Vagit Alekperov (or VagitAlek perov) is one of Russia’s richest men and the second richest man in the world. Forbes estimated his wealth at $13.2 billion in July 2014, and he is Russia’s seventh-richest person with an annual income of $1.4 billion.
Alekperov has been monitoring West Qurna since the 1980s, and in March 2014 LUKoil announced that it had won the contract for the West Krasnoyarsk Field, the world’s largest oil and gas field in the Middle East.
FAMILY AND EDUCATION
Vagit Alekperov was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 1950 and was an orphan as a young child. At the age of eighteen, he began working in the oil fields and followed his father’s career path.
In 1974 he graduated from the Azerbaijan Institute of Oil Chemistry with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and in 1975 with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering.
He is married and has a son, Yusuf, who can inherit his father’s fortune, and a daughter, Ekaterina. His son is a graduate of the Azerbaijani Institute of Oil Chemistry with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and is studying at the Institute of Chemistry of the University of Baku, Azerbaijan, under the direction of Professor Vadim Aliyev.
CLIMBING THE RANKS
When he worked at Kaspmorneft, Alekperov got a job as an assistant to the head of the human resources department of the company. In this position, he braved dangerous working conditions and in some cases even the death of his wife.
He moved to Western Siberia to work in the oil industry, where he established himself as an expert. Russian oil company, threw him an explosion in the Caspian Sea, and he had to swim to safety.
OIL INDUSTRY LEADER
In 1985 he became Deputy General of Bashneft Oil Company and in 1985 – 1986 Chairman of the Board of Bashkortostan Petroleum Company.
When he was appointed to the new oil company Kogalymneftegaz in 1987, he led Russia’s largest oil companies. His expertise was in demand in the fields of oil, gas and natural gas extraction as well as oil and gas extraction.
In the 1990s, Vagit Alekperov was appointed to the board of Kogalymneftegaz, one of Russia’s largest oil companies. The state oil and gas companies were centralised to coordinate activities, and he was responsible for managing all.
In 1991, under the auspices of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, Alekperov founded Langepas Uray and Kogalymneft. In 1993 the conglomerate became a joint-stock company called LUKoil and in 1991 the largest oil and gas company in the world.
Alekperov quickly bought a ten per cent stake in the company and became its president, shares were given to workers, and he became its president.
This made the company one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world, producing 2.2 million barrels per day in 2012. LUKoil has been linked to many of the world’s leading industrial companies, including British Petroleum and Exxon. Suleyman Kerimov tried to buy Lukoil from Alekperov but the deal never materialised. He currently holds a 10 percent stake in the company, which was worth more than $13 billion in 2012, and shares in other companies.
Vagit Alekperov is known for advising Vladimir Putin on industrial strategy and business planning. He has contributed to the development and modernization of the Russian oil and gas industry and is known for advising him on industrial strategy and business planning as well as the economic development of the country.
IFD KAPITAL GROUP
IFD Kapital Group was founded in 2003 and has been operating under the umbrella of its parent company, the International Federation of Independent Business (IFA), since 2003.
The company’s assets now exceed $14 billion, making it one of the largest private equity firms in the world. In 2006, the main shareholders were the International Federation of Independent Business (IFD) and its parent company, the Kapital Group.
