Leonid Mikhelson

Leonid Mikhelson

Russian businessman

Leonid Viktorovich Mikhelson (Russian: Леони́д Ви́кторович Михельсо́н; born 11 August 1955) is a Russian-Israeli billionaire oligarch, businessman, CEO, chairman and major shareholder of the Russian gas company Novatek.2

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

Born Aug 11, 1955.1

Net worth $24.0B (as of 2019, per The World's Billionaires).14 Richest people

About

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mikhelson obtained a stake in a privatized pipeline construction company out of which he formed Novatek. He is a business partner of Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko, a close confidante of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Mikhelson had a net worth of US$24.8 billion as of 24 August 2026, making him the 103rd richest person in the world and the second richest in Russia. In the 2026 Forbes annual billionaires ranking, he was ranked 88th in the world and fourth in Russia, with an estimated net worth of US$28.3 billion.

From Wikipedia’s article on Leonid Mikhelson, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedSamara State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering3

Career

Occupation: entrepreneur.7

  • Date not recordedFounded Novatek4
  • Date not recordedFounded V-a-c Foundation5
  • Date not recordedChief executive officer6

Personal life

  • BornAug 11, 1955, Kaspiysk8
  • CitizenshipSoviet Union, Russia9
  • ResidenceMoscow10

Mikhelson is married, with two children, and lives in Moscow. His daughter Victoria studied art history at New York University and London's Courtauld Institute. His VAC Foundation Victoria, the Art of Being Contemporary, is named after her. Mikhelson also holds Israeli citizenship.

Sanctions

Mikhelson is one of many Russian "oligarchs" named in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017. He was sanctioned by the British government in 2022 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War.

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

Awards

  • Date not recordedMedal "100 years anniversary of the foundation of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic"11
  • Date not recordedMedal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class without swords11
  • Date not recordedOrder of the Badge of Honour11

Planes and yachts

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

Flights, photos and icons: CelebPlanes, from ADS-B data (adsb.lol, ODbL; ADSB.fi). Maps: Esri.

Sources

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    WikidataNet worth