Alisher Usmanov

Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov (Uzbek: Alisher Burxonovich Usmonov, Russian: Алишер Бурханович Усманов; born 9 September 1953) is a Russian-Uzbek billionaire. Usmanov is the 149th richest person in the world according to Forbes, with a net worth of $16.8 billion, largely due to his stake in USM Holdings, in which Usmanov holds less than 50%.

Usmanov was a successful entrepreneur in the Soviet Union in the 1980s but made substantial wealth after the collapse of the Soviet Union primarily through investments in metal and mining operations as well as large early investments in technology companies such as Facebook, Twitter, VK, and Alibaba Group.

In addition to his stake in Metalloinvest, he owns the Kommersant publishing house, is a co-owner of MegaFon, a mobile telephone operator, and co-owner of the Udokan mine, which develops one of the largest copper deposits in the world.

He has been the president of the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime, the international governing body of the sport of fencing, since 2008. Amid international sanctions, Usmanov temporarily suspended his duties as the FIE President in 2022 and 2024 after his re-election.

From 1980 to 1986, when Usmanov was in his late 20s, he spent six years in a Soviet prison on charges of fraud and embezzlement, but his conviction was later overturned. In 2000, he underwent political rehabilitation by the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan, which ruled that the case against him was trumped up and no crime had been committed.

Usmanov has been described as having close ties to President of Russia Vladimir Putin, which he denies, and, as a result, he has been sanctioned by the US, EU, UK, and Ukrainian governments since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.