With an estimated fortune of $5.3 billion, Leonid Arnoldovich Fedun ranked at number 283 on the Forbes List of Billionaires in 2015, coming at number 19 on its list of Billionaires in Russia. Fedun made his fortune in oil, as the trusted advisor to Vagit Alekperov, owner of Lukoil. He is married with two children, and lives in Moscow.
Early Career
Born in Ukraine in 1956, Fedun was educated at the Rostov Higher Military Command School, graduating in 1977. He followed this with further studies at Adjuncture Military Academy, also known as the Military Academy F. E. Dzerzhinsky, graduating in 1984.
He then left the military in the early 1990s, determined to take advantage of the perestroika era and the privatization of many previously state-owned businesses. In 1992, he founded Neftkonsult LLP. After his official release from the military, Fedun was appointed as CEO of Petrocommerce Bank OJSC, and in 1996 gained the position of Vice President of LUKoil Inc.
LUKoil Inc.
His close business partnership with Vagit Alekperov began in the 1980s, after the pair met while Fedun was working as an instructor in Kogalym in Siberia. When Alekperov was appointed as CEO of Langepas-Uray-Kogalymneft (LUKoil Inc.), he invited the younger man to join the company and help build one of the largest oil companies on the planet, with oil reserves nearly as large as Exxon.
Net Worth
Although Leonid Fedun is the owner of the investment company IFD Kapital Group, nearly all of his net worth is derived from his stake of almost 10% in the lucrative LUKoil Inc. A large part of the success of the global oil giant is attributed to his advice and restructuring of the company during its privatization.
Sucker for Russian Soccer
Like compatriots Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov, Leonid Fedun is passionate about sport and is the owner of a soccer team. Unlike his fellow billionaires, he is passionate about local soccer and investment in local Russian teams. His beloved Spartak Moscow is said to be the overarching passion in his life, and he has built the team a stadium said to be worth $500 million. The Otkrytie Arena was opened in 2014 and will be the host to several of the FIFA World Cup soccer matches in 2018. Fedun is quoted as saying that he has spent over $1 billion to return Spartak Moscow to “the glory it achieved in his youth”. His investment in Spartak and soccer development is about more than just winning though: he considers his investment, said to be around $60 million annually, a social program that benefits Russian sports development.