Originally published 2007, part of a series I did for a biography website. Can’t even remember who now, but it’s long gone.
Oleg Deripaska was once the tenth richest billionaire in the world, with a personal net worth around $28 billion USD. He has since been knocked back to $3.3 billion in the wake of the 2007-08 Great Recession. He has also been the richest person in all of Russia and the Chairman of the Board – not the CEO – of United Company RusAl (Russian Aluminum), the world’s largest aluminum company.
Oleg Deripaska was born January 2, 1968, in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Growing up in Krasnodar Krai, he attended M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, where he graduated with honors in Physics in 1993, and attended Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics, where he picked up his Economics degree in 1996.
Given the course of studies he pursued, it is no wonder that he put physics and economics together and went into the metals industry. He joined the company Sayanogorsk Smelter, working there until 1997 and attaining the position of general manager. He then attained the position of president of Sibirsky Aluminum, a post he occupied from 1997 until 2001. During this position, he was awarded the “Order of Friendship of Peoples” by Russian Federation President Boris Yeltsin.
By an interesting twist of fate, Russia’s second-richest person at the time, billionaire Roman Abramovich, was doing something that would impact Deripaska’s future. Abramovich began acquiring mining and processing facilities, buying up and consolidating metal assets from all around the country, including some from Deripaska. These were eventually merged into RusAl in the year 2000. In 2003, Abramovich then sold his stake in RusAl to Deripaska, making Deripaska the 75% stakeholder and effectively the owner of the company. The remaining 25% stake in the company belonged to Boris Berezovsky and Badri Patarkatsishvili, who sold it to Abramovich in 2004.
Oleg Deripaska entered the 21st century engaged in vigorous trading and dealing in aluminum and other metals, until he had amassed a fortune with which to acquire RusAl. He also founded the holding company Basic Element, which now owns RusAl, as well as automobile manufacturer GAZ, aircraft manufacturer Aviacor, and insurance company Ingosstrakh. His past holdings and tradings include the Russian silver mining company Polymetal, the Austrian construction company STRABAG SE, and the German construction company HOCHTIEF. Then, Magna International chairman Frank Stronach made an announcement in 2007 which sealed Deripaska’s status as a tycoon: they were bringing him on as a strategic partner, in part to assist in placing a competitive takeover bid for Chrysler. Yes, the car company.
Additionally, he has now founded “En+ Group”, a company in the production of energy. En+ Group’s holdings include Russian independent energy company EuroSibEnergo, United Oil Group, and the Central European Aluminum Company. En+ Group’s other operations include coal extraction, oil refining, nuclear energy and non-ferrous metals production in Russia and abroad.
By the age of just 40, Oleg Deripaska had amassed a stunning fortune for a completely self-made person. It is perhaps with some resentment on this fact that the news reported that he married into the family of Boris Yeltsin. There are also numerous allegations and lawsuits pending, with claims that other people should have gotten bigger shares of the business deals he has done over the years. In recent years he has become embroiled in scandals surrounding Vladimir Putin, with whom he has close ties, and the investigation into Russian meddling in United States politics.
It cannot be denied, however, that Oleg Deripaska is an extremely shrewd business dealer. Graduating with honors in physics, perhaps, has given him a unique perspective in viewing the world, and especially gives him a deep understanding of the extraction and production of metals. Certainly, his opponents tend to find him unnervingly smart. In any case, with his latest prominence as a strong tie to Russiagate, the rest of his story may present the greatest intrigue yet.
