Leonid Viktorovich Mikhelson was born August 11, 1955 and he is one of the richest Russian billionaire business men , CEO, chairman and major shareholder of the Russian gas company Novatek .
Popular as-Leonid Viktorovich Mikhelson
Occupation-CEO, chairman and major shareholder, Novatek
Age-66 years old
Zodiac sign-Leo
Born-August 11, 1955
Birthday-11 August
Place of birth-Kaspiysk, Russia
Nationality-Russian.
Leonid Mikhelson Biography
He was born in Dagestan, then his parents moved to the city of Novokuibyshevsk, where he graduated from high school.
Viktor Zelmanovich, Leonid’s father, was engaged in the construction of pipelines at that time, he often took his son to the oil fields. Then Viktor Zelmanovich took over as director of the Kuibyshevtruboprovodstroy trust and began to be considered an influential figure not only in his region, but also in the capital.
In 1977, Leonid Mikhelson received a diploma from the Kuibyshev Institute of Civil Engineering. Vedomosti writes. A short time later, the young specialist went to Siberia and participated in the construction of the first branch of the Urengoy – Chelyabinsk gas pipeline.
Leonid Mikhelson Net Worth
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index , he has a net worth of US$28.2 billion, as of April 9, 2021, making him the 48th richest person in the world and the second richest in Russia.
Leonid Mikhelson Career
He began working as a foreman in a company of construction and assembly in the area of Tyumen in Siberia . One of his initial projects of his was work on the Urengoi-Chelyabinsk gas pipeline. In 1985, he was appointed chief engineer of Ryazantruboprovodstroy . In 1987, he became the General Director of Kuibishevtruboprovodstroy.
In 1991, Kuibishevtruboprovodstroy was one of the first companies to undergo the privatization after the dissolution of the Soviet Union .
Mikhelson continued as CEO of the company, which was renamed NOVA, until October 1994. He then became CEO of its parent company, Novafinivest, later to be known as NOVATEK.
From 2008 to 2010, Mikhelson was Chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO Stroytransgas and OOO Art Finance. He currently holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of ZAO SIBUR and is a member of the Supervisory Board of the OAO Russian Regional Development Bank.
SIBUR is a petrochemical and gas processing company that operates 26 production sites in Russia with headquarters in Moscow . Mikhelson owns a 57.5% stake in Sibur. It also has a 25% stake in Novatek.
He also owns the mega yacht Pacific.
Mikhelson has a keen interest in art , stating that “99 percent” of his interest is in Russian and contemporary art .
He also established his own foundation, the VAC Foundation , which promotes contemporary Russian art, and has international links with the New Museum in New York , the Tate museums in the UK, and the Whitechapel gallery in London.
In May 2017, the foundation also opened an exhibition space in Veniceand work is underway to develop VAC’s first major art center in Moscow, the main site of which is a historic power station on the banks of the Moskva River . Designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the new center for contemporary art and culture in Moscow will open in 2021.
Leonid Mikhelson Notable Associations
Mikhelson is often associated with Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko on business and investment projects. 
They are partners and majority shareholders of Novatek and Sibur. In 2013, Mikhelson and Timchenko sold 12% of Sibur to managing partners. Both Mikhelson and Timchenko appear on the Forbes Billionaires List .
In 2012, Mikhelson was listed as the second richest Russian in various articles, including by Bloomberg. Mikhelson and Novatek are the main sponsors of the Russian Football Federation .
Mikhelson has received the Order of the Badge of Honor of the Russian Federation.
Leonid Mikhelson Scandals
In 2005, at the NovaTEK offices in Samara, Salekhard and Moscow, law enforcement officers seized documents, in connection with the filing of two civil lawsuits by the Yamalo-Nenets district prosecutor’s office, concerning the illegal transfer to VEB of the 5.6%. of the shares of NovaTEK owned by the Regional Yamal Development Fund, and on the annulment of the very creation of the fund.
Michelson’s company, NovaTEK, appeared in a case brought in 2005 over the embezzlement of money from Mezhregiongaz, a subsidiary of gazprom.
” Six people was becoming defendants in the criminal case. The Interior Ministry was charging in absentia Mezhregiongaz Deputy General Director Igor Dmitriev, NovaTEK Department Director Alexander Liadov (died 2007) , Galina Sheremet , Citizen Guliaeva (former General Director and Chief Accountant of Trastinvestgaz LLC, TIG), Dmitri Novikov (TIG General Director), as well as a certain citizen Kataev, posing as the CEO of LLC Investment Agency Intellect and Law. They are accused of abuse of power and causing damage to property.
Mikhelson was able to save his business only thanks to the fact that he gave a stake in NovaTEK to a friend Vladimir Putin and Gennady Timchenko .
Fund belonging to the latter Volga Resources brought its participation in NovaTEK to 18.2% of the shares (Timchenko acquired 13.13% of the shares of Cartagena Development Inc) and now his participation exceeds the participation of the management of the company.
It was an asset swap: Timchenko sold 51% of the shares cheaper than the market ” Yamal LNG» of the Michelson company and therefore increased its stake in NovaTEK. Leonid Mikhelson was forced to include Timchenko on the company’s board of directors. This agreement, according to analysts, means the establishment of the state’s strategic control over NovaTEK.
The name of Leonid Mikhelson was mentioned in the media in connection with the scandalous construction of a sports and recreation complex (journalists call the object a new state residence), which was developed in the city of Anapa in the Krasnodar Territory, in the Utrish Nature Conservancy.
The Dar Foundation for Regional Non-Commercial Projects, controlled by Leonid Mikhelson, officially started construction: the Foundation leased land and signed a construction agreement withSRL “Harwinter”.
The public spoke out indignantly about the destruction of a unique corner of nature, blaming everything on the Administration of PresidentMedvedev.According to journalists, Mikhelson and the Foundation of him in this case are a player who should be angry at the people and a source of financing for the presidential project.
Leonid Michaelson Now
Things were going uphill, but it was during this period that reports of underhanded gambling by Mikhelson began to appear in the press, namely the actual bribery of the Deputy Governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, Iosif Levinzon (who was included in Novatek OJSC shareholders), as well as the use of budget funds in the form of loans from state banks (which were again provided through Joseph Levinson).
Leonid Mikhelson became a shareholder of SIBUR.
However, one way or another, Leonid Mikhelson soon became one of the most influential people in Russia. The Novatek company created by him is currently the second in the Russian Federation in terms of the amount of hydrocarbons produced. After the actual strengthening of Gazprom in the early 2000s, the Michelson company is the only independent player in the Russian oil and gas market.
Today, in addition to the named company, Leonid Mikhelson also owns about 75 percent of the large Samara bank OAO Pervobank. In addition, the businessman is the largest shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of SIBUR, which also operates in the petrochemical sector.
Leonid Mikhelson Yacht
He is the owner of the luxury yacht PACIFIC. The superyacht was built by Lurssen in 2010.
The yacht Pacific was built by the famous Lurssen shipyard as Project Josi. It was delivered to it’s owner in 2010.
Pacific has a surprisingly low-profile exterior designed by German Frers . It has a unique color, which seems to change with the sun.
The Pacific is constructed of steel, with an aluminum superstructure. Her MTU diesel engines give her a top speed of over 20 knots. Her cruising speed of hers is 15 knots. The autonomy of it is more than 4,500 miles. The yacht has capacity for 12 people in 6 cabins and a crew of 28 people.
The luxurious yacht can accommodate two helicopters . In recent years, Pacific has traveled around the world : it has been seen in Australia, Indonesia, Florida, and in the south of France and Italy.
Its interior has been designed by Bannenberg & Rowell Design. It has an extremely beautiful interior.
He also owns a Gulfstream G650 private jet, with registration RA-10207 (ex N650GL). A Gulfstream G650 has a list price of US$ 70 million. More Russian and other private jet owners here. The aircraft was delivered in 2013 and can accommodate 14 passengers.
He also owns a Gulfstream G550 with registration RA-10208.
Leonid Mikhelson House
He lives with his wife Lyudmila Mikhelson in a large house in Barvikha , near Moscow . Most of the Russian billionaires own a residence there.
Leonid Mikhelson Private Life
Mikhelson is married with two children and lives in Moscow. 
His daughter Victoria studied art history at New York University and the Courtauld Institute in London. His VAC Victoria Foundation, The Art of Being Contemporary, is named after him.
Mikhelson is one of many Russian “oligarchs” named in the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017.
