Famous for
Founder of one of Russia’s leading food retailers, the Magnit chain, and the FC Krasnodar football club.
Assets
- As of February 2024, Sergey Galitsky holds most of his wealth – $5.43 billion (about 499.56 billion rubles) – in cash
- He owns a 3% stake in the Magnit food retail chain. This stake is valued at $245 million (about 20.8 billion rubles). The company’s net profit in 2022 was 27.9 billion rubles (about $410 million).
- The Investstroy investment company. Its profit in 2021 was 5.6 billion rubles (about $76.7 million).
- Novye Tekhnologii, a producer of bakery products. The company’s net profit in 2022 was 501 million rubles (about $7.3 million).
- Plastiktrade, a producer of packaging. The company’s net profit in 2022 was 310 million rubles (about $4.5 million).
- The Yug agricultural company, which in 2022 had a net profit of 110 million rubles (about $1.6 million).
- He owns a 51% stake in the Russian Terroir winery.
- He holds a 67% stake in the FC Krasnodar football club.
- Galitsky owns the 104-metre Quantum Blue yacht, which is worth about $250 million (17 billion rubles).
- A Gulfstream G650 business jet worth about $70 million (4.34 billion rubles).
Interests and hobbies
Galitsky is passionate about football. He is the founder and owner of the FC Krasnodar club, a three-time bronze medallist in the Russian championship, a two-time silver medallist in the Russian Cup, and a participant in the Europa League.
Professional history
He was born on 14 August 1967 in the village of Lazarevskoye (now a district of the city of Sochi) with the surname Arutyunyan, later taking his wife’s surname.
From 1985 to 1987 he served in the armed forces of the USSR.
In 1993 he graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Kuban State University. As a student he worked in one of the first commercial banks in Krasnodar.
In 1994, he and his classmates founded Transasia, a wholesale distributor of household chemicals, cosmetics and perfumes, which soon became the exclusive distributor of Procter & Gamble in Krasnodar Region.
In 1995, Galitsky and his business partner Alexei Bogachev launched Tander. Under this brand, the first cash-and-carry store was opened in Krasnodar in 1998.
Soon after, the Magnit discount stores were launched, which by 2001 had become the country’s largest chain.
In the second half of the 2000s, Galitsky launched the Art Side advertising agency, a food factory of the same name and the Kvartal entertainment complex in Krasnodar. During this time he also owned several bars, cafes and a pizzeria in the city.
In 2008 he founded the FC Krasnodar football club. At the same time, he founded a football school for children and the club’s academy which, according to the businessman’s vision, would train athletes for the team.
In 2010, he started winegrowing near Anapa. His company Russian Terroir, of which he owns half along with his wife’s brother, owns the brands Galitsky and Galitsky, Cosaque, Ballet Blanc, Neanderthal and Grand Jete.
In 2016, the construction of Sergey Galitsky’s Krasnodar Stadium in Krasnodar was completed. The project cost more than 20 billion rubles (about $300 million).
In 2018, Galitsky sold most of his shares in Magnit and also resigned from all posts at the company. Among the reasons for the sale, the entrepreneur cited psychological stress and the company’s exposure to state regulation.
In the same year, he founded the SN Capital investment fund, in which he invested the money from the sale of Magnit. In 2022, it was reported that he had withdrawn from its ownership, citing financial difficulties due to frozen accounts in Europe.
In 2021, it was reported that Galitsky had fallen ill and was unable to attend his football team’s matches.
Deals and ventures
- $370 million dollars (about 9.99 billion rubles) for a 19% stake in Magnit was raised during its IPO on the Russian Trading System and the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange in 2006.
- 138 billion rubles (approximately $2.25 billion) was received by Galitsky for the sale of a 29% stake in Magnit to VTB Bank in 2018.
- Sergey Galitsky invested 1.21 billion rubles (about $16.8 million) in his football club FC Krasnodar in 2020, 1.52 billion rubles (about $20.8 million) in 2021 and 5.3 billion rubles (about $77.9 million) in 2022.
- Experts estimate that Galitsky’s Yug company will pay 700–850 million rubles (about $7.9–9.65 million) for the Yuzhny Polyus oil plant in 2024.
Achievements
- Ranked second in the Forbes Russian-language ranking of businessmen who have changed the perception of Russia.
- In 2017, he was named Philanthropist of the Year by the Russian-language Forbes.
- In 2014, he was named Businessman of the Year by GQ magazine.
- In 2011, he was named Businessman of the Year by the Vedomosti newspaper.
- Awarded a Certificate of Honour by the President of the Russian Federation.
- Holder of the title Honourable Citizen of Krasnodar.
- Candidate Master of Sport and chess champion of Sochi.
Criticism and disputes
Entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov has repeatedly criticized Galitsky. In 2022, the former accused the latter of being silent about the situation in Ukraine. In 2023, Tinkov ridiculed Galitsky’s football academy.
In 2023, Russia’s Rosprirodnadzor filed 11 lawsuits worth 3.1 million rubles (about $42,000) against Galitsky’s company for environmental pollution. The court dismissed these claims.
Attitudes to Russian–Ukrainian conflict
In an interview in 2022, commenting on the situation regarding the conflict in Ukraine, Galitsky said:
“We are Russians. And we are not going to prove anything to anyone. And we will not show off in front of Europeans: guys, we are normal, take us into your community, we are good people. We should be mindful of just ourselves!”
Community work
- Galitsky is the founder of a free children’s football academy. He spent €65 million (about 4.81 billion rubles) to create infrastructure for the school, and its annual budget is $8 million (about 500 million rubles).
- In 2017, Galitsky built a 22.7-hectare park in Krasnodar. The project cost him 4 billion rubles (about $69 million). In 2023, a Japanese garden was opened in the park at a cost of $70 million (about 5.95 billion rubles).
- Since 2019, Galitsky’s company has been financing the reconstruction of the Aurora Cinema in Krasnodar. The cost of the project is 2.8 billion rubles (about $44 million).
Additional information
Widower, has one daughter.
Source for information: Forbes.com, Forbes.ru, Bloomberg.com, Lenta.ru, Tass.ru, Rbc.ru
