This man is rich and successful. He is only 45 years old, and his fortune is so great that he finds it difficult to calculate it on his own. According to the authoritative opinion of Forbes, he has been in the top twenty richest Russians for many years. His luxurious wedding caused a lot of noise in the press, and his yachts and real estate in Russia and abroad are a constant subject of discussion in society and the media. In addition, he is still young, creative, full of strength and plans for the future. How was the story of his success born and how does the Russian oligarch Andrei Melnichenko, a billionaire, financier, industrialist, philanthropist and great esthete, live today?
Childhood
And it all started quite prosaically, like most people in the big country of the USSR. In an intelligent family, on March 8, 1972, as if wanting to give a gift to his mother, Andrei Melnichenko was born. Gomel, the second largest city of what was then still Soviet Belarus, became his homeland and the place where he could have lived his whole life if his unique abilities for the exact sciences had not emerged during his school years.
His dad is a physicist, and Andrei Melnichenko, under the influence of genetics or thanks to intensive studies with his father, followed in his footsteps. He often took part in city, regional and republican Olympiads, and after one of them the boy was noticed and invited to study at the most prestigious school in Soviet times for young physicists and mathematicians - the Moscow State University Scientific Research Center.
Biography
Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko is a Russian entrepreneur, billionaire, annually included in the list of the richest people in Russia, and philanthropist. Owner of assets of EuroChem OJSC, SUEK OJSC, SGK LLC.
Andrey was born in Gomel, giving a gift to his mother for International Women's Day: a joyful event happened on March 8, 1972.
The boy grew up in an intelligent family of teachers. Andrei’s father is a physicist, and his son followed in his footsteps. Melnichenko had a penchant for exact sciences. After Andrei won the physics Olympiad, Melnichenko was accepted into the most prestigious physics and mathematics school in the USSR. The boy moved to study in Moscow.
Entrepreneur Andrey Melnichenko
After graduating from school, the question of a university was not raised - Andrei Melnichenko entered the physics department of Moscow State University. True, after a couple of years the young man felt that times were changing, and transferred to the Plekhanov Academy.
Since childhood, Andrey has been enterprising and smart. In one of the interviews, the businessman’s grandmother recalled how she went with her grandson to the Tretyakov Gallery. There was a long line at the entrance, then Andrei realized and joined the line where the foreigners were standing. After 5 minutes, the grandmother and grandson were already looking at the masterpieces of Russian painters.
How the business started
Today it is impossible to say exactly when Andrei Melnichenko began his ascent to the top of business. But the first attempts, quite successful ones at that, were made while still a student. Then the main goal of the future oligarch was to at least somehow strengthen his own financial position.
Together with his comrades, he registers a travel company and enters into deals for the sale of office equipment. The dashing 90s arrived - a harsh period of brothers-in-law, showdowns and racketeering. But at the same time it was a time of great opportunity. And Andrei Melnichenko did not miss his chance. Already in 1991, a young entrepreneur opened the first currency exchange office.
Business is booming
In the 90s, a regulatory legal act was issued, according to which currency exchange became the exclusive prerogative of banking institutions.
Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko intends to make money thanks to this innovation and, together with his partners, opens an exchange office in the Premier credit structure. After some time, they had a whole network of such micro-organizations.
MDM company
At the end of 1992, a decree was issued on mandatory licensing of foreign exchange activities, so the operation of the point became impossible. A bank was needed under whose roof such a profitable business could be continued. And he was found. The management of Premier Bank, where the first and then the second currency exchange office opened, found at the end of the year that the volume of their transactions was higher than for the financial institution as a whole.
Soon, the young and enterprising Andrei Melnichenko registers his first financial brainchild - the MDM company. And now in Moscow, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, new exchange offices appear under this sign. At the end of 1993, the financial and credit company MDM received a banking license. The scope of work in this area is becoming too tight, and Andrei Igorevich Melnichenko begins buying shares of promising enterprises in the coal industry.
The crisis that began in the financial sector in 1998 bypassed the Moscow Business World. There were no serious competitors in the services market; there simply weren’t any. MDM not only stayed afloat. Its owners have significantly increased their capital. In addition, the bank was supported by A. Mamut, who served as head of the supervisory board. At this time, MDM and Andrey Melnichenko acquired useful business connections and acquaintances, because the clients of the Moscow Business World were large and influential businessmen.
Where it all began
Melnichenko has been enterprising since childhood. In one of the interviews, his grandmother talked about the resourcefulness of the then little boy in the Tretyakov Gallery. Instead of waiting for his turn at the ticket office like everyone else, Andrei thought of joining a group of foreign tourists. And literally in a few minutes, and absolutely free of charge, he and his grandmother were already looking at masterpieces of painting.
The beginning of Melnichenko’s career in his biography is considered to be his student years at Moscow State University at the Faculty of Physics. Andrey then lived in a hostel and created a small exchange office there, which is modern and has grown into a whole network. It was this exchanger that became the progenitor of the future MDM Bank. The point itself worked for only a year, until 1992, until a decree was issued on mandatory licensing of foreign exchange activities.
In light of this law, Melnichenko needed to find a bank under whose wing he could continue to engage in currency exchange. And such a bank was found, it became Premier Bank. During the year of operation, more transactions took place at the Melnichenko exchange office than in the entire bank as a whole.
In addition, he, together with other enthusiastic students, opens another small business - the Sputnik travel agency.
Further achievements of Melnikov:
- 1993 – registered the credit and financial;
- 1993-1997 – Chairman of the Board of Directors and one of the shareholders of MDM;
- 1997 – at the age of 25, Melnichenko buys out all the shares of MDM and becomes its owner;
- 1997-2001 – Chairman of the Board of MDM;
- since mid-2000, it has merged MDM with Conversbank;
- also in 2000, together with Sergei Popov, they created a special group that formed three joint-stock companies: Eurochem, SUEK, Pipe Metallurgical Company and one investment company;
- 2004-2007 sells gradually all shares of MDM and Pipe Metallurgical Company;
- 2007 sole owner of Eurochem. He also joined the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs as chairman of the industry for the mining complex;
- 2007-2015 – Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eurochem;
- since April 2020 – member of the board of directors and chairman of strategy of Eurochem Group AG.
For a big ship, a long voyage
2004 brought the liquidation of the MDM group, and soon the financier got rid of the bank's shares. He sells them to his new partner Sergei Popov. Now the entrepreneur’s priority is the industrial sector of the economy. In the same year, he became the owner of 90% of the shares of Russia's largest fertilizer producer, having acquired them from Popov. Further more.
Approximately the same blocks of shares culminated his interest in Siberian Generating. Krasnoyarskugol, a major competitor of Melnichenko’s companies, also becomes his property. We can safely say that today almost half of the entire coal industry is concentrated in the hands of entrepreneurs. Agree that few thirty-year-old people can boast of such achievements.
Business priorities
And yet, Melnichenko decided to focus on the production of mineral fertilizers as his main business. It is noteworthy that over the years of leading Eurochem, Andrei Igorevich managed to transform the enterprise into the largest supplier of chemicals for plant nutrition. EuroChem's profit for the year sometimes reached $4 billion.
The construction of fertilizer plants in China and the USA was planned in 2013, and projects have already been developed.
Wedding
The billionaire is married and happily married. Andrey Melnichenko's wife, Sandra Nikolic, was born in Yugoslavia. Her parents were wealthy people, the girl was denied practically nothing. Sandra's father is a successful architect, and her mother is a sought-after artist. Perhaps this is why, as Sandra herself claims in one of her interviews, she is very sensitive to beauty.
Andrei Melnichenko met his future wife in France at a villa with mutual friends. The wedding, which plunged oligarch hunters into despair, took place in 2005. The event took place on the Cote d'Azur and caused a lot of noise in the social circle. Even according to the most conservative estimates, the wedding of the billionaire and the winner of the Miss Yugoslavia title cost no less than $30 million. The newlyweds not only officially registered their marriage, but also got married in a chapel built specifically for this purpose in the city of Antibes. Guests at the wedding were entertained by Christina Aguilera, Julio and Enrique Iglesias, and Whitney Houston. The artists were transported by private flight.
Melnichenko Andrey Biography.
Russian oligarch, co-owner of the MDM financial group and Conversbank, whose fortune is estimated at $2.7 billion, how did the billionaire achieve such a fortune?
Andrey Melnichenko was born on March 8, 1972. in Gomel in the family of a physicist.
He studied at the physics and mathematics boarding school of Moscow State University, where he ended up after the Republican Olympiad in Physics. In 1989 entered the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University. Lomonosov.
He took his first steps in business at the end of 1991. While still a student, together with partners - now State Duma deputies Evgeny Ishchenko and Mikhail Kuznetsov - he founded a tourism company; later the partners sold office equipment. Then an exchange office was opened, whose clients were mostly “shuttle traders” who exchanged rubles for dollars. “So we existed quietly and peacefully until December 1992. Then legislation appeared according to which only banks that had the appropriate licenses could engage in foreign exchange transactions, says Andrei Melnichenko (Career magazine, 2000).
“We started looking for a bank that would give us the opportunity to continue conducting such operations. We were looking for a smaller bank that would be less expensive and would offer this service cheaper. The search was carried out using a thick telephone directory, the logic of the selection was as simple as the creation of the world: you need a bank registered in the apartment. Found.” The partners began working with Premier Bank and opened the first exchange office at the bank. Then the second one, then it turned out that the volume of business significantly exceeds the volume of the bank’s business as a whole, then the decision was made to purchase something of its own or open a new business. In March 1993. The Bank of Russia issued a finance and credit license; the company then specialized in foreign exchange operations). Several “exchangers” appeared in Moscow, then in Novosibirsk, then in St. Petersburg. In the press there are several versions of the acquisition of initial capital for the creation of MDM, which later became a powerful financial and industrial group. According to Andrei Melnichenko, the initial capital was earned on currency exchange, was it is small - about $50 thousand (interview with the Vedomosti newspaper, 2001). According to the Volgograd newspaper Inter, the first money was received thanks to one of the founders of MDM, Evgeniy Ishchenko - a loan was taken out from Premier Bank against the security of an apartment parents of one of the friends. Another version, actively circulated in the press, was based on the reluctance of MDM management to disclose the structure of share capital. Numerous publications attributed to Alexander Smolensky, the founder of Stolichny Bank, financing the creation of MDM Bank.
So, for example, Novaya Gazeta writes: “It was Mr. Smolensky who was the founding father of such structures as MDM Bank and Sobin Bank.” Be that as it may, at the end of 1993. Melnichenko, Kuznetsov and Ishchenko received a banking license, that is, the company transformed into a real bank, retaining the name. Subsequently, Andrei Melnichenko received a specialized education, graduating from the Russian Economic Academy. Plekhanov, majoring in finance and credit. In 1997. MDM Bank turned out to be involved in a criminal story with. This is how the Kommersant newspaper wrote about it (1997): “The Moscow City Internal Affairs Directorate brought charges of illegal banking activities against 11 employees. Several months ago, employees of the Main Directorate for Illicit Drug Trafficking of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs came to the attention of members of an Afghan group selling hashish, opium and heroin in Moscow. While watching the Afghans, the police noticed that one of them often visited the office. This company was founded four years ago by Afghan citizen Mohammed Sherkhan. The company did not conduct any operations - the balance was zero. Nevertheless, almost every day security guards brought huge bags of cash from Sherkhan to MDM Bank. The police decided that the company was engaged in some kind of illegal business.
August 1, 1997 Law enforcement officials conducted a large-scale operation to detain people who could be associated with Sherkhan. In total, about 60 people were captured then. About 1 billion rubles were confiscated from them. Among those detained were employees of MDM and Russian Financial Traditions banks. During interrogations, detained Afghans spoke about how they legalized shadow income. Drug dealers handed over their proceeds to Sherkhan every day. Then, employees of the exchange office of the Russian Financial Traditions bank, working in the same building, helped the Afghans count the proceeds and partially exchanged it for currency, issuing the appropriate certificates. The rest of the money was exchanged at the MDM Bank point. Mohammed Sherkhan and 10 other employees of his company were arrested. They were charged with illegal banking activities.
After the completion of the police operation, two State Duma deputies from the LDPR - Ishchenko and Kuznetsov, as well as the management of MDM Bank, complained to the Moscow City Prosecutor's Office about the actions of law enforcement agencies. They argued that the police exceeded their official powers (the operatives did not meet the deadline allowed by law to establish the identity of the detainees). "In the second half of the 1990s. Andrey Melnichenko meets Alexander Mamut and, in his own words, recommends appointing Mamut to the supervisory board of MDM Bank. In an interview with Gazeta.ru (1999), Melnichenko talks about it this way: “We met him in 1997 or 1996. I don’t remember where, how, or who introduced us. You see, I'm a pretty sociable person. I have a lot of friends. I don’t remember how I met Abramovich and Deripaska. We have an insane amount of mutual friends. We personally had no business relations with Mamut before. He had his own bank, KOPF, which is currently in a difficult financial situation, but whose license has not yet been revoked. We worked with this bank, like with everyone else. We gave loans and raised funds from them.
I consider him a very strong professional. This is expressed in fundamental education, a good understanding of the situation, and excellent contacts. All this can provide significant assistance to the bank. He has already brought a number of clients to the bank. For example, Sibneft, which was previously serviced at KOPF. He has a large circle of acquaintances among the governors, which is essential for the bank.” By 1998. MDM has accumulated enough influence to join the caste of oligarchs. But the financial crisis struck, and ambitious plans had to be postponed. The largest banking structures, SBS-Agro and Inkombank, went bankrupt, but despite the default, MDM remained afloat, according to rumors, thanks to the connections of Alexander Mamut. MDM Bank, taking advantage of the absence of serious competitors in the banking market, quickly gained strength. Russian Aluminum and many enterprises in the ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy and chemical industries also held accounts with MDM. It was at this time that Melnichenko became the sole owner of his brainchild, buying out the shares of Ishchenko and Kuznetsov. In mid-2000. MDM and Converse Bank merged. Along with the post of manager of Converse, Melnichenko gained control over the financial flows of the nuclear industry, which, according to experts, amounted to about $3 billion a year. Chairman of the board and owner of 76% of the shares of MDM Bank Andrei Melnichenko and former Minister of Atomic Energy Evgeniy Adamov planned to concentrate in Conversebank up to 80% of the financial flows of the nuclear industry, after which it will be merged with MDM. At the end of 2000. Melnichenko was appointed chairman of the board of Converse Bank, one of the largest and most successful industry banks. After gaining control of Converse Bank, Andrei Melnichenko managed to lure a significant number of top managers who had previously worked at Alfa Group to his team.
According to the head of the press service of Alfa Bank, Vadim Yurko, all these people were offered higher salaries and promotions. But in 2002. There was a whole wave of dismissals of these managers from MDM structures:
— Andrei Sokolov was dismissed from the post of deputy chairman of the board of Conversbank. Before that, he held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Board of Alfa Bank, where he oversaw work with large clients. In particular, his main work was related to Minatom enterprises;
— Kirill Strukov, who previously worked at Alfa Bank as deputy chief accountant, was dismissed from the post of chief accountant of Converse Bank;
— Anton Belobzhebsky was dismissed from the post of head of MDM Bank’s department for work with government agencies, to which he moved from a similar position at Alfa Bank;
— Vadim Boyko, who previously held the post of vice president at Alfa Bank - supervisor of relations with federal authorities (he left Alfa in May 2002), was dismissed from the post of deputy chairman of the board of directors of the MDM group; According to Vadim Yurko , Andrei Melnichenko thereby very clearly demonstrated his attitude towards human resources when he easily parted with all those people who were involved in the struggle. Since February 2001. The MDM group began actively buying shares of large coal mining enterprises in the country (Vostsibugol, Chitaugol, Khakasugol, Sakhalin Corporation, Dalvostugol and a number of others), uniting them under the management of the Siberian Coal Energy Company. It was headed by Oleg Misevra, a former manager (Kemerovo), also owned by MDM. SUEK’s main competitor turned out to be the Krasnoyarsk Coal Company (KUC) - its products were much cheaper, and its reserves and production volumes were the largest in the country. KUK's pricing policy did not suit MDM at all. The takeover of Krasnoyarskugol would allow SUEK (i.e. MDM) to take control of about 40% of the entire Russian coal industry and become a “natural” monopolist in Siberia and the Far East (SATCOR.ru, 2002). KUK became part of SUEK in the second half of 2002. In October 2001. Andrey Melnichenko was appointed to the post of Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDM Bank.
Since May 2002 Melnichenko holds the post of president of the MDM group.”What he ownsAndrey Melnichenko is the owner of 50% of the MDM group.
The MDM industrial group includes three industry holdings:
— Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) (includes Vostsibugol, Chita and Krasnoyarsk coal companies, as well as a number of coal assets in Khakassia);
— (Kovdorsky GOK, Phosphorit, Nevinnomyssky Azot, Lithuanian Lifosa);
— Investment (manages controlling stakes in OJSC Taganrog Metallurgical, OJSC Volgograd Tractor, OJSC Publishing House Age of Information). Previously, the group also included the Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK), which unites the Volzhsky, Seversky, Sinarsky Pipe Plants and the Taganrog Metallurgical Plant , at the end of 2002 it was sold to TMK President Dmitry Pumpyansky. By the beginning of 2002. members of the MDM financial group were MDM Bank, Petrovsky People's Bank, Komisotsbank, Vyborg Bank and Murmansksotskombank, as well as the Latvian Trade Bank. In 2002 the group included Uralsibsotsbank, Inkasbank and Conversbank. As of June 30, 2002. The capital of the MDM group according to IFRS was $330 million, total assets were $2.33 billion.
Partners The longest-standing partners of Andrei Melnichenko were Evgeniy Ishchenko and Mikhail Kuznetsov. A native of Volgograd, Evgeniy Ishchenko is known as one of the founders of MDM Bank and a former partner of Andrei Melnichenko (in the 1980s, Ishchenko and Melnichenko studied together at the physics and mathematics boarding school at Moscow State University). At MDM, Evgeniy was involved in organizing lending to industrial enterprises and developing investment projects. He worked with enterprises of the Siberian Aluminum group, as well as Severstal, Nizhny Tagil Metallurgical Plant, and bus industry enterprises. With his participation, a number of successful investment projects were carried out, for example, a plant for the production of aluminum cans near Moscow on the basis of the Dmitrovsky pilot plant for aluminum canning tape was rebuilt. In 1995 Ishchenko was elected to the State Duma on the LDPR list. Three years later, Ishchenko sold his stake in the bank and devoted himself entirely to public politics. In 1999 he won the elections in a single-mandate constituency in Volgograd and soon joined the People's Deputy group. However, in the spring of 2001. Ishchenko was excluded from the list of “people’s deputies.” (STRINGER, 2002) According to the Volgograd newspaper Inter, despite the sale of his stake in MDM, Ishchenko maintains contact with Andrei Melnichenko - allegedly the Volzhsky Pipe and Volgograd Tractor Plants went to MDM with some help deputy He is called the plenipotentiary representative of MDM in the Volgograd region. “In addition, lately the presidential administration has also been placing serious bets on him: Evgeniy Petrovich is named among the possible leaders of a new left-wing party, designed to balance the excessively heavy center. Each of Ishchenko’s initiatives, such as the recent bill to limit the activities of offshore companies, is instantly picked up by the media. So he now has more than enough influence.
Therefore, MDM will still show itself in the Volgograd region” (Volgograd newspaper “Inter”). About Mikhail Kuznetsov in the election book “The Road Can Be Mastered by Those Who Walk”: “In 1993. Together with a group of the same energetic and talented people with whom Mikhail Kuznetsov had previously studied together at a boarding school, he starts an independent business - he creates MDM Bank. In a short time, this bank has become one of the largest financial institutions in Russia. How did you achieve this? It’s very simple - everyday work, seven days a week and without a limited working day, as well as strict adherence to all the rules determined by law.” Mikhail Kuznetsov was born in 1968, in 1992. Graduated from the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University. Lomonosov. In 1993-1995. served as deputy chairman of the board, chairman of the board of MDM Bank. In 1995 was elected to the State Duma and worked as deputy chairman of the Committee on Budget, Taxes, Banks and Finance. In 1999 was elected as a State Duma deputy in the Pskov single-mandate electoral district No. 141. In 2000 participated in the elections for governor of the Pskov region. In 2000. Andrey Melnichenko has a new partner - Sergey Popov. “Popov made his capital from operations selling pipes, as well as non-ferrous and ferrous metals - he was engaged in this business in the mid-1990s. Melnichenko and Popov started working together around 2000,” one of Andrei Melnichenko’s acquaintances tells the Vedomosti newspaper (2002). The cooperation of the two businessmen began with a deal to acquire Volzhsky Pipe. The deal was successful, and then they decided to work together,” says Vedomosti’s source. Within two years, the partners managed to create the MDM industrial group. Nikolai Levitsky, after graduating from the St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance, managed to be at the helm of a number of the largest Russian companies. Since 1994 headed Komibank in 1996-1997. worked at KomiTEK and Imperial Bank, and in 1998-2000. was vice president of Slavneft. Since 2000 The manager's career coincided with the strengthening of the MDM group in the country's economy: from September 18, 2000. Levitsky became the general director of the Kovdorsky GOK, and since 2001. headed EuroChem and managed to include large fertilizer producers in Russia and Lithuania in the holding, producing a total of 4.5 million fertilizers per year. Since February 10, 2003 Levitsky is the first deputy to the head of the Komi Republic, Vladimir Torlopov. In December 2002. Dmitry Pumpyansky bought a 34% stake in TMK from the owners of the MDM group for $300 million, increasing his stake in the company to 67%. The owners of the MDM group, Sergey Popov and Andrey Melnichenko, retained 33% of the shares of TMK. According to the Vedomosti newspaper, structures controlled by TMK own 91% of the shares of the Seversky Pipe Plant, 95% of the shares of the Taganrog Metallurgical Plant, 100% of the shares of the Volzhsky and Sinarsky Pipe Plants factories. In the total volume of Russian pipe production, TMK’s share is 41%, in the total volume of pipe exports - 60%. For quite a long time, Alexander Mamut was named among Andrei Melnichenko’s closest partners.
Melnichenko himself has repeatedly stated to the media that Mamut’s connections are very useful for the bank. But after Alexander Mamut began to actively promote his concept of banking reform in Russia, Andrei Melnichenko reacted negatively to this, and Mamut left MDM Bank. Partnership relations connect Andrei Melnichenko with Oleg Deripaska and Roman Abramovich. The companies of both are clients of MDM Bank. Opponents According to media reports, for a whole year Alfa Bank waged an irreconcilable struggle with MDM Bank. The head and co-owner of MDM Bank Andrei Melnichenko, with the support of the former Minister of Atomic Energy Evgeny Rumyantsev, in December 2000. headed the industry Conversbank and announced plans to unite banks, concentrating up to 80% of the financial flows of Minatom enterprises. After Rumyantsev's resignation in the spring of 2001. Nuclear workers, with the support of Alfa Bank, began a fight to regain control of Converse. The war went on with varying degrees of success, but in July 2002. representatives of the MDM group stated that “the conflict has been resolved,” MDM managed to increase its stake in Converse to 85% and emerge victorious. However, Andrei Melnichenko in an interview with Vedomosti said: “I heard the word “Alfa” in the context of Converse Bank from journalists.” The interests of MDM and Severstal collided in acquiring control over the Kovdorsky GOK. In 2000 Severstal, which uses the iron ore concentrate produced by the mining and processing plant in the production of steel, simultaneously with MDM fought for control over the mining and processing plant. However, MDM managed to quickly form a controlling stake. Until 2000 KUGI of the Murmansk region owned 21.1% of the shares of the mining and processing plant. Severstal sought to put this stake up for sale, but instead in March 2000. The regional authorities contributed 14.6% of the shares of the mining and processing plant to the authorized capital of several thermal power plants, the State Energy Enterprise "TEKOS"), which shortly thereafter resold the shares of the mining and processing complex to MDM. Thanks to this, MDM managed to increase its stake in the mining and processing plant to a controlling stake. Therefore, MDM turned out to be the only contender for the federal stake in the mining and processing plant (24.8%), which was sold to it in June 2000. Andrey Melnichenko’s lobby The media classifies him as one of the so-called “Family”. Where are the interests directed? Acquisition of regional banks
During 2001-2002. MDM Bank was actively buying up regional banks. The number of his “trophies” exceeded 10. MDM is especially active in the North-West: in 2001. he acquired one of the leading retail banks in St. Petersburg - Petrovsky People's Bank, St. Petersburg Inkasbank and Vyborg Bank, as well as Komisotsbank and Murmansk Social Combank. MDM structures own Narbank (Kazakhstan), Uralsibsotsbank (Ekaterinburg). In June 2002 MDM confirmed that structures close to it bought 60% of the shares of Uraltrustbank. According to the Vedomosti newspaper (2002), structures related to MDM Bank were negotiating the acquisition of 49.1% of the shares of Baltic Bank from three companies associated with St. Petersburg businessman Alexander Sabadash. Acquisition of coal assets
In December 2002 Oleg Misevra, President of the Siberian Coal and Energy Company: “Quite recently we signed an agreement on the creation of a joint enterprise with the government of the Republic in Komi -. The government contributed stakes in two large enterprises - Vorkutaugol and Intaugol - to the authorized capital. As far as I know, a privatization auction for the sale of federal stakes in these enterprises is scheduled to take place in January. We intend to participate in it.” The auction was postponed to a later date (during 2003), but the company, part of the MDM group, did not abandon its intention to participate in it. Acquisition of energy assets
According to some reports, MDM structures have concentrated in their hands more than 6% of the shares of RAO UES of Russia. Perhaps in the future a vertically integrated structure will be created, uniting energy companies, coal mining and chemical enterprises. In February 2003 It became known that the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDM Bank Andrey Melnichenko and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDM Group Sergey Popov have been nominated as candidates to the Board of Directors of RAO UES of Russia.
Personal life
After marriage, model Sandra Nikolic, and now Alexandra Melnichenko, left the catwalk and devoted herself with great pleasure to her family. In 2012, the couple had a daughter. The heiress was named Tara; the parents prefer not to make the little girl a public figure for now. Andrey Melnichenko, whose family is almost always with him, travels a lot around the world and enjoys life. Andrei’s wife is a supporter of a healthy lifestyle and beauty even in small things. And she instills these qualities in her husband and daughter.
Another reason that Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko gave his circle for discussion and gossip was a yacht. He surprised everyone with a luxurious item that not many can afford. The 120-meter yacht is capable of sailing the vast expanses of the ocean. Abramovich's ship preferences paled in comparison with the beauty and luxury of this vessel.
Yacht "A", named after the first letters of the names of the oligarch and his wife, amazes with its sophistication and unique design: 14 luxurious bedrooms, 120 meters in length, silver leaf on the railing of the spiral staircase, and some Western media claim that one door handle costs at least 40 thousand dollars. The massive door to the utility room opens after scanning the fingerprint of the ship's owner. The snow-white beauty and all its interior decoration were designed by Philippe Starck, a popular Frenchman who became famous in the field of industrial design.
The yacht was built in Germany at the shipyard of the shipbuilding company Nobiskrug. By the way, this is not the first such expensive entertainment for the entrepreneur. By the time this vessel appeared, Melnichenko already had a megayacht called “A”, but the latest example was many times superior to the previous one in luxury and technical characteristics. According to rough estimates, the cost of yacht "A" could be $400 million. The billionaire's sailing ship has become the largest in its class and, most likely, the most expensive to date.
Personal life scenario
In 2003, Alexandra met Russian businessman Andrei Melnichenko. They maintained a relationship for two years and looked closely at each other. And only after a thorough “grinding in” did they decide to get married. A lot was written about the wedding in the press and films were shown on television.
Currently, the husband and wife have three houses. Most often and for the longest time they are in Moscow. The couple has two children growing up - daughter Tara and son Adrian. In the near future, Alexandra plans to return to the modeling business.
Oligarch today
Billionaire Andrei Melnichenko owns valuable real estate in Russia, France, England, Switzerland, Monaco and America. This man has reached dizzying heights in big business and it is not surprising that today he is reluctant to invest capital in new projects. The oligarch himself considers himself a happy person who does not deny himself anything. In the summer of 2020, the businessman received an award for his great contribution to charitable and social activities - the insignia “For Good Deeds.” Currently, Andrey Melnichenko is one of the reputable businessmen who are distinguished by business acumen, stability, entrepreneurship, development and the ability to withstand adversity in a crisis of any scale.
Who is Andrey Melnichenko today?
Today Melnichenko is one of the most successful and respected businessmen in Russia. Despite his young age, he already has a fairly rich biography, in which you can find not only ups, but also downs.
Melnichenko’s history also contains dark spots of scandals. So, in 2002, you could read in the news about the initiation of a criminal case against MDM Bank. The scandal was dealt with by the antimonopoly commission, and the case itself concerned deliberately inflated prices for coal in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. No decision was made, since all contacts of companies related to the purchase of coal turned out to be non-existent, and all the money received for the transactions passed through offshore accounts.
Melnichenko’s biography is an excellent example of dedication and ambition. A billionaire who, at the age of 46, has accumulated a fortune of $15.5 million thanks to his intelligence and business acumen.
Tastes and preferences of Alexandra Melnichenko
Alexandra Melnichenko, whose photos could be seen on magazine covers and in advertising, is a talented model. So it's no surprise that she really loves fashion. She has favorite designers whose shows she tries to never miss. Alexandra believes that this is art. When she goes to high fashion shows, she notices the new items and trends of the season.
One of Alexandra's favorite fashion designers is Vera Wang. She sewed Sandra's wedding dress. My second favorite designer is Azzedine Alaia. Alexandra believes that his works are fundamental in the fashion world. Sandra is a fan of John Galliano. She bought some of his works straight from the catwalk.
Alexandra Melnichenko is a music lover, and her tastes are quite broad. From pop music to Broadway musicals. Some famous world performers, such as Enrique Iglesias, Whitney Houston and others, Alexandra and her husband are periodically invited to the festivities.
Sandra's musical taste changes depending on her mood. Sometimes she wants to delve into the music, dissolve in it, listen to the words. And other times, just turn it on for the background. But most of all she loves musicals and goes to them whenever possible. She also buys CDs and then learns the words.
She fell in love with traveling since her youth. Working as a model for famous European agencies opened her thirst for knowledge. Alexandra traveled a lot and since then loves to discover new places and countries.
Alexandra is fluent in several foreign languages: English, Yugoslavian, Spanish, Italian and, of course, Russian. Despite the fact that she often travels abroad, Russia is her favorite home.
Alexandra Melnichenko is interested in different religions and cultures. Her hobbies are shared by her husband. South America, especially Bolivia, holds an important place in her heart. Despite the fact that this is one of the poorest countries in the world, Alexandra considers it incredibly beautiful.
Across the seas and waves
A yacht helps the Melnichenko family conquer distant countries - another subject of gossip. They talk so much about the ship because it is truly gorgeous. The yacht has its own name - “A” (named after the first letters of the owners), and many sincerely say that Abramovich’s property is not even close in its luxury.
Photo 7. Super luxurious yacht Melnichenko. Source: cdn.images.express.co.uk
Shall we take a short tour of the ship? It has a displacement of 6,000 tons, is 120 meters long, has 14 luxurious bedrooms inside, and many experts say that the door handle alone would cost at least $40,000. The protection of the owner's bedchamber of this expensive toy is carried out through a fingerprint scan. Everything was thought out according to the highest technologies and standards of beauty - it could not be otherwise, because the popular Philippe Starck, a famous French industrial designer, got down to business.
More details about the yacht in this video:
By the way, this is not the first yacht of the Melnichenko couple - before that there was another mega-specimen of class “A”. However, nothing compares to this example - the most expensive to date. Only preliminary estimates showed that the cost of the sailing ship is close to $400 million.
However, this beauty already has someone to step on its heels - in 2017, from the same German shipyard where the first yacht was built, the new “A” - Melnichenko’s toy, with a displacement of 1200 tons and a length of 143 cm, came off. The total area of such a vessel is - 1767 sq. meters.
