Leonid Arnoldovich Fedun (; born 5 April 1956) is a Ukrainian-born Russian

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

businessman known for co-founding Russian oil company Lukoil. Until retiring in 2022, Fedun was vice president of Lukoil. He formerly served as president of

FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet Top League, Soviet championships (second only to FC Dynamo Kyiv, Dynamo Kyiv) and 10 Russian Premier League, Russian champ ...

before selling 100% of his shares to Lukoil. Prior to entering the private sector, he was a military officer. He is considered to be a close associate of Vagit Alekperov, who he co-founded Lukoil with. In February 18, 2022, Fedun was estimated to have had an estimated fortune of $8.5 billion, a figure that declined to $1.7 billion by March 28, 2022. Critics have labelled Fedun as an oligarch.

Education

Leonid Fedun was born in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in 1956, but grew up in

Baikonur Baikonur ( ; ) is a city in Kazakhstan on the northern bank of the Syr Darya river. It is currently leased and administered by the Russian Federation as an enclave until 2050. It was constructed to serve the Baikonur Cosmodrome with adminis ...

, as his father was sent as a military surgeon. He fimished School No. 1 in Baikonur and pursued a military career. In 1977, he graduated from the Military-Political Department of the Rostov Higher Military Command School. Later, he entered post-graduate education in the

Dzerzhinsky Military Academy Russia has a number of military academies of different specialties. This article primarily lists institutions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation rather than those of the Soviet Armed Forces. Russian institutions designated as an "aca ...

. In 1984, he obtained a Ph.D. with a thesis on the ''public opinion of military servants as the component of army morale''. From 1984 to 1992 he taught

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

at the academy and rose to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. In 1993, he complete a post-graduate course in the Higher School of Privatization and Entrepreneurship. Since 1995, he has been a member of the

Russian Academy of Natural Sciences The Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (Russian language, Russian: Российская академия естественных наук) is a Russian non-governmental organization founded on August 31 1990 in Moscow in the former Soviet Uni ...

Career

In addition to his work at the Academy, Fedun was a lecturer in the Znanie organization. In 1987, he visited Kogalym with a lecture, was introduced to the management of production company Kogalymneftegaz, and got a job offer from its director Vagit Alekperov. In 1990, Alekperov was appointed as the deputy minister of oil and gas industry and invited Fedun to Moscow. In 1992, Alekperov left the public service and created a ''angepasraiogalymneft'' concern which included companies working on the largest oil pools in Langepas, Urai, and Kogalym regions. In 1993, this company was transformed into LUKoil. From 1992 to 1994, Fedun was the founder and CEO of ''Neftkonsult'' (which later became ''LUKoil-Consulting'') consulting firm and ''Lukoil Reserve Invest'' (which became the core of the IFD Kapital Group) oil brokerage company. In 1995, he was appointed the

vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of LUKoil. In 1993, Fedun was officially dismissed from the Russian military and within the same year became the CEO of JSC. As of May 2006, Fedun was one of the main owners of IFD Kapital Group. In 2020, he donated 10 million rubles to the Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery to the fight

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Sports

In 2004, Fedun became the second-largest shareholder and the president of

(Fedun owned 32.7% while Alekperov owned 36.7%).Леонид Федун
/ref> According to the entrepreneur, by 2014, he invested nearly a billion dollars the club. Fedun remained the president of FC Spartak Moscow until 2022. Under his management, the club got a home stadium, Lukoil Arena, opened a football school, Spartak Academy, became a 2017 champion of Russia, won the 2017 Russian Super Cup and the 2021–22 Russian Cup. On August 22, 2022, Leonid Fedun resigned as president of

, selling 100% of his shares to Lukoil. In July 2021, Fedun made a £400 million offer to purchase the English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

, which was rejected.

Awards and honors

His business ventures have earned him numerous state awards (Order For Merit to the Fatherland of III and IV class, and the Order of Honour).

Family

Fedun's father was Arnold Antonovich Fedun (1928-2021), the People's Doctor of the USSR, former chief surgeon of the RVSN, colonel of the medical service. Fedun was married twice. He has two children with his first wife Marina Fedun: Anton (born 1985) and Ekaterina (born 1988) He also has five children with his second wife Zarema Salikhova: Leo, Lucas, Lavr, Adriana, and another daughter born in 2022.

References