Natalia Vladimirovna Opaleva (Наталия Владимировна Опалева) is a Russian businesswoman and millionaire. Opaleva is known as one of Russia’s wealthiest women and for her love of art.
Early Life and Education
Natalia Opaleva was born in Russia on 27 May 1969. Aged three, Opaleva and her family moved to Costa Rica as her father was stationed as a diplomat in Latin America for over 13 years. After moving back to Russia and completing her basic education, Opaleva enrolled at the Moscow State University. In 1991, Opaleva graduated with a degree in political economics and became qualified as an economist and to teach political economics.
Career
At the start of her career, in 1991, Opaleva worked as an economist in the liability and securities management division of Inkombank. In 1993, she was appointed as head of the bill circulation division of Gloria Bank. Opaleva was then promoted to being responsible for the bank’s check circulation division as well and then received two further promotions as deputy head of the bank’s securities department and as the head of the stock department. In 1996, Opaleva was appointed to serve as department head of stock operations and securities at Lanta Bank. In 1999, she was appointed deputy chairman.
Diverging into the Mining Sector
In 1997, the owner of Lanta Bank launched the GV Gold (PJSC Vysochaishy) mining company. Natalia Opaleva acquired shares in the company and became the head of the finance department. As the company grew, so did the worth of Opaleva’s shares in it. At the end of 2018, she received a record income of $361 million. Currently, Opaleva owns 20.4% shares in the company.
Other Business Ventures
From 2013 until the present, Opaleva has served as the financial director of LT-Resources JSC. She is also a member of the board of directors of BGRK LLC and JSC Russian Gems.
Amassing a Significant Fortune
Opaleva was listed in Forbes magazine twice as one of the top 25 wealthiest women in Russia. In 2016, she took 16th place with an estimated fortune of $260 million. By 2019, her fortune rose to $340 million and so she took 11th position.
Devotion to Art
In 2015, Opaleva launched the AZ Private Museum, a museum focused on works produced in the Soviet Union in the 1960s by artists such as Anatoly Zverev, a highly regarded Russian painter. Opaleva began collecting Zverev’s works in 2003 when acquiring a female portrait. The collection in the AZ Private Museum contains over 2,500 paintings of which more than half is by Zverev.
Personal Life
Opaleva is married and has two children. Passionate about art, she owns an impressive collection which includes several paintings by avant-garde artists that is displayed throughout her home and office. Besides her deep interest in art, Opaleva also enjoys traveling, especially around Europe and Latin America where she lived for several years as a child. She is fluent in Spanish and has taught her children the language as well.