| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MARCH 1, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Winners and Losers among Russia's Tycoons VAGIT Y. ALEKPEROV, 48 As founder and CEO of Lukoil, Russia's first oil holding company, his star is still rising, despite falling oil prices. Lukoil is one of the few Russian companies still able to attract foreign investment. BORIS A. BEREZOVSKY, 53 Once close to Boris Yeltsin, he's under attack by Prime Minister Yevgeny M. Primakov and is in danger of losing stakes in TV network ORT and Aeroflot. MIKHAIL M. FRIDMAN, 34 Although he keeps a lower profile and has been more cautious than other tycoons, he is now going after assets of distressed banks and companies that suffered heavily in Russia's financial collapse. VLADIMIR A. GUSSINSKY, 46 Moscow's media magnate, he is slashing ad rates at his daily newspaper, weekly magazine, and TV networks. But he stands to gain as election campaigns for Parliament and President heat up. MIKHAIL B. KHODORKOVSKY, 35 Russia's financial crisis nearly wiped out his Menatep Bank and forced him to swap 30% of his Yukos oil company in exchange for debt. But he persuaded the Central Bank to keep Menatep alive with loans. VLADIMIR O. POTANIN, 38 The first financier to default on a corporate Eurobond, he may be forced to give up assets of his oil holding company, Sidanko. His Oneximbank, once one of Russia's most powerful, is $2 billion in debt. REM I. VYAKHIREV, 55 Chairman of Gazprom, the world's largest natural-gas company, is gaining in stature as export revenues grow and other tycoons fail. Gazprom may be a prime source for election campaign financing. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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