Vagit Alekperov | |
|---|---|
Vahid Ələkbərov | |
 Alekperov in 2013 | |
| Born | (1950-09-01)1 September 1950 (age 75) Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Azerbaijani |
| Citizenship | Russia |
| Alma mater | Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University ,Master of Engineering |
| Occupation | Chairman of the supervisory board of Basic Element Company |
| Spouse | Larisa Victorovna Alekperova |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards |
|
Vagit Yusufovich Alekperov (Azerbaijani:Vahid Yusifoviç Ələkbərov,Russian:Вагит Юсуфович Алекперов; born 1 September 1950) is a Russian businessman of Azerbaijani origin and anoligarch. He was the President of the oil companyLukoil from 1993 until 2022.[1][2]
As of March 2025, according to theForbes magazine, Alekperov has an estimated net worth ofUS$28.7 billion, making him the wealthiest person in Russia and the sixty-third in the world.[3][4] Alekperov previously owned a 36.8% stake in football clubSpartak Moscow.[5] Fellow former Spartak ownerLeonid Fedun is Alekperov's close associate. Alekperov also owned superyacht builderHeesen Yachts until 2022.[6]
As part of theinternational governmental responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have imposed sanctions against Alekperov.[7][8][9][10]
Alekperov was born on 1 September 1950, inBaku,Azerbaijan SSR, one of the earliest centers of the international petroleum industry. His father, who died when Vagit was a boy, worked in the oilfields all his life and inspired Alekperov to follow in his footsteps. Alekperov's father was anAzerbaijani Muslim and his mother,Russian Orthodox. Alekperov is religious, but does not define himself as either Muslim or Orthodox.[11]
In 1974, Alekperov graduated from theAzerbaijan Oil and Chemistry Institute with aMaster of Science in Engineering.[12]
Alekperov moved to WesternSiberia in 1979 and worked atSurgutneftegaz between 1979 and 1985, earning his reputation as an industry expert. He was ascending positions and by 1985 became first deputy general director ofBashneft production company. In 1987, he became general director of the newly created production companyKogalymneftegaz.[12]
In 1990, Alekperov was appointed deputy minister of the Oil and Gas Industry of theSoviet Union and became the youngest deputy energy minister in Soviet history.[12] At that time, Alekperov promoted the establishment of vertically integrated state-owned energy companies, which would bring together the wide range of organizations in the energy sector that were, at the time, reporting to different Soviet bureaucratic institutions.[13]
Just at this time Western oil companies began to actively look for partners in Russia. During a visit toBritish Petroleum facilities in theUnited Kingdom in 1990 Alekperov personally headed the Russian delegation at the negotiations. Rondo Fehlberg, an executive at BP, toldNY Times that Alekperov took control of the agenda during that 1990 trip, sternly asking the BP executives to explain how a modern oil company should be set up.[14]
In April 1993, Langepas-Uray-Kogalymneft became the joint-stock company LUKOIL, and Alekperov became its president and chairman of the board. By 2002 Alekperov owned 10.4% of the company.[14]
In 2000, Alekperov resigned as head of the board of directors of Lukoil, but retained his position as president of the company. In May 2008, Alekperov bought 11.13 million shares (1.3%) in Lukoil, thereby increasing his stake to 20.4% and becoming the company's largest shareholder.[15][a]
LUKoil was the first Russian company to acquire an American company. In November 2000,LUKoil acquiredGetty Petroleum Marketing and its 1,300 gas stations in the United States[20] Like many otherRussian oligarchs, Alekperov has also moved into banking and media. In May 2006 Alekperov was one of the two main owners ofIFD Kapital Group.[21]
During at least three meetings in Turkey and London in 2014 and 2015, executives associated with Alekperov's firm Lukoil allegedly questioned persons at theAlexander Nix associated firmsSCL Group, which is closely associated withAleksandr Kogan, andCambridge Analytica, which is closely associated withSteve Bannon, who supportedDonald Trump's 2016 campaign for President of the United States, andRobert Mercer, who supportedTed Cruz's campaign for President of the United States, about how United States election data about American voters could be used to target them according toChristopher Wylie.[22][23][24][25]
In 2018, Alekperov first said in an interview that he was looking for a successor to his position, a staff reshuffle, he said, could take place at the company in 2023.[26]
Alekperov is on the 2017 list of Russian "oligarchs" named in theCAATSA unclassified report to theU.S. Congress.[27]
In April 2022, followingRussia's invasion of Ukraine, Alekperov was sanctioned byAustralia and the United Kingdom.[7][8] On 21 April, Lukoil issued a statement saying that Alekperov had stepped down and resigned from the board of directors after 29 years.[2]
In May 2022,Canada also imposed sanctions on Alekperov.[9] In October 2022,New Zealand sanctioned Alekperov.[28]
Alekperov is married to Larisa Victorovna Alekperova and has a son Yusuf born in 1990.[29] In 2023 he founded the WellTech company, which is engaged in the repair of LUKOIL wells.[30]
Alekperov's hobby isnumismatics. The exact composition of his collection is unknown, but according to some reports, it is one of the three largest private collections in Russia. In 2015, Alperov established a private Museum of Numismatics in the Zinoviev-Yusupov chambers inMoscow. It has more than 700 coins on display, about a quarter of the entire collection. The exposition consists ofgold,silver, andplatinum coins minted inClassical antiquity, theByzantine Empire, the EuropeanMiddle Ages, theRussian Empire, and theUSSR.[31][32]
In 2007 Alekperov founded The Foundation"Our Future" to promote social entrepreneurship in Russia.[33]
Alekperov has repeatedly stated publicly and has confirmed that, according to his will, his stake in Lukoil (over 20% of the company) will be transferred to a specially created charitable foundation.[34]
In 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Lukoil has donated more thanRUB 652 million in 22Russian regions and almost $900 000 dollars in its operation countries abroad.[35] Alekperov also donated RUB 50 million of personal finances to fight coronavirus in theRepublic of Komi.[36]
Alekperov was the first Russian citizen who received theWoodrow Wilson Award. He was honored in 2005 for achievements in corporate citizenship.[37]
On 31 August 2020, ahead of Vagit Alekperov's 70th jubilee,Azerbaijani PresidentIlham Aliyev awarded him with the"Dostlug" Order for his special services rendered to the development of mutual relations between Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation.[38]
On 4 May 2022, Alekperov received theOrder "For Merit to the Fatherland" of the first degree for "great contribution to the development of the fuel and energy complex and many years of diligent work".[39]
Vagit Alekperov is also a full member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.[40]
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