Alexey Mordashov
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Alexey Alexandrovich Mordashov (; born 26 September 1965) is a Russian businessman. He is the main shareholder and chairman of
Severstal Severstal () is a Russian company mainly operating in the steel and mining industry, headquartered in Cherepovets. Severstal is listed on the Moscow Exchange and LSE and is the largest steel company in Russia. The company is majority-owned and ...
, Russia's largest steel and mining company. As of 2025, he is the wealthiest man in Russia with an estimated personal net worth at US$30.5 billion,. In the
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
2025 ranking, which takes into account the assets of the whole family, Mordashov ranks first among Russian billionaires (US$30.5∅B). . When he was 37, Forbes ordained him (along with Oprah) as a "new arrival" in the world of billionaires. Mordashov was mentioned in the
Panama Papers The Panama Papers () are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) published beginning April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. These document ...
and
FinCEN The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrori ...
files leaks – a company associated with Mordashov paid for a number of
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
's pet projects and gave generously to close Putin associates. He is under sanctions due to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. According to the EU, Rossiya Bank, in which Mordashov owns a financial stake, is the "personal bank" of the senior officials who benefitted from the annexation of
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
. In November 2023, the New York Times reported as part of the
Cyprus Confidential Cyprus Confidential is a journalism project investigating financial services in Cyprus and their role in allowing avoidance of international sanctions, and implementation of Russian state goals. It is conducted by the International Consortium of In ...
leak that accounts connected to him paid , a German author, to write a book about Putin.


Early life

Mordashov is the son of Russian parents, who were both steel mill workers. His father was electrical engineer at the mill in
Cherepovets Cherepovets ( rus, Череповец, p=tɕɪrʲɪpɐˈvʲets) is a city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located in the west of the oblast on the banks of the Sheksna River (a tributary of the Volga River) and on the shores of the Rybinsk Reservoir. ...
. According to Mordashov, his family used welfare coupons, allowed only 200g of butter and 400g of sausages per month. He graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree in
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
from the Leningrad Engineering-Economical Institute, currently known as ENGECON. He later gained an MBA from
Northumbria University Northumbria University (legally the University of Northumbria at Newcastle) is a Public research university, public research university located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, North East of England. It has been a university since 199 ...
in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
, England, in 2001. In an address to students at the
European University at Saint Petersburg The European University at Saint Petersburg (), sometimes referred to as EUSP, is a non-state graduate university located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was founded in 1994. The main language of instruction at the university is Russian. Howe ...
, Mordashov spoke about his decision to study in Leningrad rather than Moscow and the value his undergraduate studies played in his search for employment and eventual career path. Returning to Cherepovets, he started his career by joining the same steel plant where his parents had worked.


Career


Early career

In 1988 he joined Cherepovetskiy Metallurgical Plant after graduation from Leningrad Engineering-Economical Institut as an economist. By 1992 he became finance director, shortly before the company was privatised. When the plant's elderly director instructed him to acquire shares to keep them out of the hands of an outsider, he formed two investment funds and, by buying up workers' shares, built a major stake in the factory. In 1996 he was appointed as CEO of the company. He went on to build a conglomerate,
Severstal Severstal () is a Russian company mainly operating in the steel and mining industry, headquartered in Cherepovets. Severstal is listed on the Moscow Exchange and LSE and is the largest steel company in Russia. The company is majority-owned and ...
, acquiring steel, coal and mining companies.


Investments

In 2003, Mordashov became a co-owner of Rossiya Bank. In 2004, Mordashov started investing in US steel companies, purchasing companies in Dearborn, MI and Columbus, MS. The acquisition included the Rouge Plant in Dearborn. He received a loan from the
United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...
to renovate and refurbish the manufacturing plants in Dearborn. The value of the loan, over $370 million, was revoked in 2012, after growing political tensions between the US and Russia. Between 2004 and 2014, Mordashov and Severstal invested up to $3 billion in both the Dearborn and Columbus plants. In 2011 he sold a number of US assets in Ohio, Maryland and West Virginia to the Renco Group, owned by industrialist
Ira Rennert Ira Leon Rennert (born May 31, 1934) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman and CEO of Renco Group. As of November 2024, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth at US$3.8 billion. Early life Rennert's parents were immigrants from ...
. By 2014 all of Severstal's US investments had been sold for a total of $2.3 billion. His company Severstal planned a multibillion-dollar project in joint venture with
POSCO POSCO (formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Company) is a South Korean steel manufacturer headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It had an output of of crude steel in 2015, making it the List of steel producers, world's sixth-largest steelmaker by thi ...
in eastern India. After ten years of not getting environmental and land clearances, his company opted out in 2008. In autumn 2007, Mordashov purchased shares in
TUI Travel TUI Travel PLC was a British leisure travel group headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex. The company was formed on 3 September 2007 by the merger of First Choice Holidays PLC and the Tourism Division of TUI AG, which owned 56.4% of it. The compa ...
. As he increased his stake to the largest single shareholder through his S-Group Travel, TUI Travel under Michael Frenzel expanded into
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in 2008,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
in 2009, and sold off its shipping interests, Hapag-Lloyd AG, to the '' Albert Ballin Consortium'' in March 2009. In 2014, he held a blocking stake of more than 25% in TUI Travel when TUI Travel was absorbed by
TUI Group TUI AG (trading as TUI Group) is a German multinational leisure, travel and tourism company; it is the largest such company in the world. TUI is an acronym for ''Touristik Union International'' ("Tourism Union International"). TUI AG was known a ...
. In October 2018, he has a 24.9% stake in TUI Group through his S-Group Travel and has been on the TUI Group supervisory board since 2016. In 2008, Mordashov,
Surgutneftegas Surgutneftegas ( rus, ПАО «Сургутнефтегаз», p=sʊrɡʊtnʲɪftʲɪˈɡas) is a Russian oil and gas company created by merging several previously state-owned companies owning large oil and gas reserves in Western Siberia. The c ...
and Rossiya Bank created the National Media Group, which now owns packages in TV channels ( Fifth,
First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
, REN TV). In 2011, Mordashov purchased 25% of the shares in steam turbine manufacturer,
Power Machines Joint-stock company, OJSC Power Machines (transliteration, translit. Siloviye Mashiny abbreviated as Silmash, ) is a Russian energy systems machine-building company founded in 2000. It is headquartered in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Saint Petersbur ...
, from
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
. In 2013, with partner Yuri Kovalchuk, Mordashov bought 50% of Tele2 Russia, the country's 4th largest mobile phone operator. In 2012, Mordashov consolidated Severstal's gold mining assets into one company, Nord Gold N.V. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: NORD LI). In 2013, Nord Gold was awarded a license to embark on gold exploration in Siberia. In 2017 Mordashov announced plans to delist Nordgold from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) citing unfair valuation as the reason. The LSE requires that companies have at least 25% as free float, while Mordashov owns 91% of the company. Mordashov was elected as chairman of the
World Steel Association World Steel Association, abbreviated as worldsteel, is the international industry association for the iron and steel sector. The association is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world, with members in every major s ...
in October 2012. In 2011, he was the only Russian participant in a meeting of Bilderberg Club at
St Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...
, Switzerland. In June 2013, Mordashov was the fifth largest shareholder of Rossiya Bank owning 6%. In 2015, Mordashov stepped down as CEO, appointing former COO Vadim Larin, in his place. Mordashov would be appointed as chairman. The changes were confirmed by Severstal. On 10 October 2017 Alexey Mordashov became a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.


Sanctions

On 28 February 2022, in relation to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, the European Union blacklisted Mordashov and had all his assets frozen. In early March, the Italian police seized one of his yachts, the ''Lady M''. At that time, another one of his yachts, the ''Nord'', was outside the European Unions jurisdiction in the
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
. He was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 in relation to the
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
.


Pandora Papers

The
Pandora Papers The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked documents with 2.9 terabytes of data that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 3 October 2021. The leak exposed the secret offshore accounts of 35 ...
were a collection of nearly 12 million leaked confidential financial records compiled by the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C., with ...
. Within those records are details of how a special unit known as "Cypriot" within accounting firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...
(PwC) helped Mordashov "build the offshore infrastructure of his business empire." The firm helped set up over 65 shell companies in various "secrecy jurisdictions" such as the British Virgin Islands on behalf of a holding company connected to Mordashov. Through these shell companies, Mordashov expanded his presence in the logging, coal, and media industries inside Russia.


Personal life

Mordashov and his first wife Elena (sometimes Yelena) have a son, Ilya, and divorced in 1996. In 2001, it was revealed in a St Petersburg divorce court that he was paying only $620 a month to support his ex-wife and son, when she sued him for half of his pre-divorce property but lost the case and incurred large fees. The case was eventually settled after she took it to the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
. Mordashov owns the yachts Lady M and
Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...
as well as a private jet. By 2001, Mordashov had married his second wife, also Elena, and had had two more sons - Kirill and Nikita. In 2018–2019, for Kirill and Nikita the KN-holding company was created, to which Mordashov transferred his shares in Nordgold and TUI. In this way, the businessman hoped to transfer business experience to his sons. But in 2021, Nikita lost his share due to unsuccessful studies and leaving for military service. In 2022, the ICIJ reported that Mordashov transferred most of his ownership stake in tourism conglomerate TUI to a Caribbean shell company controlled by Marina Mordashova who is reportedly the mother of some of his children.


See also

* List of Russian billionaires


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mordashov, Alexei 1965 births Living people People from Cherepovets Alumni of Northumbria University Businesspeople in steel Russian billionaires Russian mining businesspeople Russian individuals subject to European Union sanctions Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions TUI Group people