Andrey Melnichenko is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n businessman and billionaire.

He is best known for his energy and banking businesses.

Career

He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of EuroChem - one of Russia’s largest fertilizer companies with annual sales of 73.6 billion roubles US$2.5 billion) in 2009, and the beneficiary of a 95% interest in the company.

In 1993 Melnichenko was one of the co-founders of MDM Bank which grew to become one of Russia’s largest private banks within ten years. Melnichenko became the sole owner of the bank in 1997 after buying out its two other shareholders. From 1997 to 2001 he was the Chairman of the Management Board of MDM Bank, and during 2001 to 2005 Chairman of the Board of Directors.

After 2000, Melnichenko, together with his business partner Sergei Popov

Sergei Viktorovich Popov

Sergei Viktorovich Popov is a Russian businessman and banker. He is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDM Bank.-Biography:After studying at the Ural Polytechnic Institute with a specialization in Industrial Heat Power Engineering in 1993, Popov became a partner in the Ural-Siberian...

, steered the build-up of three corporations - EuroChem, the Siberian Coal and Energy Company (SUEK) and TMK, Russia’s largest manufacturer and exporter of steel pipes, the latter sold in 2006.

Melnichenko and Popov built Siberian Coal and Energy Company (SUEK), Russia’s largest integrated coal and energy company. Melnichenko's interest in SUEK is now 48.65%; the company had total sales of 100.4 billion roubles (US$3.2 billion) in 2009.

Melnichenko is a Member of the Board of Directors of SUEK.

In 2001, Melnichenko and Popov founded TMK. The company was sold to D.A. Pumpyanskiy in 2006. Following its acquisition by D.A. Pumpyanskiy, TMK listed on the London stock exchange in November 2006.

In 2007, Melnichenko’s interests took over Popov’s shares in EuroChem to become the sole major shareholder in exchange for selling his stake in MDM Bank to Popov.

In 2007, Melnichenko acquired a stake of about 7% in the German competitor K+S, a potash and fertilizer producer based in the German town of Kassel

Kassel

Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...

. In 2008, Melnichenko increased his stake in K+S to about 15%.
Melnichenko is a Member of the Management Board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and a trustee of the Advanced School of Public Administration of Moscow State University.

Melnichenko Fortune

A noted member of the international elite 'under 40' Billionaire's club, Forbes Magazine reported Melnichenko lost 80% of his personal fortune in 2009 as the value of his interests plummeted to only $1 Billion U.S. However, a year later the magazine estimated Melnichenko's fortune at $4.4 Billion U.S. in 2010, indicating the value of Melnichenko overall worldwide holdings has substantially recovered. Current estimates are higher as it is known Melnichenko is the beneficiary of 95% of Eurochem's value, and that his interests in SUEK have reached 46%.

Personal life

Andrey Melnichenko's interests include reading, travel, and diving. He is married to Aleksandra Kokotovic Melnichenko - Serbian model, and lives in Moscow. He owns Motor Yacht A, a 394-foot custom-designed yacht known for its radical design, which was launched in the summer of 2008 at the cost of at least $300,000,000. It was designed by Philippe Starck

Philippe Starck

Philippe Patrick Starck is a French product designer and probably the best known designer in the New Design style...

 and Martin Francis and built at the Blohm + Voss

Blohm + Voss

Blohm + Voss , is a German shipbuilding and engineering works. It is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems; there were plans to sell 80% of Blohm + Voss to Abu Dhabi Mar Group, but talks collapsed in July 2011.-History:It was founded on April 5, 1877, by Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss as a...

shipbuilding yard in Hamburg, Germany.

External links

OAO "TMK" http://www.tmk-group.com/

TMK-ARTROM http://www.artrom.ro/

MDM Bank http://www.mdmbank.com/