Viktor Pinchuk

Date of Birth: 14.12.1960

Viktor Michaylovich Pinchuk is a Ukrainian entrepreneur, politician, billionaire, and oligarch, son-in-law of the second president of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma. Founder of EastOne and the Pinchuk Fund. Owner of the media group StarLightMedia. One of the richest Ukrainians.

Birthplace. Education. Born in Kyiv. In 1983, he graduated from the Dnipro Metallurgical Institute with a major in 'Metal Processing under Pressure'. Doctor of Technical Sciences.

Beginnings. From 1981 to 1983 - laboratory assistant at the Dnipro Metallurgical Institute, cold-forming engineer at the Nizhniodniprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant, research intern, engineer, senior engineer, junior researcher, senior researcher at the State Scientific Research Design Institute for the Pipe Industry in Dnipro.

All related materials

• Auchan, Metro, and OTR Bank - international war sponsors. How has this affected their business?business
• Forbes published a new ranking of billionaires: five Ukrainians are includedbusiness
• Putin's aggression has cost the richest Ukrainians 17 billion dollars. Which oligarchs lose influence?business

Business and Politics. In 1990, he founded the investment and research group Interpipe. Over the years, Viktor Pinchuk's business has grown significantly and is now referred to as one of the largest industrialists and media magnates. Before seriously engaging in metals, pipes, and railway wheels, Interpipe was a gas company that imported both Turkmen and Russian gas and acted as a trader for the specially established Corporation 'Sodruzhestvo'.

The financial and industrial group Interpipe controls several dozen companies to various extents, mainly in the field of pipe industry and metallurgy (New Moscow Pipe Plant, Nizhniodniprovsky Pipe Rolling Plant, Dneprospecstal, etc.). Together with his co-owner of the group Privat, Ihor Kolomoisky, he controls the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant (previously, the billionaires fought for years in court over this company). Additionally, the Pinchuk group controls the Dnipro Wagon Repair and Construction Plant, television channels ICTV, Novy, STB, M1, the newspaper Fakty i kommentarii. In January 2008, Viktor Pinchuk completed the sale of his bank UkrSocBank to the Austrian Bank Austria.

In 2006, Pinchuk restructured the Interpipe group and founded a series of independent companies and holding companies based on it, managed according to the principle of a direct investment fund, based on a common portfolio strategy. As a result of the restructuring, Viktor Pinchuk founded EastOne in 2007 - an investment and consulting group to support new investments and the existing asset portfolio. The fund managed by EastOne includes more than 20 businesses and extensive projects, including the pipe and wheel company Interpipe, media assets (TV channels STB, Novy, ICTV, M1, M2, the newspaper Fakty i kommentarii, the publishing house Ekonomika, which produces the newspaper Delo, the magazine InvestGazeta), insurance business - the insurance company Russia, and others.

During the 2004 presidential campaign, Viktor Pinchuk was one of the main opponents of opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko. Interpipe (together with the SCM group of Rinat Akhmetov) suffered the greatest business losses after the orange team took power. The largest metallurgical enterprise Krivorozhstal, which was privatized by these structures, had to be returned to the state by court order in 2005. Nevertheless, the loss of such a significant part of the assets did not displace Viktor Pinchuk from the list of the richest Ukrainians.

The businessman’s wife - Elena Pinchuk (heads the charity foundation AntiAIDS) - is the daughter of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. According to observers, the businessman has increased his wealth and has become a very influential figure in Ukraine, not least due to his prominent relatives.

Viktor Pinchuk was a member of the Ukrainian parliament twice - in 1998 and 2002. He was a member of the faction of the Labor Ukraine party, financed by him. In both terms, he belonged to the Committee on Economic Policy, Management, Property, and Investments.

In the 2006 elections, he supported the election campaign of the Viche party (until the announcement of early parliamentary elections in 2007, it was led by Inna Bogoslovskaya). Despite powerful financial inflows, the political force was unable to enter parliament.

He invests through American funds in Facebook and Twitter. In 2012, he invested about 20 million US dollars in technology startups.

Wealth. In the summer of 2006, he ranked second according to Korrespondent magazine, with experts estimating his wealth at 3.7 billion US dollars. In March 2007, experts from Focus magazine estimated his wealth at 4.4 billion US dollars. A year later, the same magazine traditionally ranked him second with a net worth of 10.5 billion US dollars. In 2008, according to Forbes magazine, he became the richest Ukrainian, surpassing Akhmetov.

In 2013, he ranked 6th in the ranking of the richest people in Ukraine with a net worth of 2.150 billion US dollars.

In 2017, he ranked sixth in the annual Forbes website ranking with 1.1 billion US dollars. In 2016, he was among the five richest Ukrainians with a net worth of 1.2 billion US dollars.

Philanthropy. The foundation named after him (Victor Pinchuk Foundation) donates large sums to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Ukraine, supports talented youth, finances projects that inform people about the Holocaust, implements joint projects with the well-known philanthropist George Soros, participates in the organization of representative economic forums, etc.

In September 2006, the businessman and another of his funds -'Modern Art in Ukraine'- presented the center for modern art PіnchukArtCentre at the Mandarin Plaza shopping and entertainment center.

Another patronage passion of Viktor Pinchuk is concerts of world music legends for compatriots. Thus, in the summer of 2007, Sir Elton John performed on Kyiv's Maidan. In June 2008, Paul McCartney of the Beatles performed.

In February 2013, he signed The Giving Pledge, in which he promised to donate half of his fortune to charity. He made clear to children that they should not hope for an inheritance.

Awards. On October 18, 2010, Viktor and Elena Pinchuk were awarded by Elton John's AIDS Foundation at the ninth annual Enduring Vision ceremony in New York for their significant contribution to the fight against AIDS.

Laureate of the European Trebbia Award in the category 'Support of Culture and Art' (2012).

Hobbies. Music, theater, classical and modern visual arts, literature.

Family. The Pinchuk couple raise their daughter Ekaterina and Elena's son Roman (from her first marriage). In September 2011, the Pinchuks had another daughter. The businessman also has a daughter Maria from his first marriage.

03.11.2023