Date of birth: 24/10/1966. Industry: Oil. 2006 est. wealth: £10b.
At 40 years old, Roman Abramovich stands as the richest Russian, 2nd richest person in the United Kingdom and 11th richest man in the world, - according to the Forbes Rich List 2006 - with a fortune of £10 billion. He has many business interests, including being an oil industry mogul, media magnate, governor of a Russian province and, perhaps most famously in the UK, owner of Chelsea Football Club. His wealth and power are all the more astonishing when one realises that he has risen to this position despite tragedy and deprivation early on in his life.
Both his parents had died by the time he was just four years old, after which he was raised by relatives in Moscow and Komi. In Komi he attended the Industrial Institute, prior to being sent into the Soviet army. He began in business with an unusual commodity - plastic ducks which he sold straight from a Moscow apartment. But his acumen steered him swiftly towards oil, which he began trading from the Ormsk, which houses Russia's largest refinery. Soon afterwards, in 1992, he was introduced into Boris Yeltsin's inner circle by Boris Berezovsky. In that same year he was investigated for alleged financial misdoings, but the investigation cleared him of all charges.
By this point, so well-placed was he amongst Russia's most powerful men that when the Putin regime took over, Abramovich was perfectly positioned to enter politics himself. He was eventually elected the governor of Chukotka, a remote province of Russia, in 2001. Abramovich proceeded to invest heavily in the area, which is rich in natural resources, pouring money into the region. At the same time he was constantly expanding his already impressive portfolio of businesses: he had already bought into Sibneft, Russia's fifth largest oil company, RUSAL aluminium oil and the national airline, Aeroflot. Today he owns supermarkets, hotels and, of course, Chelsea FC.
His arrival at Chelsea in July 2003 was not Abramovich's first foray into sports; he already owned a hockey team. That aside, there was some resistance amongst high-profile supporters, due to his existing commitments to such vast and varied business interests. However, his financial support of the London club has been unparalleled. He agreed a deal with chairman Ken Bates to buy a majority shareholding of Chelsea for £29.6 million, immediately vowing to spend £30million each on new players and training. He has wiped the club of debt and each of their victories is now widely viewed as a triumph of the Russian tycoon's investments.
In May 2006 he announced plans to buy a 40% stake in Evraz, one of the Russia's biggest steel producers, for £2bn — his first big investment in Russia since he sold his aluminium and oil assets.
