VLADIMIR POTANIN is a billionaire who has faced major drama with his ex-wife in court.
The businessman is no stranger to controversy, and has been described as a member of President Vladimir Putin‘s “inner circle”.
Vladimir Potanin could face one of the biggest divorce settlements in historyREUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo
Who is Vladimir Olegovich Potanin?
Vladimir Olegovich Potanin is a Russian businessman and billionaire.
He was born on January 3 1961 in Moscow, Russia.
Potanin studied International Economic Relations at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
He then went on to work at the foreign trade organisation, an arm of the Ministry of Foreign Trade.
Today’s sanctions show that nothing and no one is off the table, including Putin’s inner circle
British government spokesperson
Oligarch Potanin owns Interros, a Russian conglomerate with stakes in mining, energy, finance, retail and other sectors.
He set up Interros in 1991 and two years later became the president of Russia‘s United Export Import Bank.
He also acquired a stake in Norilsk Nickel with business partner Mikhail Prokhorov in the 1990s and still owns a third of the company.
Potanin has also been involved in politics and was First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation from August 1996 until May 1997.
He has close ties with President Vladimir Putin.
What is Vladmir Potanin’s net worth?
As of January 2024, Potanin has an estimated net worth of over £17.5 billion.
In August 2022 he was named the wealthiest man in Russia and the 38th richest person in the world.
He has since, according to Forbes, moved to second place in Russia’s wealth rankings.
Much of Potanin’s wealth comes from his part in Russia’s controversial loans-for-shares program from the 1990s.
His other business ventures include the Rosa Khutor ski resort, snowboard park and freestyle skiing centre.
The resort, located in Krasnaya Polyana, Southern Russia, was built for the 2014 Olympics.
Potanin is also involved in cryptocurrency and is a member of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
Who is Vlamir Potanin’s ex-wife Natalia Potanina?
Potanin married his first wife Natalia Potanina in 1983.
The couple went on to welcome three children together but later divorced after 31 years of marriage.
Their split has garnered much attention, even years after it was finalised, due to the former couple’s disagreements over the distribution of Potanin’s wealth.
Potanina filed a billion-dollar lawsuit in Russia in 2016, attempting to claim profits of Norilsk Nickel and Interros.
Her proposed divorce settlement would have been the world’s largest at the time but it was rejected in 2017.
Potanina, who argues that Russian law demands that wealth accumulated during a marriage is split evenly, then attempted to bring a divorce claim against her ex-husband in UK courts.
A ruling allowed her to renew her multil-billion dollar claim but in January 2024 the UK Supreme Court sent the case back to the Court of Appeal.
According to Reuters, the case will continue.
Since splitting from his first wife Potanin has married again, and has two children with his second wife.
Why are there sanctions against Vladmir Potanin?
The UK imposed sanctions on Potanin in June 2022.
According to the Gov.co.uk website, the sanctions were imposed as “Potanin continues to amass wealth as he supports Putin’s regime, acquiring Rosbank, and shares in Tinkoff Bank in the period since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
A British government spokesperson also said at the time: “Today’s sanctions show that nothing and no one is off the table, including Putin’s inner circle.”
Other entities to have sanctions imposed on them by the UK as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine include business figures and financial firms.
The sanctions aim to encourage Russia to cease actions destabilising Ukraine.
The US Treasury added Potanin to its sanction list in December 2022.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
