Biography of Roman Abramovich
Childhood
Roman Abramovich was born on October 24, 1966 in a working class family. The father was a builder and the main earner in the family, it is not known for certain about the mother’s profession. The family lived in the city of Saratov.
Roman’s childhood cannot be called easy: when the boy was only one year old, he lost his mother. However, his trials did not end there. Father, trying to provide for his family, worked hard. One of the days at the construction site turned out to be fatal for him – as a result of an accident, he died, leaving his son a complete orphan.
After the loss of his parents, little Roman was taken up by relatives. The first to respond was his uncle, who lives in the city of Ukhta, where the boy later moved.
When Roman was 8 years old, another move awaited him – this time to Moscow. There he came under the guardianship of another uncle – Abram. Simultaneously with the change of residence, the boy went to an educational institution. School №232 was chosen as a start, in which he studied until graduation.
Studying never attracted Roman – all school subjects seemed boring to him, and immediately after receiving a certificate, he decided to go to serve in the army.
Upon his return from service, he still succumbed to the persuasions of his relatives to get a higher education. Roman chose the direction that was as close as possible to his hobbies and opportunities at that time – the forestry department of the regional institute. This time the granite of science turned out to be uninteresting for him, which is why he subsequently dropped out of studies. The only useful thing that Roman learned from his studies was the discovery of his own organizational skills, which were useful to him in the future.
Career
The beginning of the career of Roman Abramovich can be considered the beginning of the 80s. It was during this period that he first turned his attention to entrepreneurial activity. The money accumulated in the course of part-time work was enough for him to purchase the first enterprise – “Uyut”, the profile of which was the manufacture of children’s toys. Even then, he met colleagues with whom he still does business (in the future, they will jointly manage the Sibneft enterprise).
However, the chosen field of work was not enough to realize Roman’s ambitions, and he decided to try himself in trade. The most promising area at that time was already the oil industry. The similarity of interests and the desire to prove himself in business pitted the young purposeful person against a number of “important” people. Among the most famous names are Boris Berezovsky and Boris Yeltsin.
Then came the “dashing 90s”. Roman, already having a lot of capital at that time, was able to become the founder of a number of large corporations. It is noteworthy that despite the exponentially growing income, he managed to avoid the attention of the press for a long time. Factor X in this matter was the declassification of his working ties with Boris Yeltsin. At this time, Roman was the head of AVK, still focusing on working with oil. It was during that period of his life that the businessman first became involved in a major scandal (a case was opened about the theft of a large consignment of fuel).
In 1998, Abramovich’s name was finally mentioned in the media. He was credited with a close friendship with Boris Yeltsin and even the management of the president’s personal affairs. In the late 90s, Roman collaborated a lot with another “growing” billionaire – Oleg Deripaska, who later became the central figure in the scandal with Nastya Rybka and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko. As the head of Sibneft, Abramovich became the owner of a large stake in Aeroflot.
Further, in the early 2000s (2001-2008), Roman directed his forces into a “peaceful” channel and became the governor of Chukotka. Under his leadership, the region’s oil industry grew at a rapid pace. In 2003, Roman became the owner of the Chelsea club – under his leadership, the club won the UEFA Champions League.
The period after 2008 has been focused on the management of existing businesses and development in the real estate sector. At that time, Abramovich’s fortune reached the highest mark for him so far – $ 23.5 billion.
At the end of May 2018, the media received information that after problems with obtaining a British visa, Abramovich decided to become an Israeli citizen. Due to the “unfavorable investment climate”, the entrepreneur froze the construction of a new stadium belonging to him, FC Chelsea, and came to grips with his mansion in Tel Aviv.
In 2019, Abramovich got rid of his remaining 20% of the shares of Channel One, selling them to VTB. At the end of the same year, he acquired a building on the coast of Tel Aviv for $ 57 million in order to build a hotel.
Personal life of Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich had three official marriages. With his first wife, Olga Lysova, he met in the business environment. After parting with her, the billionaire drew attention to the flight attendant Irina Malandina, whose marriage brought him five children. The couple’s relationship ended in 2007.
After the divorce, Roman found himself in a relationship with Daria Zhukova, who at the time of their acquaintance was a designer. The couple had two children, but this did not stop young people from breaking up, which occurred in 2017.
At various times, Abramovich was credited with romances with the ballerina Diana Vishneva, the socialite Nadezhda Obolentseva and even Emma Watson, who played the role of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films. None of these alleged connections have been personally confirmed by Roman.
7 children of Roman Abramovich: what they look like and what they do
Roman Abramovich today
The novel focuses on equity management. He travels a lot and spends time with children, while solving business issues.
In 2024, Forbes estimated Abramovich’s fortune at $ 11.3 billion, which put him in 10th place in the list of the richest Russians. In the summer of the same year, he bought a villa in Israel, which the media called the most expensive residential real estate in the country. Its cost was estimated at $ 65 million. It is also known that during the coronavirus pandemic, Abramovich provided a hotel in London at Chelsea Stadium for free accommodation for doctors so that they would not waste time on their way home.
In September 2024, the BBC reported that Roman Abramovich, as the owner of Chelsea, was suspected of buying the rights to players from other sports clubs. It is clarified that one of these sports clubs played against the team in 2014 – at that moment Abramovich allegedly had the rights to the Peruvian striker Andre Carrillo. According to experts, this fact could change the outcome of some matches, but Roman’s representatives denied this information.