Biography of Sergei Polonsky
Sergei Polonsky is another well-known Russian businessman, whose life and destiny may well serve as an example to follow. His entire biography is one endless upward movement. He climbed to the top of the real estate development business, to one day be at the very top.
But what effort did this climb to sky-high heights cost? A biographical article prepared by us on one of the most successful entrepreneurs in modern Russia will help you understand this.
Early years, childhood and family of Sergei Polonsky
Sergei Polonsky was born on December 1, 1972 in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). His father was Jewish by nationality. Many other paternal relatives also belonged to this people. Despite this, in all other respects the Polonsky family was the most ordinary Russian family. Sergei graduated from secondary school No. 99, and after that he went to serve in the airborne troops of the Soviet army.
But in fairness, it is worth noting that the “Soviet” army did not remain long. In 1990, Sergei was drafted into the army, and a year and a half later, the Soviet Union has sunk into oblivion. Polonsky found this moment in Kutaisi, where his airborne brigade was located. Some time later, the troops were transferred to the Tskhinvali region, where for a long time they were in the very epicenter of the just-flared conflict between South Ossetia and Georgia.
Full video of a fight between Lebedev and Polonsky.
After returning to Russia, Sergei Polonsky began to make plans for the future. He managed to work in various industries, but soon decided to start his own business.
In 1994, together with his friends Artur Kirilenko and Natalya Pavlova, our today’s hero formed the Stroymontazh company, which was initially engaged in finishing work, but soon began to actively develop also in the field of construction. In 1996, the firm began building its first contract house. This moment marked the beginning of a new chapter in the life of our today’s hero.
Sergey Polonsky’s career in the business world
By the end of the nineties, Stroymontazh had become one of the largest players in the St. Petersburg real estate market. In 2000, the firm of Sergei Polonsky also began to develop the Moscow market. During this period, Stroymontazh implemented several extraordinary projects in the construction sector of the Russian capital, which earned respect among business partners and clients.
In 2004, the Moscow division of Stroymontazh, headed by Sergei Polonsky, re-branded and became the Mirax Group. In turn, the St. Petersburg “Stroymontazh” remained with Arthur Kirilenko, but six years later it went bankrupt.
The affairs of our today’s hero, in turn, have always gone much better. In the same 2004, the entrepreneur took up the direct implementation of the Federation Tower project, which later became the main symbol of the Mirax Group, and at the same time the whole of Moscow. In parallel with this, the company has also implemented several other outstanding projects in the luxury real estate segment. Among these are the residential complexes “Crown”, “Golden Keys-2”, as well as the business center “Europe-Building”.
In 2005, Mirax Group made an attempt to enter the market of Russian regions, but some time later abandoned this venture. At that time, this decision was justified by a personnel crisis – the lack of the required number of engineers, builders, architects, managers.
But two years later, when it came to the markets of European countries, the necessary personnel was nevertheless found. The company began construction of Astra Montenegro, a “club city” in one of the resorts of Montenegro, and also took up the implementation of a project of a similar scale – “Le Village Royal” in the Swiss Alps. The projects were a great success, and soon Polonsky’s company began to develop the markets of the USA (Miami) and the resort of Cambodia. After that, the company also opened representative offices in Geneva and Hanoi (Vietnam). A major project was launched in the UK.
Sergey Polonsky. Wild money | Central Television
However, the fate of the company was not always cloudless. In the late 2000s, the digging company was hit hard by the global crisis. Some projects have been frozen. In 2009, a Moscow court arrested large assets of the company in connection with non-payment of debt to Alfa-Bank in the amount of $ 241 million. Subsequently, the debts were paid off, but due to financial problems and a shaken reputation, the company was forced to change its name to “Potok”.
In 2011, Forbes magazine included our today’s hero among the most eccentric entrepreneurs in Russia. His phrase “who does not have a billion can go to f …” is widely known among the people, as well as an episode of eating his own tie in the framework of Sergei Minaev’s program “Minaev Live”. The last of the named cases was associated with an erroneous forecast regarding the rise in prices for elite class real estate. Polonsky spoke of an increase of 25%, noting that he would eat his own tie if he was wrong. Subsequently, it turned out that Sergei Yuryevich was slightly mistaken in the forecast figures.
Among other interesting episodes from the life of a businessman, it is also worth mentioning the episode with the failed flight into space. For a long time, Polonsky was preparing for the flight, but later he was nevertheless forced to abandon this venture due to health problems.
In the summer of 2014, a criminal case was opened against Polonsky. The entrepreneur was accused of fraud (the case of the Kutuzovskaya Milya residential complex) and the theft of funds from equity holders of the Rublevskaya Riviera residential complex (3.2 billion rubles disappeared). The court issued a ruling for the arrest of Sergei Yuryevich in absentia. Two years later, in May 2015, he was deported from Cambodia, where he had lived on his own island since 2012, and placed in Moscow Detention Center No. 1.
Personal life of Sergei Polonsky
For a long time, our today’s hero was married to yoga instructor Yulia Drynkina. In this marriage, three children were born – the daughters of Marusya and Aglaya, as well as the son of Mirax, whom, as you might guess, Polonsky gave a name in honor of his company.
Despite the presence of common children, the entrepreneur’s first marriage broke up. For a long time (12 years), Sergei lived with a woman named Olga Deripasko (not a relative of Oleg Deripaska – the same name) in a civil marriage, however, on June 1, 2016, they held a wedding ceremony, which took place in the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center. Despite the specific nature of the place, the celebration took place according to all the canons: with a dress, rings, a wedding march and guests.
Sergey Polonsky: latest news
Sergei Polonsky has been in jail since May 17, 2015. The investigation into his case was completed in November 2015. He was charged under the article “large-scale fraud committed by a group of persons in a preliminary conspiracy with the use of their official position”. Polonsky denied guilt, citing his former partners. On June 10, 2016, by the decision of the Moscow City Court, the arrest of Sergei Polonsky was extended until August 12 of the same year at the request of the investigator.