Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia's richest businessmen, is not mentioned in any of the sanctions lists of Western countries. It was a matter of curiosity that while sanctions were imposed on all Russian oligarchs, none against Vladimir Potanin.
Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin, 62, is the CEO and majority shareholder of Nornickel, the world's largest producer of refined nickel. According to the information obtained, Potanin holds 34.6 percent of Nornickel's shares. Nornickel produces 22 percent of the world's high-quality nickel and 40 percent of palladium. Data from Bloomberg indicates that the company's 2021 turnover is $ 17.9 billion.
But Nornickel is not Potanin's first company. The Russian businessman founded Interros, a holding operating in the mining, energy and real estate sectors, in 1990. Founded in 2002, Open Investments was also a real estate company within Interros. The company's market share peaked at $5.1 billion in 2018, according to Open Investments' website. Potanin divested his Interros shares in 2010. On the other hand, the Russian pharmaceutical company Petrovax is under the control of Potanin. The company came to the fore with the drug called Polyoxidonium, which was released in 2020. So who is Potanin that has invested and grown so much?
WHO IS VLADIMIR POTANIN?
Born in Moscow in 1961, Potanin is the son of a diplomat and a doctor. Having studied international relations, Potanin worked for the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Trade for eight years after university. They became business partners with Mikhail Prokhorov, whom he met at the age of 30. The duo first founded the International Finance and Investment Company and then Oneksim Bank, which was Russia's largest private bank at the time. In 1992, at the age of 31, Potanin became the general manager of the bank.
In 1996, shortly after Boris Yeltsin was elected Russian State Minister for the second time, Potanin stepped onto the political scene as the first deputy prime minister responsible for energy and economy. According to sources of those years, Potanin was part of the so-called "Big Seven" group of oligarchs, which helped Yeltsin win the election a second time. Potanin served as deputy prime minister from August 1996 to March 1997.
THEY owed HIM THEIR WEALTH
Although his name is not heard as much as other Russian oligarchs, it is possible to say that most of today's famous and very rich oligarchs owe their existence to Potanin. Because, during his term at the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Potanin was the father of the "loan for share" program.
Under this program, which marked the 1990s, Russia's wealthy entrepreneurs and banks were lending money to the Moscow government, and in return they were buying shares from companies responsible for the exploitation of the country's natural resources. The government often could not repay its loans on time, as a result state companies became the property of wealthy individuals.
This is how Potanin gained control of Nornickel and thus became the richest person in Russia. The famous oligarch Roman Abramovich, whose fortune is estimated at 13.9 billion dollars, became another partner of Nornickel with the shares he acquired through the "loan for share" program. According to the company's statements, Abramovic owns approximately 2 percent of Nornickel's shares. Rusal aluminum company, owned by Oleg Deripaska, also has a share of over 26 percent in Nornickel. While Abramovich and Deripaska both suffered from the sanctions of the West, such a situation has not happened to Potanin, at least for now. But that doesn't mean Potanin is less important to Putin and the Russian economy than other oligarchs.
KNOWN FOR ITS FAMILY TO PUTIN
The acquaintance of Putin and Potanin goes back at least 20 years. Looking at the photographic archives, it is possible to see the duo being photographed side by side at various events since 2000.
There are also photographs in the archives of Potanin with Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev, who was the President of Russia between 2008 and 2012, supported the campaigns for Putin's re-election after him. Medvedev also served as prime minister from 2012 to 2020.
HE HAS A LOVE OF YACHT
Unlike many Russian oligarchs, Potanin is not a very media name. But he also has one thing in common with other oligarchs: his love of yachts. He bought the 75-meter yacht Anastasia in 2008. In 2012, Potanin put Anastasia up for sale for 125 million euros. The sale finally took place in 2018 for 75 million euros. In 2012, Potanin bought another yacht called Nirvana.
Anastasia and Nirvana were two of three siblings Putin had ordered to the Dutch shipping company Oceanco. The third sibling, Barbara, was also built in 2017. The market value of Barbara, which is 88 meters long, was determined as 165 million euros.
About the same length as Barbara, Nirvana is one of the most luxurious oligarch yachts. With a 3 meter deep pool and a helipad, the 6 decks of the yacht are connected by a staircase and a glass elevator. According to Marine Traffic data, Nirvana, which was in the Maldives in early March, is now moored in Dubai.