Vagit Alekperov

Famous for

Major shareholder in Lukoil, Russia’s largest private oil company.
He is a descendant of the Soviet industrial and managerial elite, including family members who held senior positions in state-owned enterprises and the political hierarchy of the Soviet Union.

Assets

Russia’s largest private company (as of 2021), Lukoil explores and produces oil in 14 countries and operates gas stations in 19. As of 2022, Vagit Alekperov held a 28.3% stake in the company. The company was ranked 4th on Forbes’ list of the most profitable Russian companies for 2022. The company’s valuation as of 2023 was around 4.377 trillion rubles (roughly $48 billion). Revenues for 2022 amounted to 2.874 trillion rubles (worth approximately $42.89 billion at the time).
Vagit Alekperov had a 36.7% stake in Football Club Spartak Moscow until 2022, since which time it has been 100% owned by Lukoil. It is the second most valuable club in the Russian Premier League, according to Transfermarkt (€115 million in 2022, or about 9.66 billion rubles at the time).
The Dutch shipyard Heesen Yachts (owned by Vagit Alekperov until 2022, when it was transferred to an independent Dutch foundation) builds luxury superyachts based on custom designs. The company built Vagit Alekperov’s 70-metre Galactica Super Nova at an estimated cost of $105 million (about 7.77 billion rubles at the time).

Interests and hobbies

Collects antique coins. He is the founder of the International Numismatic Club Museum. One of the rarest pieces in the museum’s collection, the 1825 Constantine ruble, was purchased by Vagit Alekperov in 2021 for $2.6 million (190 million rubles at the time). According to Forbes, there are about 5,000 coins in the museum’s collection, and Alekperov spends $2–2.5 million (approximately 190–240 million rubles) annually on maintaining and updating the museum.

Professional history

Born on 1 September 1950 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR.

In 1974, he graduated from the Azizbekov Azerbaijan Institute of Oil and Chemistry (now the Azerbaijan State University of Oil and Industry) with a degree in Mining Engineering, Technology and Integrated Mechanization of Oil and Gas Development.

By 1979, he had reached the position of deputy head of oilfield management at Caspmorneft.

From 1980 to 1987, he held senior positions at Surgutneftegaz Production Association in Western Siberia, which he left by order of the party.

From 1987 to 1990 he was General Director of Kogalymneftegaz.

In 1990, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Oil and Gas of the USSR.

In 1991, he became Chairman of the Oil Industry Committee of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

In 1991, Langepasuraikogalymneft was established through a merger of the Kogalym, Langepas and Uray oil production companies. After its reorganization into Lukoil in 1993, the company was headed by Vagit Alekperov. After the privatization of the company in 1994, Alekperov became its largest shareholder. In 2002 he owned 10.4% of the shares. By 2007 he had increased his stake from 10.4% to 16.89% and further to 24.8% by 2017.

In 1999 he became a Doctor of Economics.

From 2004 he held an indirect 36.7% stake in the Spartak football club. The annual joint investments in the club made along with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the club Leonid Fedun, according to the estimates of Vagit Alekperov in 2015, amounted to $60 million (3.6 billion rubles at the then exchange rate).

In 2018, he bought Heesen Yachts, a company that builds luxury superyachts, for €100 million (about 7.4 billion rubles at the time).

In 2022, after being personally sanctioned by the United Kingdom, Alekperov left his post as president of Lukoil, and 100% of Spartak’s shares were transferred to the ownership of the oil company. The Dutch shipyard Heesen Yachts was transferred to an independent fund around the same time.

Deals and ventures

In 1996, Lukoil bought a 20% stake in Izvestia (one of Russia’s oldest newspapers).
By 1997, Lukoil controlled up to 48% of the newspaper’s shares through various subdivisions.
In 2000, Lukoil acquired the largest Moscow publishing house, Pressa. It was reported that the rationale behind the purchase was to consolidate the publishing house with Izvestia.
In 2005, 48% of Izvestia’s shares were sold to Gazprom-Media Holding.
In 2008, Lukoil acquired Akpet, which owned 693 gas stations in Turkey. The total value of the deal was $555 million (about 14.43 billion rubles at the time). This allowed the company to occupy about 5.3% of the country’s market and increase its retail network abroad by 18%.
In 2014, Lukoil decided to sell its assets in Ukraine: a 100% stake in Lukoil-Ukraine, which owned 240 gas stations and 6 oil depots in the country, to the Austrian investment company AMIC Energy Management GmbH for about $300 million (about 11.1 billion rubles at the time).
In 2016, Otkritie Holding Group bought diamond producer Arkhangelskgeoldobycha from Lukoil for $1.45 billion (about 1 trillion rubles at the time).
In 2020, Rostelecom bought Lukoil-Inform, an operator of telecommunications and IT services, from Lukoil. The transaction amounted to about 2 billion rubles (about $32.8 million).
In 2022, Lukoil acquired 100% of Shell Oil (Russian Shell), which controlled 411 gas stations in Russia. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
In 2022 Lukoil, together with the investment fund Gazprombank-Fresia, bought 56.4% of the electric power company Enel Russia from the Italian corporation Enel. The transaction amounted to €137 million (about 7.4 billion rubles at the time).

Achievements

Honoured with the 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st degree Orders of Merit of the Fatherland for his services to the state and contribution to the development of the fuel, energy and oil and gas sectors.
In 2020 he received the Forbes Philanthropist of the Year award.
He is an active member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
He is the author of several publications: Vertically Integrated Oil Companies in Russia: Formation and Implementation Methodology, Strategic Directions for the Systemic Reorganization of Oil Company Management, and Russian Oil: Past, Present and Future.

Criticism and disputes

In 1997, Vagit Alekperov had a dispute with Igor Golembiovsky, the editor-in-chief of Izvestia, a newspaper owned by Lukoil. Under pressure from Alekperov, a significant part of the staff of the Russian edition left the newspaper, along with the editor-in-chief, for reprinting an article from the French newspaper Le Monde about Viktor Chernomyrdin.
In 2000, it was reported that a criminal case was being prepared against Vagit Alekperov for concealing about $500 million in tax funds (around 14 billion rubles at the exchange rate at the time). The court then declared the decision illegal.
In 2016, Rosneft spokesman Mikhail Leontyev hinted at Alekperov’s bad faith when commenting on the case of minister Ulyukayev. After a dispute with Lukoil’s press service, Leontyev apologized.
In 2022, it was reported that Moscow authorities had decided to sue Alekperov for trying to illegally expand his penthouse.

Attitudes to Russian–Ukrainian conflict

“Lukoil’s Board of Directors expresses its concern over the ongoing tragic events in Ukraine and its deepest sympathy to all those affected by this tragedy,” a statement said. It held that the company’s board favours resolving the situation “by diplomatic means” through negotiations.

Community work

In 2007, Alekperov founded the Our Future Foundation, which is dedicated to the development of social entrepreneurship. To date, the organization has supported 255 social entrepreneurship projects for a total of 693.2 million rubles. In 2020, according to Forbes, the foundation was ranked 3rd in the list of the best charitable foundations created by wealthy Russians.
Alekperov pays for the treatment of seriously ill children and donates funds to the Mikhailovsky Orphanage. In total, between 2010 and 2020, the businessman spent more than $40 million (about 2.2 billion rubles) on charity.
Lukoil spends money on environmental protection. The company’s spending in this category over 10 years amounted to $4.7 billion (about 270 billion rubles).
Lukoil has invested almost 5 billion rubles in the development of renewable energy, and solar power plants are being built on the territories of two companies within the group: the Volgograd Oil Refinery and the Krasnodar Thermal Power Plant.
In 2021, Lukoil shareholders, together with Alekperov, created a fund with an initial size of $500 million (about 38 billion rubles at the time) to support promising projects, including climate initiatives.

Additional information

Married with one child.

Source for information: Forbes.com, Bloomberg.com, Forbes.ru, Kommersant.ru, Vedomosti.ru, Tass.ru, Lukoil.ru