Aleksandr Ivanovich Skorobogatko (Александр Скоробогатько) is a Russian business magnate with an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion, who as of 2015 is the 38th richest Russian and the 782nd richest person in the world. Born to a family of miners in 1967 in Gorlovka, Ukraine, he graduated from Slavyansk State Pedagogical Institute in 1994, and earned a Master’s degree in science from the Plekhanov Russian Academy in 1996. He has made his fortune from Russian shipping ports, airports and the financial markets, including the establishment of the Russian General Bank of Moscow with his business partner Alexander Ponomarenko.
Politics
Skorobogatko is a member of the Political Party LDPR, formerly the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. Since 2002 he has served as an elected deputy in the State Duma, which is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia. He was re-elected in the Duma for a third term in December 2011.
Ports
When the global financial crisis hit Russia in 1998, Skorobogatko and his business partner Alexander Ponomarenko were in a position to take advantage of the opportunities on offer. They purchased a large amount of shares in stevedoring companies at Russian ports, and combined to form Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port — a company that went public in 2007. Since then the pair have made billions through selling off chunks of the business. In January 2011 they earned $1 billion each when they sold a stake in Novorossiysk to the state-owned company Transneft.
Airports and Construction
In 2012, the two business partners joined forces with Arkady Rotenberg and formed TPS Real Estate Holdings Ltd. They successfully transitioned into airport construction, and in 2013 won a tender to develop a section of the state-owned Sheremetyevo airport outside of Moscow. The key elements of the project are the development of a new terminal serving 15 million passengers, a cargo facility, a refueling complex and a tunnel that will connect both terminals. In early 2015, TPS is said to be the front runner to buy out the Russian government’s 83% share in Sheremetyevo, as part of plans to privatize the airport in 2016. TPS has also purchased the majority of the space in Ocean Plaz, Kiev’s largest shopping center, for $280 million.
Family
Aleksandr Skorobogatko lives in Moscow with his wife and three children, Alexander, Ivan and Vladimir. His interests include hunting, judo and sambo-wrestling.