German Khan
| German Borisovich Khan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | Герман Борисович Хан |
| Born |
24 October 1961 (age 54) Kiev, Ukraine, USSR |
| Residence | London and Moscow |
| Ethnicity | Jewish[1] |
| Citizenship | Russian and Israeli |
| Occupation | International Businessman |
| Known for | Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Rosvodokanal, Member of the Supervisory Board of Alfa Group, Member of the Board of Directors of the LetterOne Group |
| Net worth | US$9.5 billion (January 2016)[2] |
German Khan (Russian: Герман Борисович Хан; born 24 October 1961) is a Russian businessman of Ukrainian Jewish descent. His business interests are focused in the oil and gas industries.
Early life
Khan was born in Kiev, the son of Ukrainian Jewish parents from Lviv. He studied at the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys (MISIS)] and specialised in the study of steel production.[3]
After graduating in 1988, German Khan worked in a wholesale business selling clothes, footwear and jewelry before making the most of the new, more open business environment by launching his own cooperative with business partner Alexander Furmon in 1989. The company operated a small factory making clothes and German took up the position of deputy chairman, taking charge of the supply chain and sales before the partners decided to sell the company in 1990.[4]
In a chance meeting with Mikhail Fridman that followed, he was invited to head-up a wholesale trade business ‘Alfa Eco’[5] as part of a wider company, Alfa Group Consortium. The company began by buying and selling a range of products including the purchase, upholstery and sale of carpets to domestic and then later, export markets.
Career
Khan worked as executive director of TNK-BP, the group's oil business, a joint venture with ВР, since it was founded in 2003. He played an active role managing operations in the company with direct responsibility for business development and M&A. It is Russia’s third largest oil company and globally a top ten private sector oil producer with average daily production approaching 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, representing about 18% of Russia’s oil production.He left the company in March 2013 after Alfa Group, together with billionaire partners Viktor Vekselberg and Leonard Blavatnik, sold a 50% stake in TNK-BP to state-owned oil company Rosneft for $28 billion. Khan joined Mikhail Fridman in establishing LetterOne Group, based in Luxembourg, for the purpose of investing the proceeds from the sale of TNK-BP in international projects.[6][7]
The L1 Group owns companies – and has equity investments in companies – with operations in 32 countries around the world. It is an international business targeting investments in energy, telecoms and technology and treasury sectors where they have world class expertise. German Khan is a member of the Board of Directors of the L1 Group, which is headquartered in Luxembourg. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, Hamburg, bought by L1 Energy in 2015.[8] Despite recently being required by the Government to sell their North Sea oil and gas fields, LetterOne have reportedly been told in a letter from a senior UK official that this ‘is not a judgement on the suitability of LetterOne’s owners to control these or any other assets in the UK.[9]
Philanthropy
He has been an active supporter of Jewish initiatives in Russia and elsewhere in Europe. Khan contributes to the work of the European Jewish Fund, a non-profit organization aimed at developing European Jewry and promoting tolerance and reconciliation. He is a member of the Russian Jewish Congress.[10] Khan along with Stan Polovets and three fellow Russian Jewish billionaires, Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven, and Alexander Knaster, founded the Genesis Philanthropy Group whose purpose is to develop and enhance Jewish identity among Jews worldwide[11][12][13]
Personal life
He has four children. Khan divides his time between London and Moscow.
He enjoys hunting and has a large collection of sporting guns and rifles. According to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, he is known for carrying handguns to his business meetings.[14] As a young man Khan was a keen boxer and today enjoys hunting and participating in Camel Trophy events - endurance, off-road, rally driving competitions.[15]
German Khan is an active supporter of the Life Line charitable programme. It seeks to provide medicine for seriously ill children in Russia. The programme gained Fund status in 2008 and has successfully raised almost 2 billion roubles for use in treating children. The Fund reports that to date, 8334 children have been saved as a result of their work in providing medicine and surgery to those who need it most.[16]
See also
References
- ↑ Sher, Gilead (6 May 2011). "The world's 50 Richest Jews: 11–20". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ↑ "German Khan". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ↑ "Уюм Цеплюм | Ахгмея Яопюбнвмхй". Rb.ru. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ↑ "Who is the Executive Director Of TNK-BP".
- ↑ "German Khan the oligarch behind TNK".
- ↑ "Alfa Billionaires Launch L1 Energy Fund". Oilprice.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ↑ "Cash-laden oligarchs hunt pastures new". Ft.com. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ↑ "Dea - New Dea". DEA Group. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ↑ "Ineos targets further North Sea assets in wake of $750m deal". Financial Times.
- ↑
- ↑ David M. Herszenhorn (June 26, 2012). "Russians Join Israel to Start Jewish Prize of $1 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ↑ "Request Rejected". Yad Vashem. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ↑ "Itzhak Perlman, “Fiddler to the World,” Awarded 2016 Genesis Prize".
- ↑ "Aar And Bp Negotiating A "Cease-Fire"". Telegraph. 2011-01-31. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ↑ "German Khan the oligarch behind TNK". Luxatic.com. 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ↑ "Alfa-Bank’s Clients Donated Million Rubles to the Life-Line Fund". Alfa Bank.