Vladimir Yevtushenkov

Vladimir Yevtushenkov

Engineer, Billionaire and

Director of AFK Sistema

Worth $ 10.0 Billion - 5th.March 2008

Age: 59

Fortune: self made

Source: telecom

Net Worth: $10.0 bil

Country Of Citizenship: Russia

Residence: Moscow , Russia, Europe & Russia

Industry: Diversified

Marital Status: married, 2 children

Education: Mendeleyev Chemical Engineering Institute, Bachelor of Arts / Science

Doctorate

Former plastics engineer transformed his Moscow municipal Committee for Science & Technology into a commercial enterprise; gained access to lucrative government contracts, real estate and capital. His London-listed empire AFK Sistema (the System) now consists of some 200 companies with holdings ranging from microchips to toy stores. Most valuable is stake in NYSE-listed Mobile Telesystems (MTS), Russia's largest cellular carrier. His daughter, Tatiana, sits on MTS board. Sistema has announced plans to spend billions of dollars on expansion in India.

Luzhkov clearly likes to meld government with business. The Moscow government has taken stakes in more than 400 businesses, from fast-food restaurants to oil refineries. It has also teamed up with a holding company called Sistema, which was founded in 1993 by Vladimir Yevtushenkov, chairman of the city government's science and technology committee and the mayor's close friend. With $1 billion in sales from 180 enterprises employing 30,000, Sistema's operations are so entwined with city hall's that it's hard for outsiders to tell them apart.

Sistema's holdings include banks where city funds are kept on deposit, factories that rely on city subsidies, and construction firms that receive city contracts. Sistema and the city also share ownership of several companies, including TV Center, a national channel. While heading Sistema, Yevtushenkov still serves in the city government, although he says he draws no salary from his public job.