Leonid Rozhetskin

Rozhetskin was born in 1966 to a Jewish family in Leningrad, Soviet Union; he and his mother Elvira emigrated to the United States in 1980, where he became a U.S. citizen. Rozhetskin was a "brilliant student", winning scholarships to Columbia University, where he graduated with distinction. In 1990, Rozhetskin graduated cum laude{{citation needed|date=November 2010}} from Harvard Law School.

Rozhetskin received a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from Harvard University,{{citation needed|date=November 2010}} for teaching Harvard and Radcliffe undergraduates during the 1989-90 academic year.

Rozhetskin began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge Stephen V. Wilson, a federal judge in Los Angeles, California; he then joined the law firm White & Case.

At the age of 26, Rozhetskin returned to Russia, first as a lawyer at White & Case's Moscow office, and then as the head of his own law firm, representing clients such as the International Finance Corporation (a division of the World Bank), Credit Suisse, Morgan Grenfell and The Moscow Times.{{citation needed|date=November 2010}}

In 1995, Rozhetskin's focus shifted from the law to financial ventures. Rozhetskin was part of a group that founded Renaissance Capital, Russia's first investment bank, in partnership with Boris Jordan, an American of Russian origin, and New Zealander Stephen Jennings.

In 1998, Rozhetskin left Renaissance Capital to co-found the independent venture capital firm LV Finance. With help from Leonid Reiman, LV Finance secured 25% of MegaFon at the time Reiman was Russia's telecommunications minister. In August 2003, Rozhetskin sold the MegaFon stake to Altimo, a subsidiary of Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group.{{efn|Jeffrey Galmond claimed to have obtained an agreement to purchase LV Finance's 25% stake in MegaFon in 2001 through the Bermuda-based IPOC International Growth Fund.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/dec/07/russia |title=Western investors worry as Russian writs fly: The rights of foreign shareholders are at stake in a Moscow courtroom in a case that can only get nastier - and more entertaining. |work=The Guardian|last=Walsh |first=Conal |date=6 December 2007 |access-date=18 March 2020}} In July 2007, IPOC and Altimo agreed to Altimo's ownership of the former LV Finance 25% stake in MegaFon.{{cite news |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/altimo-megafon/russias-altimo-says-megafon-dispute-resolved-idUKL3089982120071130 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409110041/https://uk.reuters.com/article/altimo-megafon/russias-altimo-says-megafon-dispute-resolved-idUKL3089982120071130 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 9, 2018 |title=Russia's Altimo says MegaFon dispute resolved |work=Reuters |date=30 November 2007 |access-date=18 March 2020}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/interview-with-altimo-ceo-alexey-reznikovich-published-on-dow-jones-535239991.html |title=Interview With Altimo CEO, Alexey Reznikovich |work=Cision |via=Dow Jones Newswires |location=Barcelona |date=12 February 2008 |access-date=18 March 2020 |archive-date=29 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629214846/https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/interview-with-altimo-ceo-alexey-reznikovich-published-on-dow-jones-535239991.html}}{{cite news |url=https://telecoms.com/320/altimo-vs-ipoc-its-all-over/ |title=Altimo vs. Ipoc: it's all over |work=telecom.com |last=Middleton |first=James |date=30 July 2007 |access-date=18 March 2020}}}}

From October 2001 until January 2005, Rozhetskin served as Executive Vice Chairman of Norilsk Nickel,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/mar/20/pressandpublishing|title=City AM founder disappears in Latvia|first1=Stephen|last1=Brook |date=20 March 2008 |work=The Guardian }}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1582361/Russian-born-City-AM-backer-disappears.html |title=Russian-born City AM backer disappears |first=Richard |last= Edwards |date=21 March 2008 |publisher= Daily Telegraph }} Russia's largest mining company and the world's largest miner of nickel and palladium metals. Rozhetskin was also a board member and founding shareholder of City A.M., London's first free daily business newspaper.

Rozhetskin founded a production company called L + E Productions with Eric Eisner, son of former Disney executive Michael Eisner. Through L + E Productions, he was credited as a producer of Hamlet 2; he was also credited as an executive producer of the 2009 film Boogie Woogie.{{IMDb name|2811837}}

Rozhetskin married model Natalya Belova, who gave birth to their son in 2005.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} According to The Sunday Times, Rozhetskin's friends suspected he lived a closeted life, prompted by what the newspaper called Russia's "machismo and deep-seated homophobia"; the "extraordinary lengths to [he went to] conceal his homosexuality included withholding the truth on the subject from his mother, who characterized claims of her son's homosexuality as a "smear campaign."

Rozhetskin was last seen on the night of his disappearance by two men who were picked up at his villa by a taxi that took them to a club called XXL, Riga's largest gay nightclub at 2:30 am on 16 March.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-missing-multi-millionaire-a-cut-throat-mystery-for-the-new-cold-war-825920.html |title=The missing multi-millionaire: A cut-throat mystery for the new Cold War: All that was left behind was a pool of blood when Leonid Rozhetskin disappeared two months ago. Investigators are still no closer to working out what happened. What has become of the Russian tycoon with a thirst for danger? |work=The Independent |last1=Tomkinson |first1=Martin |last2=Moreton |first2=Cole |date=11 May 2008 |access-date=18 March 2020}} Many Western media sources quickly assumed he was dead,{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1582793/City-AM-backer-Leonid-Rozhetskin-feared-dead.html |title=City AM backer Leonid Rozhetskin feared dead |first1=Caroline |last1=Gammell |first2=Adrian |last2=Blomfield |date=25 March 2008 |publisher= Daily Telegraph }} although the Russian press claimed he was living in California under the Federal Witness Protection Program.{{cite news |url=http://top.rbc.ru/incidents/23/09/2008/247611.shtml |title=В Лондоне исчезла жена Леонида Рожецкина (Leonid Rozhetskin's wife disappeared in London |date=23 September 2008 |publisher=RBC TV |language=ru |access-date=23 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926005813/http://top.rbc.ru/incidents/23/09/2008/247611.shtml |archive-date=26 September 2008 |url-status=dead }}

In 2012, a body found in a forest near Tukums was that of Rozhetskin, according to preliminary DNA tests.{{cite web|last=Gain|first=Bruce|title=Missing Americans body a DNA match in Latvia|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/blog/2012/09/05/missing-americans-body-a-dna-match-in-latvia/index.html|work=www.crimelibrary.com|access-date=18 October 2012}}

• List of solved missing person cases

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{{reflist|2|refs=

{{cite web| url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6578224.ece | title= Leonid Rozhetskin: Russia's missing tycoon | date= June 28, 2009 | publisher=The Sunday Times | pages=1–3| access-date=2010-11-17}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

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Category:1966 births

Category:Businesspeople from Saint Petersburg

Category:Columbia University alumni

Category:Harvard Law School alumni

Category:Missing person cases in Russia

Category:Formerly missing Russian people

Category:Formerly missing American people

Category:21st-century Russian Jews

Category:Russian people murdered abroad

Category:Soviet emigrants to the United States

Category:Year of death unknown

Category:21st-century deaths

Category:21st-century American Jews

Category:21st-century American businesspeople

Category:21st-century Russian businesspeople