Roman Abramovich

Roman Abramovich was born in 1966 in Saratov

Abramovich was born in 1966 in Saratov, in the Soviet Union, to a Jewish family. His mother died when he was a baby, and his father was killed in a crane accident a few years later. He was raised by relatives in Ukhta, in the Komi Republic, and later lived for a time near Moscow.

He studied at a technical college in Ukhta and at a road construction institute in Moscow, but did not graduate. He later attended the Gubkin Institute of Oil and Gas. He served in the Soviet Army in an artillery unit.

During perestroika he began trading goods, and with his first wife Olga he set up a company making dolls. In 1995 he and Boris Berezovsky gained control of the oil company Sibneft through the loans for shares scheme, which drew criticism. He sold Sibneft to the Russian government in 2005 for $13 billion.

In 2000 he helped merge Russian aluminum companies into Rusal. He was Governor of Chukotka from 2000 to 2008. In 2003 he became the owner of Chelsea, which won the English league in 2005 and 2006.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he became subject to sanctions and his assets in Britain were frozen. In May 2022 he handed control of Chelsea to a group led by Todd Boehly. He also took part in peace talks between the two countries.