Telman Mardanovich Ismailov (, ; born 26 October 1956) is an

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

i-born businessman and entrepreneur of Mountain Jewish origin. Since Azerbaijan does not allow

dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

, 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, located in Moscow, Russia.

Early life and family

Telman Ismailov was born in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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

Mountain Jews Mountain Jews are the Mizrahi Jews, Mizrahi Jewish subgroup of the eastern and northern Caucasus, mainly Azerbaijan, and various republics in the Russian Federation: Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia, and Kabardino-Balkaria. M ...

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, the Mardan Palace, in

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

, Russia's prime minister

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 ...

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 Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

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 1 ...

, and others. Ismailov paid Lopez $1.4 million for her to sing 10 minutes' worth of songs. The video of her singing " Happy Birthday" song to him is available on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. Ismailov befriended plenty of other celebrities such as

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

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

Monica Bellucci Monica Anna Maria Bellucci (; born 30 September 1964) is an Italian actress and model who began her career as a fashion model before working in Italian, American, and French films. She has an eclectic filmography in a range of genres and langua ...

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, and socialite. Hilton was born in New York City and raised there partially; shuttling between Los Angeles and New York City; she is a great-grandda ...

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

References

External links

AST Group – Official Site

Exiled oligarch Ismailov's hidden assets rekindle Russia-Montenegro tensions
Intelligence Online, September 14, 2023 (requires free registration) {{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