Biography of Alexei Mordashov
Alexey Alexandrovich Mordashov is the head of the domestic mining and steel giant Severstal, the owner of the Power Machines machine-building enterprise, the co-owner of the international gold mining company Nord Gold, the main beneficiary of the leader in the woodworking market, the SVEZA holding.
Its assets include various stakes or shares in a number of companies, including Europe’s largest travel concern TUI, Bank Rossiya, National Media Group, T2RTK Holding and others.
Childhood and family of Alexei Mordashov
The future owner of Severstal was born on September 26, 1965 in Cherepovets in the family of workers of a metallurgical plant. His father was one of the builders of this world’s largest steel factory, and then an electrical engineer. Mother worked in the equipment supply department.
Most of the father’s relatives, including his two siblings, lived in the Volga region and were engaged in the national trade of their ancestors – making dishes, toys, souvenirs from wood. The museum of folk crafts, located in Sergiev Posad, displays wooden bunks by the billionaire’s ancestors.
Alyosha was a calm, independent and obedient child, and at school he was a responsible and diligent student. From the sixth grade, he dreamed of becoming an economist-manager.
Having received his secondary education, in 1982 the young man entered the Leningrad Engineering and Economic Institute, where his teacher, among others, was Anatoly Chubais. He was one of the leaders of an informal circle and introduced his active student to the company of innovative economists, who was interested in the works of Yegor Gaidar.
The young man showed great abilities, was an excellent student, received not just an increased, but the largest Lenin scholarship. In addition, he was a Komsomol leader, a member of the CPSU, energetic, polite, intelligent and pleasant to talk to.
The beginning of the career of Alexei Mordashov
After graduating from the university in 1988, the young specialist returned to his hometown and began his labor activity at the plant, to which his relatives gave their whole lives. The future oligarch started as a senior economist, successfully moving up the career ladder.
In 1990, he managed to get an internship in Austria, which took place in the city of Linz at the Voestalpine steel plant. Soon after returning from abroad, he was appointed Director of Economics and Finance at Severstal. Moreover, the candidacy of a promising young manager was then defended by General Director Yuri Lipukhin, despite the fact that the head of the relevant ministry Serafim Kolpakov was categorically against such a decision. The reason for his dislike for the protege of the head of the plant was the unsightly fight between Alexei and the son of an official, who was simultaneously training in an Austrian company.
However, the 60-year-old head of the plant saw in the conscientious, independent, entrepreneurial, respectful Mordashov his possible successor. He instructed him to organize the privatization of the plant. To this end, Alexey created Severstal-Invest, most of the shares of which belonged to him personally.
Gradually, he bought up ChMK’s securities for general money, retaining a controlling stake (51 percent), and transferred the assets to the newly established Severstal-Garant structure. As a result, his partner lost the opportunity to influence the development strategy of the enterprise, and Mordashov, having later bought out 49% of the shares of his mentor, became its full owner.
Many players in the metallurgy market showed interest in the plant, in order to survive, as the billionaire himself admitted, his moral qualities changed – he ceased to be as modest, polite and gentle as in previous years, became cynical and tough.
In 2001, as evidence of a large amount of knowledge and practical experience, he received an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from the British Business School of Newcastle, Northumbria University, and since 2003 he has become his honorary doctorate. A similar title was awarded to him by his native university – St. Petersburg State University of Economics.
Under his control were the main mass media of Cherepovets, and the corporation acquired assets in various areas (mining, automotive, insurance). Moreover, not only domestic companies, but also foreign ones, in particular, the American manufacturer Rouge Industries, the Italian Lucchini.
Since 2002, the businessman has been a member of the Russian-German intergovernmental group for economics and finance. Since 2004 – in the leadership of the American Institute of East and West. Since 2006 – in the Council of Business Cooperation of the Russian Federation and the EU, as well as in many other reputable organizations.
Personal life of Alexey Mordashov
The first time the owner of Severstal got married at the age of 19, when he was in his second year at the institute. Aleksey’s chosen one was 3 years older than his fifth-year student Elena, originally from Irkutsk. Such an early wedding was associated with the “interesting” position of the bride.
The news of the unexpected marriage of his only son was a real blow to his mother. But, despite this, after the appearance of Ilya’s grandson in 1985, she developed good relations with her daughter-in-law. Nevertheless, in 1996, the family broke up, according to his wife, due to Alexei’s rapid career growth, a lot of money, accompanying their appearance of permissiveness and his betrayal.
Upon divorce, he left his ex-wife and son an apartment in his hometown, a Nine car, alimony of $ 1,000 a month and $ 6,000 a year for health improvement. Later in 2002, the woman tried to get a share in the capital of the ex-spouse through the court, but to no avail. The court recognized the agreement originally signed between them as legal.
After the successful trial, Mordashov, on his own initiative, allegedly increased his monthly payments to his former family. However, according to rumors, the son Ilya did not want to be Mordashov, but took his mother’s maiden name – Novitskaya.
The second wife of the oligarch was his colleague at work Elena, born in 1971, a graduate of the Leningrad Institute of the Textile Industry, an economist and an employee of the ChMK’s accounting department. Despite the fact that at the time of their acquaintance the financial director of the plant was still married, she could not resist the young, beautiful and successful leader and fell in love. The couple had two sons: in 1999 – Cyril, in 2000 – Nikita.
In 2015, Forbes reported that the billionaire already had a new life partner, whose name is Larisa. True, Alexey Alexandrovich did not officially confirm this information. He allegedly also had new heirs – at the time of publication, Alexei had six children.
A financial tycoon, as befits a person of his status, is fond of painting, winter sports, and poetry.
Alexey Mordashov today
In 2011, the oligarch received an invitation to the Bilderberg Club, which brings together recognized and most influential representatives of politics, business, and the media.
Alexey Mordashov on the work of Severstal
In 2012, he became the first Russian to enter the leadership of The World Steel Association, as evidence of recognition among the world’s representatives of the steel industry. In 2015, at a conference held in Chicago, he was re-elected to the organization’s executive committee until October 2016. At the same time, he was elected head of the Russian Steel Consortium, which united the enterprises of Severstal, Evraz, Mechel, Novolipetsk, Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Combine and others, which is a member of this World Steel Association.
The billionaire is a member of the leadership of the Committee on the accession of the Russian Federation to the World Trade Organization and the reform of domestic customs policy.
Alexey Mordashov in an interview about sanctions
In the global ranking of the richest people in the world published by the American Forbes, the owner of Severstal ranked 93rd in 2016. According to experts of the publication, his fortune in 2015 decreased by $ 2.1 billion and amounted to $ 10.9 billion. In 2014, in the form of Severstal’s dividends alone, he received 960 million.