Vladimir Olegovich Potanin was born on January 3, 1961, in Moscow city. He belonged to the category of children who are called “golden youth”. The father of the future businessman, Oleg, served as a trade representative in the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Mother worked as a doctor. The parents did not refuse anything from their son. From a young age, Vladimir was distinguished by enviable self-confidence and leadership qualities, which led him to success and an amazing biography.
Education
The billionaire has been a member of the Komsomol party since 1975 and later joined the CPSU. In 1983 he graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) with a degree in International Economics. There he also studied English and French, which were very useful to him in his further development.
Career and business of Vladimir Potanin
An important role in the formation of Potanin’s successful business was led by his active participation in the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, a Komsomol organization, where the billionaire acquired a large number of necessary contacts. It is no secret that the time before the collapse of the Soviet Union was nicknamed the “Komsomol business”, its essence was in making money through the work of youth creative associations. Through these centers, money from the budget was redirected to firms. In one of his many interviews, Potanin admitted that he played his game in this area without special rules and principles. Vladimir Potanin Immediately after graduating from university (1983) and until 1990, Vladimir followed in his father’s footsteps and these years worked in the structure of the Ministry of Foreign Trade. In 1990, he became President of the Interros Foreign Economy Association. It is known that this firm was organized by Shilin, who at that time was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Economy. This company carried out the export of goods from the country to the West. During this period, Potanin made a useful acquaintance with Mikhail Prokhorov, who would become his business partner. In 1992-93, together with Prokhorov, he organized the International Finance Company bank, which was headed by Potanin.
In 97, the Prof-Media company was established. Several well-known publications were under her control – Izvestia, Komsomolskaya Pravda, and Afisha. Potanin did not leave “Interros” either, and by 98 he became the president of this organization. In recent years, everything went smoothly until 2007, when Vladimir decided to split the business with his partner Prokhorov. Vladimir decided to break off relations with Mikhail due to the arrest of his partner. Then they were often the heroes of bad news, which harmed businesses. After the breakdown of business relations, Prokhorov and Potanin sorted out the relationship for a long time. By 2013, the entrepreneur had amassed a fortune of $ 14.3 billion. At that time, he owned more than 30% of shares from Norilsk Nickel and Prof-Media. Potanin also excelled in politics. In 96-97, he worked as Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation for Economic Affairs. He was also the chairman of 20 government commissions. 2003 – participated in the United Russia forum. In 2006 he became a member of the public chamber of the Russian Federation and became the chairman of the commission on charity and volunteering. From 2008 to 2010, he was the head of the Commission, which was engaged in the development of the charity. At this time, a project was developed to exempt organizations that distribute social advertising from taxes. Potanin now heads the Supervisory Board of the International Olympic University of Russia. The basic principles of success from Vladimir Potanin: Do not be in your comfort zone. Always listen to your inner voice. If falls occur, then this must also be done correctly. Engage in ennobling the environment. In business, do not do things that you would never do in life.
Vladimir Potanin property
Since the end of the 20th century, Vladimir Potanin has been at the top of Forbes magazine’s list of the most successful people on the planet. His photo in this magazine flashed quite often and still remains there. It has at its disposal more than 30% of its assets from Norilsk Nickel. She rides on the yacht Anastasia, released in 2008 and more than 75 meters long.
The private life of Vladimir Potanin
The first wife in the biography of Vladimir was Natalya Varlamova. The businessman met his future wife when they were still in school. They have three children. The eldest daughter Anastasia was born in 1984, is the world champion in aquabike, and a graduate of the same university as her dad. The middle son’s name is Ivan, he was born in the 89th year and, like his older sister, is fond of aquabike, where he also reached certain heights, becoming the champion of Russia in this sport. The youngest of the children, son Vasily, was born in 2000.
However, it cannot be said that a cloudless life awaits the heirs. In 2010, Potanin made a statement that he plans to indicate in his will, as the last will of the deceased, to give all his fortune to charity. Natalya Varlamova Potanin gave his children the most important thing – a good, prestigious education, helped in all endeavors so that now they are ready for an independent life, and most importantly, they have acquired the ability to earn their own living. In 2014, after the divorce from Natalia, Vladimir Potanin married a second time. His wife was Catherine, with whom the businessman had a personal relationship for a long time, at the time of marriage she was raising her three-year-old daughter Varvara.
Potanin’s biography is also distinguished by charity work, which he began to engage in 1999. It was then that the Vladimir Potanin Charitable Foundation was created. The purpose of the foundation was to create projects in the field of education and culture. Each year, the organization costs approximately $ 10 million.
