Vladimir Potanin was born on 3 January 1961, in Moscow, Russia, the son of important communist party members, in particular his father in the Ministry for Foreign Trade. Forbes magazine ranks Potanin as the richest person in Russia, and the 60th richest person in the world in 2015.
So just how rich is Vladimir Potanin? Forbes estimates that Vladimir’s net worth is over $15 billion, most of his wealth having been accumulated through the somewhat controversial program of loans-for-shares prevalent in Russia after perestroika in the 1990s.
Vladimir Potanin Net Worth $15 Billion
Vladimir Potanin studied at the faculty of the International economic relations at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, graduating in 1983, which prepared him for work in foreign affairs and trade, thereby following his father. During perestroika, with then partner Mikhail Prokhorov he used the experience he had subsequently gained to found Uneximbank which became the platform for the construction of the holding company Interros, which now owns 30% of, and controls the nickel giant Norilsk Nickel, Alamak Espana Trade, Alisher Usmanov’s Metalloinvest, and oil company Sidanco gained in the controversial “loans-for-shares” privatization auctions.
In 1993, Potanin became President of United Export Import Bank, then for a short time he was First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, but most importantly for his net worth, since 1998, Potanin has been both President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Interros Company. Of course, his net worth has risen commensurately with these positions and the successes they have had, privately and publicly.
However, Potanin’s interests and influence are spread further. In 2001 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (NYC), and in 2003 elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the State Hermitage, probably the most impressive Russian art museum.
Also since 2003, Vladimir Potanin has been in charge of improving legislative regulations and professional and ethical standards of corporate governance in Russian companies, through the National Council on Corporate Governance (NSKU), Since 2005 Potanin has been a member of the Public Chamber of Russia.
In 2007, the French Ministry of Culture and Communications named him an Officer of the prestigious Order of Arts and Literature for his cultural contributions.
Vladimir Potanin split from Prokhorov in 2007, and became the sole owner of Interros. During the financial crisis he sold off assets like his stake in Polyus Gold. Using his own money plus borrowed funds, he constructed the Rosa Hutor ski resort, which was used for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
In his private life, Vladimire Potanin was married to Natalia(1983-2014) with whom he has three children. He is now married to Ekaterina, with whom he has a child. Natalia has sued for 50% of his assets. He has offered her $140 million. However, Potanin is reputed to be a generous philanthropist In 2013, he joined Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s ‘Giving Pledge’, promising to donate most of his fortune to charity.
