Telman Mardanovich Ismailov ( az, Telman Mərdan oğlu İsmayılov, russian: link=no, Те́льман Марда́нович Исмаи́лов; born 26 October 1956) is an

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

i-born businessman and entrepreneur of

Mountain Jewish Mountain Jews or Caucasus Jews also known as Juhuro, Juvuro, Juhuri, Juwuri, Juhurim, Kavkazi Jews or Gorsky Jews ( he, יהודי קווקז ''Yehudey Kavkaz'' or ''Yehudey he-Harim''; russian: Горские евреи, translit=Gorskie Yevrei ...

origin. Since Azerbaijan does not allow

dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...

, he holds Russian-Turkish citizenship. He is the chairman of the Russian AST Group of companies, which is active in many countries. Until 2009, Ismailov owned the Europe's then-largest marketplace,

Cherkizovsky Market The Cherkizovsky Market (russian: Черкизовский рынок), also known as Cherkizon (russian: Черкизон) was Europe's largest marketplace, located in Izmaylovo District, Moscow, Russia, near the Lokomotiv Stadium and Cherkiz ...

, located in Moscow, Russia.

Early life and family

Telman Ismailov was born in Baku,

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

in 1956, to a business family from Baku. He is the tenth of 12 children. Both his father's and mother's family include Muslims and

Mountain Jews Mountain Jews or Caucasus Jews also known as Juhuro, Juvuro, Juhuri, Juwuri, Juhurim, Kavkazi Jews or Gorsky Jews ( he, יהודי קווקז ''Yehudey Kavkaz'' or ''Yehudey he-Harim''; russian: Горские евреи, translit=Gorskie Yevrei ...

Business career

In 1989, he registered the brand "AST" (initials of his two sons (Alekper, Sarkhan) and himself). After the lavish opening of a hotel resort in

Antalya Antalya () is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast outside the Ae ...

, Russia's prime minister

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime m ...

was reportedly enraged that Ismailov invested so much abroad and flaunted his riches while Russia was being hit by a credit crunch. In retaliation, the angry Putin ordered the closing of Cherkizovsky Market in 2009, causing 100,000 traders at the famous bazaar to lose their jobs.

Lifestyle

Known for his extravagant lifestyle, Ismailov is famous for spending millions of dollars on singers like Jennifer Lopez,

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the ...

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

, and others. Ismailov paid Lopez $1.4 million for her to sing 10 minutes' worth of songs. The video of her singing "

Happy Birthday Happy Birthday may refer to: * "Happy Birthday", an expression of good will offered on a person's birthday Film, theatre and television * ''Happy Birthday'' (1998 film), a Russian drama by Larisa Sadilova * ''Happy Birthday'', a 2001 film featu ...

" song to him is available on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. Ismailov befriended plenty of other celebrities such as

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of vario ...

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in '' Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

Monica Bellucci Monica Anna Maria Bellucci (; born 30 September 1964) is an Italian actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model, modelling for Dolce & Gabbana and Dior, before making a transition to Italian films and later American and French ...

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conr ...

, and numerous other performers just to appear at his lavish parties.

References

External links

AST Group – Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismailov, Telman 1956 births Living people Azerbaijani billionaires Azerbaijani businesspeople Azerbaijani Jews Mountain Jews Russian football chairmen and investors Russian Jews Russian people of Azerbaijani descent Russian people of Jewish descent Turkish people of Azerbaijani descent Turkish people of Jewish descent Azerbaijani investors Azerbaijan State University of Economics alumni