dollars.
In March 2011, he ranked 185th in 2011 Forbes List of Billionaires, with a net worth 5.5 billion dollars.