Roman Abramovich was born on October 24, 1966 in Saratov on the Volga River in Southern Russia. He is a Russian oil billionaire and the main owner of private investment company Millhouse Capital, referred to as one of the Russian oligarchs.

Biography and Career :

His mother died when he was 18 months old and his father was killed in a construction accident when Roman was age 4.

Roman Abramovich was adopted by his father's brother and lived for a time in Moscow, and then with his grandparents in the Northern region of Komi.

Roman Abramovich was drafted into the Soviet army and after service finished concentrated his business activities o n trading oil products out of Russia's largest refinery in Omsk, western Siberia.

In 1992 Roman Abramovich was investigated and cleared for alleged misappropriation of 55 railroad wagons full of diesel fuel from the Ukhtinsky petroleum processing plant. Undaunted his business empire grew, incorporating a controlling interest in Russian oil giant Sibneft, as well as shares in national airline Aeroflot, and a television company, among other holdings, through Millhouse Capital, registered in Britain.

Roman Abramovich founded the charitable foundation Pole of Hope, which sends children to summer camps and sends shipments of food aid to Chukotkan villages. Possibly this led to him being elected a member of the Durma (Russian Parliament) representing that remote region of Chukotka, and in 2001 was elected governor of that area.

By 2003 Forbes magazine listed Roman Abramovich as the 49th richest person in the world, with a new worth of $5.7billion (3.42bn), while the Sunday Times claim he is worth 3.8bn. In July of the same year Roman Abramovich agreed a deal with Chelsea owner Ken Bates to buy his majority shareholding in the Barclaycard Premiership club for 29.6million and also agrees to underwrite their substantial debts of Chelsea Village. Rivals nickname the football club 'Chelski', but they now face a future debt free, and can concentrate on what matters, the beautiful game.

2004 sees Roman Abramovich hailed as 'Britain's Richest Man' by the Mail on Sunday, with a fortune of 7.2bn. It has bought him three luxury yachts worth 150m, two helicopters and a private jet worth 35m and properties in London and Sussex worth a total of 60 million, says the report. Chelsea FC is valued by The Rich Report at 260 million, which includes 140m spent on players since last July's takeover.

Trivia :

- Roman Abramovich divorced his second wife Irina in 2006.
- In Russian, his surname is pronounced with the stress on the third syllable, but most English speakers stress it on the second syllable.
- Mr. Abramovich owns a Ferrari FXX, a $2.2 million dollar race-only car, of which only 30 were built.
- They have five children aged between 9 mths to 12 years.

Quotes :

- "Investors have very short memories."

- "I love this game, I love this sport, I love this league. Why don't I get my own team?"

- "I'm realising my dream of owning a top football club. Some will doubt my motives, others will think I'm crazy."
_{Roman Abramovich Image : thethao.vietnamnet.vn}

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Tags: 1966, saratov, russia, billionaire, volga river, oligarch, company, millhouse capital	[edit tags]

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Category: Business people  - ( Business people Archive)

Date Added: 10 September '09

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