:Vagit Alekperov
{{Short description|Azerbaijani businessman (born 1950)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{family name hatnote|Yusufovich|Alekperov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Vagit Alekperov
| image = Вагит Алекперов.jpg
| caption = Alekperov in 2013
| native_name = {{nobold|Vahid Ələkbərov}}
| native_name_lang = az
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1950|9|1|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
| occupation = Chairman of the supervisory board of Basic Element Company
| nationality = Azerbaijani
| citizenship = Russia
| alma_mater = Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University ,
| spouse = Larisa Victorovna Alekperova
| children = 1
| website =
| awards = {{plainlist |
- Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (2nd class)
- Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (3rd class)
- Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (4th class)
- Order of Friendship
- Order of the Badge of Honour
- Order Of The Madar Horseman (1st class)
- Order of the Crown (Commander)
- Shohrat Order
- Order of Friendship (2nd class)
}}
}}
Vagit Yusufovich Alekperov ({{langx|az|Vahid Yusifoviç Ələkbərov}}, {{langx|ru|Вагит Юсуфович Алекперов}}; born 1 September 1950) is a Russian businessman of Azerbaijani origin and an oligarch. He was the President of the oil company Lukoil from 1993 until 2022.{{cite web|title=Vagit Yu. Alekperov, President of OAO LUKOIL|url=http://www.lukoil.com/back/gallery__image__list_6_5did_243_.html|access-date=28 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906145212/http://www.lukoil.com/back/gallery__image__list_6_5did_243_.html|archive-date=6 September 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/21/russias-lukoil-says-longtime-ceo-alekperov-resigns-a77442|title=Russia's Lukoil Says Longtime CEO Alekperov Resigns|website=The Moscow Times|date=21 April 2022}}
As of March 2025, according to the Forbes magazine, Alekperov has an estimated net worth of {{US$|28.7 billion|link=yes}}, making him the wealthiest person in Russia and the sixty-third in the world.{{Cite web |title=Vagit Alekperov |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/vagit-alekperov/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.ru/profile/vagit-alekperov |title=Vagit Alekperov |publisher=Forbes Russia |access-date=2025-03-14}} Alekperov previously owned a 36.8% stake in football club Spartak Moscow.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/26/could-sanctions-leave-oligarchs-super-yachts-high-and-dry-in-spain |title=Could sanctions leave oligarchs' super yachts high and dry in Spain? |last=Burgen |first=Stephen |work=The Observer |date=26 February 2022}} Fellow former Spartak owner Leonid Fedun is Alekperov's close associate. Alekperov also owned superyacht builder Heesen Yachts until 2022.{{cite web |title=Heesen Yachts is weer 100% Nederlands na verkoop aandelen |url=https://www.schuttevaer.nl/nieuws/actueel/2022/05/19/heesen-yachts-is-weer-100-nederlands-na-verkoop-aandelen/ |website=schuttevaer.nl (in Dutch) |date=19 May 2022 |access-date=31 January 2024}}
As part of the international governmental responses to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have imposed sanctions against Alekperov.{{Cite web |title=Australia goes further than others with personal sanctions, adds Nabiullina, Lisin and Alekperov to list |url=https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/78016/ |access-date=18 April 2022 |website=interfax.com}}{{Cite news |date=13 April 2022 |title=U.K. Hits More Russian Billionaires in Latest Sanctions Salvo |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-13/u-k-hits-more-russian-billionaires-in-latest-sanctions-salvo |access-date=18 April 2022}}{{Cite news |date=9 May 2022 |title=Canada blacklists 40 Russian individuals - PM's press service |work=TASS |url=https://tass.com/world/1448565 |access-date=13 May 2022}}{{Cite web |title=New Zealand sanctions 75 individuals and 2 Russian companies |url=https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/83726/}}
Biography
Alekperov was born on 1 September 1950, in Baku, 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 an Azerbaijani Muslim and his mother, Russian Orthodox. Alekperov is religious, but does not define himself as either Muslim or Orthodox.{{cite news|last=Maass|first=Peter|title=The Triumph of the Quiet Tycoon|url=http://www.petermaass.com/articles/the_triumph_of_the_quiet_tycoon/|access-date=3 February 2014|newspaper=The New York Times Magazine|date=2 August 2004|archive-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202113305/http://www.petermaass.com/articles/the_triumph_of_the_quiet_tycoon/|url-status=dead}}
In 1974, Alekperov graduated from the Azerbaijan Oil and Chemistry Institute with a Master of Science in Engineering.{{Cite book |last=Vassiliou |first=Marius S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BdNjTbcB__0C&dq=Kogalym+Neftegaz+alekperov+1987&pg=PA33 |title=The A to Z of the Petroleum Industry |date=24 September 2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7066-6 |language=en}}
= Western Siberia =
Alekperov moved to Western Siberia in 1979 and worked at Surgutneftegaz between 1979 and 1985, earning his reputation as an industry expert. He was ascending positions and by 1985 became first deputy general director of Bashneft production company. In 1987, he became general director of the newly created production company Kogalymneftegaz.
= Moscow =
In 1990, Alekperov was appointed deputy minister of the Oil and Gas Industry of the Soviet Union and became the youngest deputy energy minister in Soviet history. 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.{{cite web|title=Vagit Y. Alekperov 1950— Biography|url=http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/A-E/Alekperov-Vagit-Y-1950.html}}
Just at this time Western oil companies began to actively look for partners in Russia. During a visit to British Petroleum facilities in the United Kingdom in 1990 Alekperov personally headed the Russian delegation at the negotiations. Rondo Fehlberg, an executive at BP, told NY 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.{{Cite news|last=Maass|first=Peter|date=1 August 2004|title=The Triumph of the Quiet Tycoon|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/magazine/the-triumph-of-the-quiet-tycoon.html|access-date=20 November 2021|issn=0362-4331}}
= LUKoil =
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.
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.{{Cite web|date=12 March 2009|title=Бизнес-активы Вагита Алекперова. Справка|url=https://ria.ru/20090312/164612679.html|access-date=20 November 2021|website=РИА Новости|language=ru}}{{efn|During at least three meetings in Turkey and London in 2014 and 2015, executives associated with Alekperov's firm Lukoil allegedly questioned persons at the Alexander Nix associated firms SCL Group, which is closely associated with Aleksandr Kogan, and Cambridge Analytica, which is closely associated with Steve Bannon, who supported Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for President of the United States, and Robert Mercer, who supported Ted 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 to Christopher Wylie.{{cite news |last1=Hakim |first1=Danny |last2=Rosenberg |first2=Matthew |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-russia.html |title=Data Firm Tied to Trump Campaign Talked Business With Russians |work=The New York Times |date=17 March 2018 |access-date=16 December 2023 |archive-date=18 March 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180318013153/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-russia.html}}{{cite news |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2018/03/19/cambridge-analytica-kompaniya-kotoraya-nauchilas-vzlamyvat-vybory-cherez-facebook |title=Cambridge Analytica: компания, которая научилась «взламывать» выборы через Facebook Считается, что в 2016 году она помогла выиграть Дональду Трампу |trans-title=Cambridge Analytica: the company that learned how to “hack” elections through Facebook It is believed that it helped Donald Trump win in 2016 |language=ru |work=Meduza |date=19 March 2018 |access-date=16 December 2023}} [https://www.compromat.ru/page_38941.htm archive]{{cite news |last1=Cadwalladr |first1=Carole |last2=Graham-Harrison |first2=Emma |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election |title=Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach: Whistleblower describes how firm linked to former Trump adviser Steve Bannon compiled user data to target American voters |work=The Guardian |date=17 March 2018 |access-date=16 December 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Бенюмов |first1=Константин (Benyumov, Konstantin) |last2=Кузьменкова |first2=Ольга (Kuzmenkova, Olga) |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2016/12/12/donald-tramp-pravda-pobedil-iz-za-reklamy-v-feysbuke |title=Donald Trump really won because of advertising on Facebook? Medusa studied an article about the influence of "big data" on elections and tells what's wrong with it |trans-title=Дональд Трамп правда победил из-за рекламы в фейсбуке? «Медуза» изучила статью о влиянии «больших данных» на выборы и рассказывает, что с ней не так |language=ru |work=Meduza |date=12 December 2016 |access-date=16 December 2023}}}}
LUKoil was the first Russian company to acquire an American company. In November 2000, LUKoil acquired Getty Petroleum Marketing and its 1,300 gas stations in the United States{{Cite web |url=http://www.lukoilamericas.com/rebranding.htm |title=Lukoil Americas Corporation website |access-date=12 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315211511/http://www.lukoilamericas.com/rebranding.htm |archive-date=15 March 2007 |url-status=dead }} Like many other Russian oligarchs, Alekperov has also moved into banking and media. In May 2006 Alekperov was one of the two main owners of IFD Kapital Group.{{cite news|last=Teagarden |first=Michael |title=Lukoil Executives Alekperov and Fedun Own Russia's IFD Kapital |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2006-03-01/lukoil-executives-alekperov-and-fedun-own-russia-s-ifd-kapital.html |access-date=11 April 2014 |agency=Bloomberg News |date=1 March 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413141839/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2006-03-01/lukoil-executives-alekperov-and-fedun-own-russia-s-ifd-kapital.html |archive-date=13 April 2014 }}
During at least three meetings in Turkey and London in 2014 and 2015, executives associated with Alekperov's firm Lukoil allegedly questioned persons at the Alexander Nix associated firms SCL Group, which is closely associated with Aleksandr Kogan, and Cambridge Analytica, which is closely associated with Steve Bannon, who supported Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for President of the United States, and Robert Mercer, who supported Ted 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 to Christopher Wylie.{{cite news |last1=Hakim |first1=Danny |last2=Rosenberg |first2=Matthew |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-russia.html |title=Data Firm Tied to Trump Campaign Talked Business With Russians |work=The New York Times |date=17 March 2018 |access-date=16 December 2023 |archive-date=18 March 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180318013153/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-russia.html}}{{cite news |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2018/03/19/cambridge-analytica-kompaniya-kotoraya-nauchilas-vzlamyvat-vybory-cherez-facebook |title=Cambridge Analytica: компания, которая научилась «взламывать» выборы через Facebook Считается, что в 2016 году она помогла выиграть Дональду Трампу |trans-title=Cambridge Analytica: the company that learned how to “hack” elections through Facebook It is believed that it helped Donald Trump win in 2016 |language=ru |work=Meduza |date=19 March 2018 |access-date=16 December 2023}} [https://www.compromat.ru/page_38941.htm archive]{{cite news |last1=Cadwalladr |first1=Carole |last2=Graham-Harrison |first2=Emma |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election |title=Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach: Whistleblower describes how firm linked to former Trump adviser Steve Bannon compiled user data to target American voters |work=The Guardian |date=17 March 2018 |access-date=16 December 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Бенюмов |first1=Константин (Benyumov, Konstantin) |last2=Кузьменкова |first2=Ольга (Kuzmenkova, Olga) |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2016/12/12/donald-tramp-pravda-pobedil-iz-za-reklamy-v-feysbuke |title=Donald Trump really won because of advertising on Facebook? Medusa studied an article about the influence of “big data” on elections and tells what’s wrong with it |trans-title=Дональд Трамп правда победил из-за рекламы в фейсбуке? «Медуза» изучила статью о влиянии «больших данных» на выборы и рассказывает, что с ней не так |language=ru |work=Meduza |date=12 December 2016 |access-date=16 December 2023}}
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.{{Cite web|title=Глава ЛУКОЙЛа сообщил об изучении потенциальных преемников|url=https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/5db9bb7f9a79477a067582d1|access-date=18 June 2021|website=РБК|date=30 October 2019 |language=ru}}
Alekperov is on the 2017 list of Russian "oligarchs" named in the CAATSA unclassified report to the U.S. Congress.{{cite web|title=Report to Congress Pursuant to Section 241 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 Regarding Senior Foreign Political Figures and Oligarchs in the Russian Federation and Russian Parastatal Entities|url=https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rJRW6xrdtLJE/v0|date=29 January 2018|format=PDF}}
= International sanctions =
In April 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Alekperov was sanctioned by Australia and the United Kingdom. On 21 April, Lukoil issued a statement saying that Alekperov had stepped down and resigned from the board of directors after 29 years.
In May 2022, Canada also imposed sanctions on Alekperov. In October 2022, New Zealand sanctioned Alekperov.{{Cite web |date=11 October 2022 |title=New Zealand sanctions 75 individuals and 2 Russian companies |url=https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/83726/ |website=Interfax}}
Personal life
Alekperov is married to Larisa Victorovna Alekperova and has a son Yusuf born in 1990.{{cite news|title=Вагит Юсуфович Алекперов. Биографическая справка|url=http://ria.ru/economy/20090312/164556722.html|access-date=20 March 2014|publisher=РИА Новости|date=12 March 2009}} In 2023 he founded the WellTech company, which is engaged in the repair of LUKOIL wells.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rbc.ru/business/15/06/2023/648ab1b49a7947837b623417|title=Сын владельца ЛУКОЙЛа получил компанию по ремонту скважин в Сибири|language=ru|date=15 June 2023|website=РБК}}
Alekperov's hobby is numismatics. 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 in Moscow. It has more than 700 coins on display, about a quarter of the entire collection. The exposition consists of gold, silver, and platinum coins minted in Classical antiquity, the Byzantine Empire, the European Middle Ages, the Russian Empire, and the USSR.{{Cite web|title=В Москве открыли первый частный музей нумизматики / / Независимая газета|url=https://www.ng.ru/antrakt/2015-10-16/11_coins.html|access-date=20 November 2021|website=www.ng.ru}}{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.ru/milliardery/308889-istoricheskii-moment-kak-vagit-alekperov-stal-numizmatom |title=Исторический момент: как Вагит Алекперов стал нумизматом |language=ru |trans-title=The historical moment: Vagit Alekperov became a numismatist |author=Ivan Prosvetov |date=2015-12-22 |publisher=Forbes |access-date=2025-03-14}}
Philanthropy
In 2007 Alekperov founded The Foundation "Our Future" to promote social entrepreneurship in Russia.{{Cite web|last=Nielsen|first=Rachel|date=28 November 2012|title=Alekperov's Social Enterprise Invests $4.8M Over 5 Years|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2012/11/28/alekperovs-social-enterprise-invests-48m-over-5-years-a19740|access-date=18 February 2021|website=The Moscow Times|language=en}}
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.{{Cite web|date=16 January 2015|title=Алекперов передаст акции "Лукойла" в благотворительный фонд|url=https://www.forbes.ru//news/277755-alekperov-peredast-svoi-aktsii-lukoila-v-blagotvoritelnyi-fond|access-date=18 June 2021|website=Forbes.ru|language=en-US}}
In 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Lukoil has donated more than RUB 652 million in 22 Russian regions and almost $900 000 dollars in its operation countries abroad.{{Cite web|title=Lukoil delivered new consignment of medical equipment to Usinsk hospital|url=https://neftegazru.com/news/society/626862-lukoil-delivered-new-consignment-of-medical-equipment-to-usinsk-hospital/|access-date=18 February 2021|website=neftegazru.com|date=21 August 2020 |language=en}} Alekperov also donated RUB 50 million of personal finances to fight coronavirus in the Republic of Komi.{{Cite web|title=Vagit Alekperov donates RUB 50 million of personal finances to fight coronavirus in the Republic of Komi|url=https://neftegazru.com/news/society/547285-vagit-alekperov-donates-rub-50-million-of-personal-finances-to-fight-coronavirus-in-the-republic-of-/|access-date=18 February 2021|website=neftegazru.com|date=7 May 2020 |language=en}}
Awards and honorary titles
Alekperov was the first Russian citizen who received the Woodrow Wilson Award. He was honored in 2005 for achievements in corporate citizenship.{{Cite web|title=Wilson Center to Honor Pickering and Alekperov for Contributions to U.S.-Russian Relations {{!}} Wilson Center|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/wilson-center-to-honor-pickering-and-alekperov-for-contributions-to-us-russian-relations|access-date=18 June 2021|website=www.wilsoncenter.org|language=en}}
On 31 August 2020, ahead of Vagit Alekperov's 70th jubilee, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev awarded him with the "Dostlug" Order for his special services rendered to the development of mutual relations between Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation.[https://www.azernews.az/nation/168512.html President Ilham Aliyev awards Lukoil CEO], AzerNews, 31 August 2020, Retrieved 4 September 2020
On 4 May 2022, Alekperov received the Order "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".{{cite web
|url=http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001202205040035?index=4&rangeSize=1
|title=Предвыборная ситуация в Кемерове
|author=
|date= 4 May 2022
|publisher=publication.pravo.gov.ru
|language=ru
|accessdate=2 February 2023}}
Vagit Alekperov is also a full member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.{{Cite web|date=12 March 2009|title=Вагит Юсуфович Алекперов. Биографическая справка|url=https://ria.ru/20090312/164556722.html|access-date=20 November 2021|website=РИА Новости|language=ru}}
See also
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Vahid Alakbarov}}
- [http://www.nns.ru/Person/alekperov/ Biography of Vagit Alekperov] {{in lang|ru}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071001062050/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/wsj/access/1174692441.html?dids=1174692441:1174692441&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Dec+6,+2006&author=Glenn+R.+Simpson&pub=Wall+Street+Journal&edition=Eastern+edition&startpage=A.1&type=91_1996&desc=Russian+Federation:+At+Lukoil,+an+Executive%27s+Death+Exposes+Network+of+Inside+Deals (WSJ) Lukoil Executive’s Death Exposes Network of Inside Deals, by Glenn R. Simpson, December 6th, 2006]
- [http://raionraider.wordpress.com/ Business Russia]
{{Privatization in Russia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alekperov, Vagit}}
Category:Azerbaijani emigrants to Russia
Category:Businesspeople from Baku
Category:Russian businesspeople in the oil industry
Category:Russian people of Azerbaijani descent
Category:Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University alumni
Category:20th-century Russian businesspeople
Category:21st-century Russian businesspeople