Vladimir Potanin: biography, private life

In this article we will talk about the biography of one of the richest people in the world. This is our compatriot, a native of Moscow - Vladimir Potanin.

Birth, education

Vladimir was born on January 3, 1961 in the capital of the USSR in the family of the trade representative of the Soviet Union in New Zealand. After graduating from high school, he entered the Economics Department of Moscow State Institute of International Relations, graduating in 1983.

According to the "good" tradition of supporters of conspiracy conspiracies, it is considered that almost all successful, rich and influential people in Russia and in the world are distinguished by Jewish nationality. Vladimir Potanin is also often characterized as a mason, an agent of Zionism and so on. However, there is no real confirmed information about the Semitic roots of Vladimir Olegovich. Vladimir Potanin, whose biography, nationality and personal life are open information, is officially considered Russian.

Carier start

A little later, after graduating from the institute, Vladimir Potanin acquired membership in the Party of the CPSU and worked as an engineer in the Soyuzkhimexport. This continued until 1990, when the young man moved to work at IBEC - the International Bank for Economic Cooperation. And already in 1991 he took the place of the president of the Foreign Economic Association "Interros".

The first steps in business

In 1992-1993, Vladimir Potanin was vice-president, and then president of the IFC bank, which he himself created. Since 1993, he has taken over the presidency of ONEXIM Bank. Since 1995, the mass media actively discussed pledge auctions held by Potanin. He pointed out that he pursued two goals, which were to find effective owners for enterprises and to attract funds to the treasury. During these auctions, Vladimir Potanin, through IFC and ONEXIM Bank, purchased state-owned shares of the Siberian-Far Eastern Oil Company, Norilsk Nickel, Novorossiysk Shipping Company, Novolipetsk Metallurgical Combine and North-West Shipping Company.

In 1996, Potanin became vice-president of the Association of Financial-Industrial Groups. In the same year he took part in the meeting of the then President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin with a group of politicians and bankers, which resulted in the establishment of an analytical group at the electoral headquarters. The group was headed by Anatoly Chubais. A few months later, Vladimir Potanin was awarded the president for active support of his election company.

The Case of AvtoVAZ

In August of the same year, 1996, Potanin was the first deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation. His duties included the supervision of the economic bloc. The Minister of Economy welcomed this appointment, just like the chairman of the Central Bank. At the same time, he participated in the AvtoVAZ bankruptcy case. A huge external debt (about three trillion rubles) threatened the closure of the enterprise, but this was avoided.

The basis of Interros

In March 1997, Vladimir Potanin was relieved of his post as First Deputy Prime Minister, and in May he again headed ONEXIM Bank. In "Novye Izvestia" there was information that Potanin had decided to run for president in the next election. In April 1998, he left ONEXIM Bank to head the holding company Interros, which brings together Norilsk Nickel, Sidanko and the Interros financial-industrial group. The following spring, a number of media outlets wrote that the industrial activity of the companies of this holding provided more than 4% of Russia's GDP and approximately 7% of the total volume of exports.

Career development and elevation

July 1998, I remember, among other things, the fact that Vladimir Potanin, whose biography is full of contacts with political structures, made a sharp statement regarding the authorities about the economic situation in the country. Among other things, he called the government's policy "mockery" over the people and stressed that if the country's economic problems are not urgently addressed and social protection mechanisms are not reorganized, then a dictatorship or anything else can be established in the country.

In 2001, under the leadership of Interros, the concern Power Machines was established. The company united a number of enterprises, such as the Leningrad Metal Plant, the Turbine Blades Plant, LMZ-engineering and others. In the same year he again entered the government structures. Vladimir Potanin strengthened contacts with the state power through membership in the Council for Entrepreneurship under the government of the Russian Federation. Then, through Interros, he sold a number of oil companies, after which he actually put an end to the oil business.

In 2003, Potanin was elected as chairman of the National Council for Corporate Governance. The tasks of this body were to improve the ethical-business rating of Russia. In the same year he took part in a forum that united the supporters and supporters of the ruling party. In addition, this July was marked by a very large transaction, as a result of which Interros bought out all commercial structures of Alexander Smolensky. These included a group of banks and several other companies. The newspaper Kommersant estimated this transaction as the largest in the history of the domestic banking system, the absorption of one holding by another in this sector.

In 2005, Vladimir Potanin again criticized the government. This time, the reason was high administrative barriers and a critical level of corruption, which seriously affects the development of medium and small businesses. In addition, Potanin noted the fact that the government is too intrusive in the economic sphere. In the same year, Potanin became a member of the Public Chamber, in which he became chairman of the commission dealing with issues of volunteerism and charity.

In 2007, Interros announced the beginning of a major restructuring, as a result of which Potanin had to cease cooperation with his main partner, Mikhail Prokhorov, who by that time had occupied the chair of Norilsk Nickel's CEO. Under the terms of the program, Prokhorov, having completed a number of ongoing projects, must resign from his position as the head of the company, while selling his share in the company to Interros. Potanin, for his part, sells all the assets of a number of energy and hydrogen companies Interros to Prokhorov so that he can subsequently create his own company.

Awards and charity

By 2006, the state of Potanin reached a mark of 6.4 billion dollars. He is actively engaged in charity. In particular, he allocated his own funds for the development of the Hermitage. In addition, for a million dollars donated to them, the Museum Fund of Russia managed to buy out the "Black Square" by Malevich, the operative administrator of which was the Hermitage. Potanin invested in the establishment of the Orthodox University of Humanities and several other church projects, for which he received three church awards - the Order of St. Prince Vladimir II and III degree and the Order of St. Sergius III degree. But long before that, in 1995, he was one of the founders of the "Foundation for the Unity of Orthodox Peoples". Commenting on his style of charity, he noted that the state should stop looking at philanthropists as criminals who are trying to atone for their crimes.

All the charitable programs are dealt with by a special fund, which was established by Vladimir Potanin. Address of the institution: Moscow, Bolshaya Yakimanka street.

In 2007, Potanin became the first businessman to be awarded the French Order of Arts and Fine Arts. He was awarded this award for his services in the development of intercultural dialogue between Russia and France. Later, Potanin actively supported the development of hotel infrastructure in Sochi and the construction of sports facilities for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Vladimir Potanin: personal life

In conclusion, let us say a few words about the personal life of this man. First of all, we note that he is married, and for the second time. The first wife of Vladimir Potanin - Natalia Nikolayevna - lived with him for about thirty years. However, in February 2014, she officially divorced him on the initiative of Vladimir himself, who at that time had a long-standing relationship on the side. A few months after the divorce, he married again. His current wife is called Catherine, and she is younger than her predecessor for fourteen years. As far as we know, she has the daughter of Varvara, whose father is Vladimir Potanin. His children from the first marriage - two sons and a daughter - do not support him. He refused to leave them an inheritance and, after divorce, deprived his offspring of work in his own commercial structure. The daughter of Vladimir Potanin Anastasia and son Ivan are multiple champions of Russia in aquabike. Anastasia also won three times the title of world champion in this sport.

Other facts

Potanin speaks English and French. Free time prefers to conduct actively, so often visits ski resorts, and also plays football and tennis. Potanin travels a lot. In addition, the list of his favorite pastime means chess and dominoes. In 2006, he acquired the experience of a TV presenter. This opportunity was provided to him by TNT channel by signing a contract with him, according to which Potanin was supposed to conduct a reality show "Candidate".