Blavatnik, Sir Leonard Valentinovich (born June 14, 1957; Odesa, Soviet Ukraine) is a Ukrainian-Jewish British-American business magnate and philanthropist.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Blavatnik privatized state-owned oil and aluminum assets to make his first fortune. Through his privately held company Access Industries Holdings in the United States, he owns the majority of Warner Music Group and holds stakes in several publicly traded assets. He describes himself as a self-made billionaire.
Len Blavatnik’s Net Worth and Wealth:
Forbes estimated Blavatnik’s wealth at $35.4 billion in March 2022, placing him somewhere between the 20th and 33rd richest person on earth. Blavatnik was knighted in 2017 for his contributions to charity. He started with Russian oil company TNK-BP, selling his stake for $7 billion in 2013 and receiving billions in dividends from the joint venture.
He went public with Warner Music in June 2020 for four times the value after purchasing the company for $3.3 billion in 2011. He has a net worth of $28.5B.
Len Blavatnik owns 19 percent of the Houston, Texas-based chemical company LyondellBasell. Additionally, he owns a minority stake in United Co. Rusal, the largest aluminum producer in Russia. In 2013, Blavatnik sold 12.5% of TNK-BP for $7 billion, and Russian oil companies paid him nearly $5 billion in dividends. He paid $3.3 billion to Warner Music Group in 2011. His art collection and real estate are worth $1.7 billion.
Len Blavatnik’s Early Life:
Len Blavatnik, who was raised north of Moscow and was born in Ukraine, came to the United States with his family in 1978; He went to Columbia University to study computer science, and Harvard Business School gave him an MBA.
Len Blavatnik’s Career:
Len Blavatnik built his fortune by serving on the boards of numerous businesses and universities as well as investing in real estate, oil, coal, and other industries.
- In June 1957, Leonard Valentinovich Blavatnik was born in London, England. After moving to the United States in 1978, Len attended Moscow State University.
- In 1986, Len established Access Industries. Basell Polyolefins was acquired by Access Industries in 2005 for $5.7 billion.
- In 2007, Basell bought out Lyondell Chemical Company, which made LyondellBasell Industries the third-largest chemical company in the world.
- In 2010, Blavatnik filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase after he lost $100 million following their advice.
- In 2013, Chase was required to pay Blavatnik $50 million. Len Blavatnik is a board member and owns stakes in UC Rusal, the largest aluminum producer in the world. In 2011, Access Industries paid $3.3 billion to acquire Warner Music Group.
- As a direct result of his contribution of 75 million Euros, the Blavatnik School of Government was established at the University of Oxford in 2012. Additionally, he gave $50 million to Harvard. In 2017, Blavatnik was listed as the fourth richest person in the UK. He is married to Emily Appelson Blavatnik, with whom he has four children.
His investment company, Access Industries, owns stakes in the chemical company LyondellBasell, the energy conglomerate Calpine, and the website Opendoor for house flipping.
According to Blavatnik, he has donated or pledged more than $1 billion to philanthropy, primarily to universities like Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford.
He holds dual citizenship in the UK and the United States. The Blavatniks have contributed to both political parties in the United States, including Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign and Trump’s inaugural committee.