William Browder
Encyclopedia
William Felix Browder (born in 1964) is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the investment fund Hermitage Capital Management
.
founded Hermitage Capital Management in 1996 for the purpose of investing initial seed capital of $25 million in Russia
. The business was very successful, profiting from the wave of privatizations occurring in Russia at that time, and increased its investor base substantially. Following the Russian financial crisis of 1998 Browder continued the business of Hermitage investing in Russia, despite significant outflows from the fund. His fund became a prominent activist shareholder in the Russian gas giant Gazprom
, the large oil company Surgutneftegaz, RAO UES, and Sberbank
. Browder exposed management corruption and corporate malfeasance in these partly state-owned companies. He has been quoted as saying: "You had to become a shareholder activist if you didn’t want everything stolen from you".
Billi Browder has amassed a significant fortune through his management of the Hermitage Fund. In 2006 he earned an estimated £125-150 million. In 2007 he earned a further £125-£150 million.
, in 2006, after ten
years doing business in the country, he was blacklist
ed by the Russian government as a "threat to national security" and denied entry to the country. The Economist
has accused the Russian government of blacklisting Browder because he interfered with the flow of money to "corrupt bureaucrats and their businessmen accomplices".
As reported by the New York Times in 2008, over the next two years several of his associates and lawyers, as well as their relatives, became victims of crimes, including severe beatings and robberies during which documents were stolen. In June 2007 dozens of police officers raided the Moscow offices of Hermitage and its law firm, confiscating documents and computers. When a member of the firm protested that the search was illegal, he was beaten by officers and hospitalized for two weeks. Hermitage became victim of what is known in Russia as "corporate raiding": seizing companies and other assets with the aid of corrupt law enforcement officials and judges. Three Hermitage holdings companies were seized on what the company's lawyers insist are bogus charges.
Since this time, Browder has continued to run Hermitage from offices in London. Hermitage has alleged that the raids in June 2007 were a pretext by corrupt law enforcement officers, to steal the corporate registration documents of three Hermitage holding companies, and reclaim the $230 million of taxes paid by those companies to the Russian state in 2006. In November 2008 one of his lawyers, Sergei Magnitsky
, was arrested on charges of tax evasion, which Browder claims were instigated as a retaliatory measure by the same officers Magnitsky had accused of involvement in the $230 million theft in sworn testimony. Magnitsky died on November 16, 2009, after eleven months in pre-trial detention.
In October 2009, Browder appeared in a YouTube video detailing the persecution presumably committed against Hermitage.
Opalesque.TV released a video on February 8, 2010 where Browder reveals shocking and brutal details of Sergey Magnitzky's ordeal during his eleven months in detention.
, the former leader of the Communist Party, USA., and the son of Felix Browder
, the noted mathematician.
He grew up in Chicago, Illinois and attended the University of Chicago
where he studied Economics
. He received an MBA from Stanford Business School in 1989 where his classmates were Gary Kremen
and Ryland Kelley. He later became a British subject.
Prior to setting up Hermitage, Browder worked in the Eastern European practice of the Boston Consulting Group
in London and managed the Russian proprietary investments desk at Salomon Brothers
.
Hermitage Capital Management
Hermitage Capital Management is an investment fund and asset management company specializing in Russian markets founded by Bill Browder and Edmond Safra...
.
Hermitage Capital
Bill Browder and Edmond SafraEdmond Safra
Edmond J. Safra was a Jewish Brazilian-naturalized, Lebanese banker who continued the family tradition of banking in Lebanon, Brazil and Switzerland. He married Lily Watkins. He died in a fire that attracted wide media interest and was judicially determined to be due to arson.-Life of Edmond...
founded Hermitage Capital Management in 1996 for the purpose of investing initial seed capital of $25 million in 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...
. The business was very successful, profiting from the wave of privatizations occurring in Russia at that time, and increased its investor base substantially. Following the Russian financial crisis of 1998 Browder continued the business of Hermitage investing in Russia, despite significant outflows from the fund. His fund became a prominent activist shareholder in the Russian gas giant Gazprom
Gazprom
Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...
, the large oil company Surgutneftegaz, RAO UES, and Sberbank
Sberbank
Sberbank Rossii is the largest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe. The company's headquarters are in Moscow and its history goes back to Cancrin's financial reform of 1841...
. Browder exposed management corruption and corporate malfeasance in these partly state-owned companies. He has been quoted as saying: "You had to become a shareholder activist if you didn’t want everything stolen from you".
Billi Browder has amassed a significant fortune through his management of the Hermitage Fund. In 2006 he earned an estimated £125-150 million. In 2007 he earned a further £125-£150 million.
Persecution by the Russian legal system
Although Browder was a supporter of Russian president Vladimir PutinVladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, in 2006, after ten
10 (number)
10 is an even natural number following 9 and preceding 11.-In mathematics:Ten is a composite number, its proper divisors being , and...
years doing business in the country, he was blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
ed by the Russian government as a "threat to national security" and denied entry to the country. The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
has accused the Russian government of blacklisting Browder because he interfered with the flow of money to "corrupt bureaucrats and their businessmen accomplices".
As reported by the New York Times in 2008, over the next two years several of his associates and lawyers, as well as their relatives, became victims of crimes, including severe beatings and robberies during which documents were stolen. In June 2007 dozens of police officers raided the Moscow offices of Hermitage and its law firm, confiscating documents and computers. When a member of the firm protested that the search was illegal, he was beaten by officers and hospitalized for two weeks. Hermitage became victim of what is known in Russia as "corporate raiding": seizing companies and other assets with the aid of corrupt law enforcement officials and judges. Three Hermitage holdings companies were seized on what the company's lawyers insist are bogus charges.
Since this time, Browder has continued to run Hermitage from offices in London. Hermitage has alleged that the raids in June 2007 were a pretext by corrupt law enforcement officers, to steal the corporate registration documents of three Hermitage holding companies, and reclaim the $230 million of taxes paid by those companies to the Russian state in 2006. In November 2008 one of his lawyers, Sergei Magnitsky
Sergei Magnitsky
Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky was a Russian attorney whose death in police custody generated international media attention and launched an investigation into allegations of abuse. Magnitsky, who had alleged wide-scale tax fraud sanctioned by officials before being himself arrested, died days...
, was arrested on charges of tax evasion, which Browder claims were instigated as a retaliatory measure by the same officers Magnitsky had accused of involvement in the $230 million theft in sworn testimony. Magnitsky died on November 16, 2009, after eleven months in pre-trial detention.
In October 2009, Browder appeared in a YouTube video detailing the persecution presumably committed against Hermitage.
Opalesque.TV released a video on February 8, 2010 where Browder reveals shocking and brutal details of Sergey Magnitzky's ordeal during his eleven months in detention.
Biography
Bill Browder is the grandson of Earl BrowderEarl Browder
Earl Russell Browder was an American communist and General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1934 to 1945. He was expelled from the party in 1946.- Early years :...
, the former leader of the Communist Party, USA., and the son of Felix Browder
Felix Browder
Felix E. Browder is a United States mathematician.Felix Browder received his doctorate from Princeton University in 1948. He is known for his research in nonlinear functional analysis, including the theory of semigroups, monotone operators, and fixed points of Cesàro sums of non-expansive operators...
, the noted mathematician.
He grew up in Chicago, Illinois and attended the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
where he studied Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. He received an MBA from Stanford Business School in 1989 where his classmates were Gary Kremen
Gary Kremen
Gary Alan Kremen is an entrepreneur who founded personals site match.com, and registered several premiere domain names in the early days of the internet, including sex.com, jobs.com, , and autos.com...
and Ryland Kelley. He later became a British subject.
Prior to setting up Hermitage, Browder worked in the Eastern European practice of the Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group
The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm with offices in 42 countries. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious management consulting firms in the world. It is one of only three companies to appear in the top 15 of Fortunes "Best Companies to Work For" report for...
in London and managed the Russian proprietary investments desk at Salomon Brothers
Salomon Brothers
Salomon Brothers was a bulge bracket, Wall Street investment bank. Founded in 1910 by three brothers along with a clerk named Ben Levy, it remained a partnership until the early 1980s, when it was acquired by the commodity trading firm Phibro Corporation and then became Salomon Inc. Eventually...
.