Friday, 25 November 2011

Now That's What I Call Capitalism

... in the person of Kostyantin Zhevago, 37, the youngest self-made billionaire in Europe, net worth £1.5 billion. "I was not myself from a rich family", he says. But overall this doesn't seem to have held him back too much.

"He was appointed chief financial officer of the Finances and Credit group, a large Ukrainian bank in which he would become the major shareholder. ... In the mid-nineties, having risen to be president of the bank, he and two partners paid $160 million for the newly privatised Ferrexpo iron ore mine at Poltava, near his childhood home. He later bought out his partners and ramped up production. In 2007 Ferrexpo was listed on the London Stock Exchange and added to the FTSE 250 Index. Today the firm, of which he owns 51 per cent, is capitalised at £1.9 billion."

OK let's do the math ... born in 1974 and he's president of the bank aged, what, 22 or so? with just a part share of $160 million to his name - bit of a late developer obviously, but he gets there in the end, so fair play to the lad.

He's also a philanthropist - just given £100k to an educational campaign being run by the Evening Standard. "Reading is the gift I hope to pass on to these young children". So who says capitalists don't pay their dues ?

"Bought out his partners", hmm ...

By the way, that's 'Reading' as in books, not Berks. Though he probably owns that too.

ND

8 comments:

Old William said...

A particular form of capitalism. There's a proximity to chap called Semyon Mogilevich. Look him up if you're not familiar with the name for he's quite the curious chap. On the FDB's top-10 most wanted list I do believe.

That is how you do business of course but if our man was born in Reading he probably wouldn't have turned out the same.

Anonymous said...

I presume the £100,000 is not to much philanthropy as a bribe of sorts. Doing an Abromovich with less money, and no doubt both have the same kind of friends in low places.

Still, as with many things over the last 10 years, the UK can alway sbe relied upon to set morality to one side where money is concerned.

Anonymous said...

He should buy Greece

Nick Drew said...

anon @ 3:07 - you are not so far off the mark, I may write abt this shortly

Anonymous said...

By the way Nick, some interesting action on bonds today. Italy broke through to new records again and stayed there, suggesting that perhaps the ECB is running of out cash to intervene? Meanwhile every other EU nation also seems to be seeing increasing yields except, curiously, France which is seeing impressive resistance at the 3.7% level. Can we assume that France is intervening in its own bond price on the quiet, as it seems Germany was doing until recently? Belgium keeps seeing resistance just below each 1% marker but those yields just won't stay put.

CDS prices are spiking upwards. I have a suspicion that the the CDS market has clicked that the only players in EU bonds are the ECB (rapidly running out of cash) and the national banks (with hardly and cash in the first place). If that's true something is going to break pretty soon. Mayeb that's why Merkel has suddenly gone very quiet.

Anonymous said...

> Mayeb that's why Merkel has suddenly gone very quiet.<

The markets are too disorderly for Germanic taste. The only option is to suspend the markets and have EU "technocrats" sit in a sort of 'pools panel' to decide exchange rates and bond yields. Far more efficient!

Laban said...

a "capitalist" made rich by his connection with the state. There's a surprise.

Weekend Yachtsman said...

"Reading is the gift I hope to pass on to these young children"

All well and good, but why is a private benefactor having to do this?

Do we not pay a fortune for primary schools? Isn't it their job to teach kids to read?

Just wondering.