Alisher Usmanov
Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons27

Alisher Usmanov

Uzbek-Russian businessman and investor (born 1953)

Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov (Uzbek: Alisher Burxonovich Usmonov, Russian: Алишер Бурханович Усманов; born 9 September 1953) is a Russian-Uzbek businessman. As of 2026, Usmanov is the 222nd richest person in the world according to Forbes, with a net worth of $14.1 billion, largely due to his stake in USM Holdings, in which Usmanov holds less than 50%.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Alisher Usmanov (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Sep 9, 1953.1

Net worth $12.6B (as of 2019, per forbes.com).28 Richest people

About

Usmanov was a successful entrepreneur in the Soviet Union in the 1980s but made substantial wealth after the collapse of the Soviet Union primarily through investments in metal and mining operations as well as large early investments in technology companies such as Facebook, Twitter, VK, and Alibaba Group.

In addition to his stake in Metalloinvest, he owns the Kommersant publishing house, is a co-owner of MegaFon, a mobile telephone operator, and co-owner of the Udokan mine, which develops one of the largest copper deposits in the world.

He has been the president of the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime, the international governing body of the sport of fencing, since 2008. Amid international sanctions, Usmanov temporarily suspended his duties as the FIE President in 2022 and 2024 after his re-election.

From 1980 to 1986, when Usmanov was in his late 20s, he spent six years in a Soviet prison on charges of fraud and embezzlement, but his conviction was later overturned. In 2000, he underwent political rehabilitation by the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan, which ruled that the case against him was fabricated and no crime had been committed.

From Wikipedia’s article on Alisher Usmanov, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • 1970 to 1976Moscow State Institute of International Relations3
  • 1997Finance University under the Government of the Russian Federation3
  • Since 1997Academy of Finance3

Usmanov was born in Uzbekistan in the provincial town of Chust. He spent his childhood in the capital Tashkent, where his father was a state prosecutor, thus providing for a privileged life, and his mother, Dilbar taught Russian language.

Planning to pursue a career of a diplomat, he later moved to Moscow. After first failing to be accepted, one year later he was accepted to the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, from which he graduated in 1976 with a degree in international law.

Usmanov then returned to Tashkent, where he was appointed director of the Foreign Economic Association of the Soviet Peace Committee.

Usmanov was arrested and convicted on charges of fraud, corruption, and theft of state property, which charges included shaking down an Army officer, in Uzbek SSR in August 1980. From 1980, when he was 26 years old, until 1986, when he was 33 years old, he was imprisoned in a remote Uzbek prison for six years of an eight-year sentence. In July 2000, his conviction was vacated, nine years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, by the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan, which ruled that "the original conviction was unjust, no crime was ever committed, and that the evidence was fabricated." His version of events has been questioned by Craig Murray, the British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2002 to 2004. Years later, Usmanov's public relations firm tried to delete reference to his conviction and imprisonment from Wikipedia.

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Early years

Usmanov became a dollar millionaire in the years before the Soviet Union collapsed. In the late 1980s, he set up a privately owned for-profit company, cooperative Agroplast which produced plastic bags, at a time when they were very scarce. He enriched himself considerably after the collapse of the USSR, but always stressed that he never participated in the privatization of state property.

Usmanov worked as the Deputy General Director of Intercross JSC from 1990 to 1994, and from 1994 to 1998, he headed Interfin Interbank Investment and Finance Company. He also acted as an Adviser to the General Director of Moscow Aviation Industrial Enterprise from 1994 to 1995, and served as the First Deputy Chairman of MAPO-Bank from 1995 to 1997. From August 1997 to February 2000 he was First Deputy General Director of Gazprom Vestholding LLC. From November 2000 to July 2001, he served as advisor to the chairman of the board of Gazprom. From February 2000 to October 2014, he served as general director of Gazprom Vestholding LLC, a subsidiary of Gazprom that focused on managing non-core assets. In this position, Usmanov had Gazprom acquire Severneftegazprom, which owns the largest South Russian field, controlling stakes in Zapsibgazprom and Sibur, as well as over 50% of Stroytransgaz. Usmanov left the company in 2014.

From Wikipedia’s article on Alisher Usmanov (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: functionary, entrepreneur, businessperson, investor, patron of the arts.9

  • Since 2008Chair, International Fencing Federation8
  • 2006 to 2023Worked at Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs4 5
  • 1998 to 2014Worked at Gazprominvestholding4
  • Date not recordedWorked at Academy of Sciences of the USSR4
  • Date not recordedWorked at Soviet Peace Committee4
  • Date not recordedFounded Metalloinvest6
  • Date not recordedChairperson, International Fencing Federation7

USM Holdings and Metalloinvest

In 1999, Usmanov co-founded Metalloinvest with Vasily Anisimov to make acquisitions in the metal industry. Unlike Russia's tycoons who won control of empires through loans-for-share privatization schemes of the 1990s, Usmanov built up Metalloinvest through a series of acquisitions in the secondary market. Metalloinvest owns a wide range of Russian metal and mining businesses including Lebedinsky GOK and Mikhailovsky GOK; Oskol Elektrometallurgical Plant and Ural Steel steel mills and a ferrous scrap enterprise – Ural Scrap Company.

In March 2022, Metalloinvest sold the Ural Steel to Zagorsk Pipe Plant.

Usmanov holds a non-controlling stake less than 50% in USM, a global conglomerate with its main investments in metals and mining industry, telecommunications and technology.

In 2004, Usmanov acquired 13% of Corus Group (later Tata Steel Europe), borrowing $49.5 million from Sevenkey, a trust for the benefit of Igor Shuvalov, the top assistant to Vladimir Putin; funds were provided by Eugene Shvidler. Despite Usmanov's ability to borrow at low rates, Sevenkey received over a 40% annualized return for this investment, in 2006, it received 4.9% of Gallagher's investment income.

Between 2006 and 2008, Usmanov acquired stakes in Australia-based mining companies: Strike Resources (iron ore deposit in Peru), Medusa, Mt Gibson and Aztec Resources through Gallagher Holdings. In 2013, it was remained USM Holdings after a merger with assets from Andrei Skoch and Farhad Moshiri.

In 2009, Metalloinvest Holding sold its 10.37% stake in Australian gold producer Medusa Mining for A$56 million.

As of 2009, Metalloinvest was the second largest shareholder, after Mohammed Al Bawani (MB Holding), in Nautilus Minerals. These two shareholders took control of the company after its filed for bankruptcy in 2019.

In November 2015, USM invested US$100 million in competitive video game esports team Virtus Pro.

In 2021, USM and Metalloinvest announced plans to construct one of the world's largest Hot-briquetted iron eco-plants in Kursk Oblast to supply greener products used to make steel amid a growing focus to clean up the industry.

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Udokan Copper

In 2008, Metalloinvest bought the Udokan licence for $500mn, which was discovered in Soviet times and proved to be one of the world's largest copper deposit. Geologists estimate there are 26.7mn tonnes of copper ore under the JORC classification.

In 2020, Baikal Mining Company (rebranded to Udokan copper) began strip mining at the Udokan mine, which had been untouched since 1949 due to the site's remoteness and extreme weather conditions. The development of Udokan includes the construction of the first stage of a mining and metallurgical plant for the production of cathode copper and copper concentrate, as well as the production of up to 125,000 tpy of copper in addition to 12mn tonnes of ore.

Mail.Ru Group / VK

In 2008, Usmanov became acquainted with Yuri Milner, and soon became a shareholder of DST Global and VK (VK).

Usmanov had 25.3% of interest in VK, and 60.6% of voting interest until he sold a $530 million stake and reduced his interests to 17.9 and 58.1% in 2013.

In 2014, Ivan Tavrin acquired Pavel Durov's shares in Vk.ru, to help (together with Usmanov) Durov retain control under the Telegram app when UCP attempted to take control of Telegram.

In December 2021, USM Holdings sold its interest in VK to Russian insurance company Sogaz and Gazprombank, thereby fully exiting its shareholding in VK.

MegaFon

In April 2012, companies affiliated with Alisher Usmanov acquired a majority interest in mobile telephone operator MegaFon. Currently Usmanov holds 49% of USM Holdings, which owns MegaFon shares.

Other investments

In 2009, Mark Zuckerberg solicited investments in Facebook from Russian investors at a meeting brokered by Goldman Sachs. Usmanov made his first investment to Facebook in 2009 by Mail.ru, investing $200 million for a 1.96% stake that valued Facebook at $10 billion. He accepted Zuckerberg's conditions and did not receive voting rights on those shares. Usmanov netted $1.4 billion from the sale of those shares in 2013.

In 2011, DST Global made a $400 million investment in Twitter for 5% of the company. The investment was sold in 2014.

Through Mail.Ru Group, Usmanov made notable investments in other international technology companies, including Groupon, Zynga, Airbnb, Zocdoc, Xiaomi, Alibaba Group and JD.com.

In 2013, Usmanov invested $100 million in Apple. He disposed of his shares in early 2014.

In September 2018, Mail.ru entered into a $2 billion joint venture with Alibaba to merge the online marketplaces of both companies in the Russian market and was backed by the Kremlin via the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Kommersant and media firms

In August 2006, Usmanov began to invest in media. He bought Kommersant, a newspaper formerly owned by Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, for US$200 million. Usmanov also made a $25 million purchase of a 50% stake in Russian sports TV channel 7TV in November 2006 and bought 75% of Russian TV music channel Muz-TV for $300 million in June 2007. A stake was sold to Walt Disney Company in 2011 for $300 million.

He sold his TV assets to his business-partner Ivan Tavrin in 2017.

Retirement

In 2012, Usmanov announced plans to retire once he reached the “age of the prophet” (63 years old). In 2014, his retirement was implemented as he stepped down from active management positions, as well as shifted focus to philanthropic activities, including promoting the development of Uzbekistan, and sports. In 2023, he also resigned from the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

In 2020, Usmanov said in an interview with the Financial Times that he will leave his assets to his family and USM management: "Many people have helped me. So I want to help my family and my management by giving them my shares. Fifty per cent to family, fifty per cent to management, who deserve this, in my view".

From Wikipedia’s article on Alisher Usmanov (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornSep 9, 1953, Chust10 11
  • CitizenshipSoviet Union, Uzbekistan, Russia12
  • ResidenceTegernsee, Moscow, Tashkent13 14
  • SpouseIrina Viner-Usmanova 1992 to 202215 16

Usmanov is estimated to be among the world's 200 wealthiest individuals.

Usmanov, of Muslim heritage, married Jewish rhythmic gymnastics coach Irina Viner in 1992. Viner is considered to be close to Putin, having introduced him to former rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva. On July 4, 2022, Usmanov and Viner divorced.

Usmanov has no biological children. He has a stepson, Anton Viner, with his former wife Irina Viner. The stepson is a real-estate investor, co-owner of Rodina development group.

Usmanov, who now lives in Tashkent, is related by marriage to President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and has been credited for helping him consolidate power.

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Wealth

Usmanov is estimated to be among the world's 100 125 wealthiest individuals.

Trusts settled by Usmanov

In 2007 and 2016 Usmanov settled two trusts for the estate planning purpose due to his poor health condition. The spokesperson said Usmanov was not the owner of the trusts he founded and had no right to control or manage its assets.

The assets of the trust include:

• Grade I listed Tudor mansion Sutton Place set in 120 hectares (300 acres) in Surrey that by some estimates is worth £10 million;

• Beechwood House, a Grade II listed Regency property in 4.5 ha (11 acres) of grounds in the London suburb of Highgate that by some estimates is worth £48 million;

• Aircraft A340-313X named Bourkhan;

• Yacht Dilbar, the current largest yacht in the world by gross tonnage (15,917 gt) and the 6th largest yacht by length measuring 156.0 m (512 ft). It is reported to have cost $800 million, employ 84 full-time crew members, and contain the largest indoor swimming pool installed on a superyacht at 180 cubic metres.

In 2016, the German shipyard Lürssen built the Dilbar yacht. The yacht was included in the irrevocable discretionary trust The Sister Trust, which Alisher Usmanov established for estate planning. Since then, the yacht has been owned and controlled by an independent trustee of this trust.

In 2017, Alisher Usmanov left The Sister Trust. His sister, Gulbakhor Ismailova, remained the only beneficiary of the trust.

At the start of hostilities in Ukraine, the Dilbar yacht was undergoing maintenance at the Lürssen shipyard in Hamburg. On March 2, 2022, Forbes reported that German authorities allegedly "seized" Dilbar as a yacht belonging to Alisher Usmanov.

On April 8, 2022, the EU included Gulbakhor Ismailova in the sanctions list, citing an investigation by the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany, which allegedly established that Usmanov "transferred assets", including the Dilbar yacht, to Ismailova. The following was stated in the EU sanctions rationale: "Since 2017, Usmanov has no longer been a shareholder of this trust company. As a result, his sister, Ms. Gulbakhor Ismailova, has remained the sole beneficial owner of the Dilbar yacht".

The charter of the trust in which the yacht is held contained a clause on the automatic removal of any person from the list of beneficiaries immediately after being sanctioned. In this regard, after the imposition of sanctions, Ismailova was automatically excluded from the list of beneficiaries of the trust.

In September 2022, German investigatory authorities conducted a search of the Dilbar yacht.

In May 2023, the Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main ruled that the search of the Dilbar yacht conducted by German law enforcement agencies in September 2022 was illegal. The court ruled that the issued search warrants were unlawful. In October 2023, the court of Frankfurt am Main ruled that all items seized during the illegal search in 2022, including that of the Dilbar yacht, must be returned to their owners.

In March 2024, the statement by the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany including the publications on X in which it was stated that Ismailova was the "owner" of the Dilbar yacht were removed. The agency officially undertook to no longer disseminate those statements.

During the same period Ismailova signed an official waiver of receiving benefits from the trusts. That meant that she would not be able to restore her right to receive benefits from the trusts, including the trust in which the Dilbar yacht is held, even after lifting the sanctions.

In February 2025, Germany's largest news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) officially retracted its piece of news dated 2022, in which Ismailova was referred to as the owner of Dilbar. The agency recommended that all its media partners remove those publications to avoid legal claims.

On March 14, 2025, the EU Council removed Ismailova from the sanctions list.

On June 11, 2026, the court of Frankfurt am Main upheld the claim of the Lürssen shipyard and ruled that the Dilbar yacht could not be considered frozen under the EU sanctions regime, and the authorities failed to prove that Usmanov or his sister have any influence over the trust in which the yacht is held.

From Wikipedia’s article on Alisher Usmanov (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Philanthropy

According to media reports, Usmanov has donated about $7.3 billion to charity.

In March 2026, one of the world's largest cultural and educational complexes dedicated to the history of Islam - the Center for Islamic Civilization - opened in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with major funding from Alisher Usmanov. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed his official gratitude to Usmanov for his participation in the project.

In 2021, The Sunday Times named Usmanov the most generous philanthropist on its Rich List, donating more than £4.2 billion to charity over the 20-year history of The Sunday Times Giving List. In 2012, Russian Forbes named Usmanov Philanthropist of the Year.

In 2006, Usmanov founded "Art, Science and Sport" Charity Fund. The fund provided financial support for exhibitions at Tate Britain in London including the J. M. W. Turner exhibition in 2008 and the Pre-Raphaelites exhibition in 2013.

Usmanov is a Trustee for the Russian Geographical Society, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, National Research University Higher School of Economics, and the European University at St Petersburg.

In 2015, he donated €1.5 million toward the restoration of the Basilica Ulpia in Rome.

In February 2020, Usmanov purchased Pierre de Coubertin's original 1892 Olympic Manifesto for $8.8 million, which he donated to the Olympic Museum. The manifesto has become the world's most expensive piece of sports memorabilia.

Two years in a row, in 2020 and 2021, Usmanov topped the list of contributors to causes related to COVID-19 among the participants of The Sunday Times Rich List with donations Russia, Uzbekistan and Italy of £134.2 m.

On 17 September 2007, Usmanov paid more than £20 million for an art collection owned by the late Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, days before it was to be auctioned by Sotheby's in London. He gave all the artwork to the Russian state, where it is housed in the Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg. Later that same month he purchased the rights to a large collection of Soviet cartoons, which for fifteen years had been owned by Russian-born actor Oleg Vidov, who emigrated to the United States in 1985. After the deal, valued at $5 to 10 million, Usmanov donated the cartoon collection to a newly formed Russian children's television channel.

According to presidential decree No. 365 of 17 March 2004, Usmanov was awarded with a Medal of Honor of Russia. In 2011, Usmanov received the Order "Dostyk" (Friendship) 2nd degree of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 2013, he was awarded the Order for Service to the Fatherland IV class in recognition of his services to the state, as well as his community and charitable activities. In the same year, he was awarded a medal 'For contribution to international cooperation' by the Foreign Ministry of Russia. In 2014, Usmanov received the Order of Alexander Nevsky for his community and charitable activities. In 2016 he received The Decoration "For Beneficence" for his contribution to charitable and social activities in Russia. The same year Usmanov received the Al-Fahr Order for his great contribution to the revival of Islam in Russia. In 2017, Mr. Usmanov was awarded the title of Commander "Order of Merit of the Italian Republic" for architectural restoration projects. The award was presented by the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella. In 2018 Usmanov received the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 3rd class. In 2018, he was also awarded the Order "Dostyk" 1st degree (Kazakhstan) for his significant contribution to the and cultural development of the country, strengthening friendship and cooperation between peoples. In addition, in 2018, he received the Order of El-Yurt Hurmati "Respected by people and homeland" (Uzbekistan) for the effective implementation of major investment projects in the country, active participation in the creation of unique spiritual and educational complexes in Uzbekistan to revive and preserve the rich historical heritage and national values of our people, sincere love for the country, being an example for young people, and for assistance in developing sports and tourism potential of the country.

On 4 December 2014, Usmanov paid $4.8 million for Dr James Watson's Nobel Prize Medal in Physiology or Medicine, which was auctioned at Christie's in New York City. Watson was selling his prize to raise money to support scientific research. After auctions fees, Watson received $4.1 million. Usmanov subsequently returned the medal to Watson, stating "in my opinion, a situation in which an outstanding scientist sells a medal recognizing his achievements is unacceptable. Watson's work contributed to cancer research, the illness from which my father died. It is important for me that the money that I spent on this medal will go to supporting scientific research, and the medal will stay with the person who deserved it."

From Wikipedia’s article on Alisher Usmanov (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • 2018Dostyk Order of grade I17
  • 2018Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class17
  • 2017honorary citizen of Kazan17
  • 2016Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic17 22
  • 2016Decoration "For Beneficence"17 21
  • 2014Order of Alexander Nevsky17
  • 2013Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class17 20
  • 2011Dostyk Order of grade II17
  • 2008Commendation of the Government of Russia17
  • 2008Russian Federation Presidential Certificate of Honour17 19
More awards (7)
  • 2004Order of Honour17 18
  • Date not recordedOrder "Duslyk"17
  • Date not recordedOrder of Al-Fakhr17
  • Date not recordedOrder of El-yurt hurmati17
  • Date not recordedOrder of Honor17
  • Date not recordedOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic17
  • Date not recordedRussian Federation Presidential Certificate of Gratitude17

Planes and yachts

A position is the aircraft’s or vessel’s, not the person’s. Being on board isn’t confirmed.

Yacht · No AIS signal

Dilbar26

Lürssen · 156 m · built 2016

No position reported yet.

Ownership reported in the press, not confirmed from a registry.

Track on CelebYachts

Positions, trips and icons: CelebYachts, from public AIS broadcasts. Maps: Esri.

Sources

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    WikidataNet worth