THE RICHEST BUSINESS PEOPLE FROM RUSSIA

It seems to me that the most important leadership qualities in Russia are toughness, willpower and physical strength (in terms of physical health) and assertiveness. To do business here, you have to have a backbone, 100%.

The number one rule in investing is to invest in what you understand.

In the Russian sense, creating a business empire is about gathering existing assets: most of our major entrepreneurs own what is left over from Soviet times.

Our society does not like wealthy people as such. If you’re rich, you’re considered a thief. For me, this is such a negative energy.

Ostentatious wealth is fading away and people are starting to look at things in a simpler way. All the shareholders of Alfa Group are multibillionaires, but ask anyone: "Do you have a yacht? Do you have a private jet?" No, the world is changing and many people are realizing that all these things are far from being the most important.

I do not consider a high capacity for work to be an entirely positive quality. In fact, when a shareholder is so involved in routine matters, that is my shortcoming and I have to step back from it. And I am trying to improve – I promise.

As soon as one agency gets to uncontrollably monitor private communications, soon enough this access falls into the hands of third parties: bribers, hackers and agents of other countries.

I worked in the Federation Council for 11 and a half years, exactly one fifth of my life. Believe me, these were incredibly interesting, intense and sometimes difficult years.

To maintain leadership, you simply have to do a better job. There are no other recipes. You have to improve something every day.

We have a saying: if parents work while their children just enjoy life, then the grandchildren will be dependent on charity.

If you are an independent businessperson and don’t interfere in the affairs of the state, you won’t have any problems. If you don’t stand in the way of the state, there will be no problems.

Above all else, entrepreneurship is a visionary endeavour.

I am a person who deals with practical issues. I am not interested in publicity, PR or trying to bring attention to myself. This is why I don’t give interviews and rarely speak to journalists. Most of the time, my business endeavours speak for me and they are the best reflection of my character, my abilities and, if you will, my values.

A confrontation with the state is always a losing game. Always. Past experience has shown that the weakest state is always stronger than the strongest businessman.

This is what it really feels like to be a Russian businessman: living in constant awareness that you don’t live in an environment where you can simply take. You have to give as well.

Rostov is like a woman you love who cheated on you, and you cannot forgive her.” (Note: the quote is about FC Rostov)

I worked 12 to 14 hours a day without any days off or holidays from around 1991 to 1996. That's what you call working yourself to the bone.

You should live fast, have fun and… I wanted to say ‘die young’, but that doesn’t really work anymore. You need to enjoy it.

I could be wrong, but there hasn't yet been a generation of rich people who realize that they don't need that much money. There are no pockets in your coffin. You earned in society, and you have to give back to society. You can't eat two breakfasts, no matter how hard you try.

We experienced all kinds of things, but we stuck to one rule: don’t make any agreements or enter into negotiations with criminals. This is the only way to ensure the survival of your business. As you can see, we’re all alive and I travel without security.

[Khodorkovsky] demonstrated that he has an open business [...] I have learnt this lesson well: talking publicly about your business will not lead to anything good and will only create problems. My rule is to sit quietly and keep my head down.

The art of being rich is the art of understanding human nature.

Broadly speaking, I am an investor, not a manager. It is not my job to explain the positions of companies to the outside world. What I am interested in is that my investments are efficient, that my companies are well positioned in their respective sectors, that we have a high return on capital, a low injury rate, a high level of environmentally friendly production, low production costs, and a high level of diversification into new products.

You might hear people say 'they didn't affect me, not at all', but the sanctions nevertheless impact everybody!

I am always surprised when people who appear out of nowhere suddenly start talking about purely professional problems. Without an education and having read only a couple of books, you cannot discuss how to run an enterprise.

It is no longer fashionable to want cars, fur coats, and yachts. Regular people have long realised that these are fringe values. Property used to be seen as an investment and an asset, but now it just absorbs a lot of money.

I'm very glad that I made money when I was already past 40. It's worse when you come into millions at 25–30 years old, millions that are easily earned, because in times of growth it is really easy to earn. Whatever you buy can be sold for twice as much within a year. Glamour is a consequence of precisely this easy, almost too easy money. Easy money destroys personalities.

If a person has a certain set of abilities, the main thing is that he is possessed with the idea of achieving results. I can't stand people who start explaining why something can't be done. And those who start with how bad is everything around us.