introducing Oleg Deripaska

The reason for the delay in putting up this post is that the story of Oleg Deripaska is a hugely complex one, and indeed his present position is very complicated. He has large borrowing debts, and is also embroiled in several legal disputes, at least one already going through the courts. He has enemies.

But let's start with the official background.  Deripaska is the head of the largest producer of aluminium and alumina in the world, Rusal.  Below is an excerpt from his company's website:

"Having raised his initial capital by trading in metals, Oleg Deripaska acquired shares in the Sayanogorsk Aluminium Smelter and became its Director General in 1994. In 1997, Mr. Deripaska initiated the creation of the Sibirsky Aluminium Group, which was Russia’s first vertically integrated industrial group. It brought together Russian leading aluminium and alloys producers and three years after its inception the Sibirsky Aluminium Group became one of the world's top ten producers of aluminum products. The Sibirsky Aluminium Group was renamed Basic Element in 2001.

In 2000-2003, Mr. Deripaska was Director General of Russian Aluminium (RUSAL), which was set up as a result of the combination of aluminium smelters and alumina refineries of the Sibirsky Aluminium Group and the Sibneft oil company. In 2007, RUSAL, the SUAL Group and alumina assets of Glencore International AG merged to create United Company RUSAL, the world's largest aluminium and alumina producer. Oleg Deripaska became Head of the United company in 2009."


This cool professional description of Deripaska's rise conveys nothing of  his climb out of  poverty and obscurity  to fight his way through a virtually lawless world of great danger - in which his life was frequently on the line - to finally survive and emerge one of the wealthiest and most  powerful men in Russia.

Deripaska's life story so far is the stuff of a great book - a page-turning thriller that, turned into a work of fiction, would look just that, fiction.  But it all happened. Frederick Forsyth, Ken Follet, Robert Harris,  Jeffrey Archer, where are you?

Oleg Deripaska is, in some ways, the most interesting of the Russian oligarchs.  The majority of them, generally speaking, are essentially money men.  Deripaska is an intellectual.  But an intellectual who rose to become, at one point, the richest man in Russia - tho' he's slipped a bit in the present financial climate.

He was born in  1968 and  grew up in a small rural village in  southern Russia with his widowed mother, and sometimes his grandparents when his mother, a clever woman and herself an engineer, was working in another city.  He graduated with honors in physics from Moscow State University in 1993, and in 1996 he got an economics degree from the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics.

But he soon saw that theoretical physics was not going to get him very far in the chaotic world of post Communist Russia. He tried his hand as a metal trader. And it was under the tumultuous reign of Boris Yeltsin that Deripaska begun his abrupt, and some say violent,  rise to wealth and power. Though in the chaotic conditions of a society in meltdown, it's clear that anyone who did  not defend themselves violently would simply not come out alive.

Among all the battles for control of state assets in 1990s, none were more violent and bloody than the so-called "aluminum wars" when organized-crime gangs hired by competing interests assassinated dozens of people, in the fight to control the smelters of the aluminium industry.   Executives, politicians and reporters were run over, shot, had their throats cut or died in mysterious air crashes. The worst fighting was said to be around the Krasnoyarsk plant in Siberia. They called it the "Wild East". Out of this bloodbath of corpses and bits of body parts, Deripaska emerged the winner. Maybe because he was a lot brighter than the physical heavies battling around him,  kept a very cool head, and held his nerve.

Deripaska himself says he owes his success to a lot of hard work. He certainly owes much of his success to great courage, boldness and brains.  One of his business associates is quoted as saying many people underestimated Deripaska. "He is one of the most intelligent people you've ever met,' he says, "and it's matched by ambition."

Early on, Deripaska understood that success in this new Russia would come from a mixture of  force, poltical influence and personal connnections. In 2001, he married Yeltsin's granddaughter.  He is very close to Putin, they go ski-ing together. Though rumour says there has been a little coolness of late - though it's possible that is just for public show.

And in 2004, Deripaska became pals with Lord Mandelson and the heir to the Rothschild dynasty, Nat, both of whom holidayed on his yacht.

Lord Mandelson himself has denied that, as the EU Trade commissioner, he gave trade concessions of up to £50m. a year to Russia's then richest man.  During his commissionership, there have been two cuts in EU aluminium import tariffs which have benefited Rusal by tens of millions of pounds a year.

  But these are complicated areas of negotiation and as David O’Sullivan, the European Commission’s director-general of European trade, has said: “Decisions regarding these cases have been taken in full transparency and are firmly rooted in EU law and in the interests of EU companies."

the power behind the throne

The aim in writing this blog is to post daily (or as near that as possible, work allowing)) on the world of the wealthy and powerful.

In the news currently, is this man:
         
he isn't wealthy in the sense of the Russian oligarchs or the Rothschilds with their untold billions,  though he is certainly not poor. But he is a classic example of power - how to get it, how to hold it, how to wield it, and how to come back bigger and better when you temporarily lose it.

                                                                                             

Yes, we meet again  the brilliant and mysterious Lord Mandelson, Baron of Hartlepool and Foy - known to his glamorous friends, and many enemies, as The Dark Lord, Mandy - or, so rumour says, to Rupert Murdoch as starfucker.

Mandy was one of the architects of New Labour and officially the King of Spin. He was Labour's campaign manager in 1997 when the party returned to power with a phenomenal majority, after 15 years in the wilderness. And that was the beginning of Mandy's rise to power, for he had backed Tony Blair for the No 1 job at No 10.

The combination of Mandelson and Blair made Mandelson.  Every power-behind-the-throne merchant needs a good 'man up front', and Tony was the perfect partner.

Tony was friendly and likeable where Mandy was menacing: Tony was warm and emotional where Mandy was cool and calculating: Tony was 'a pretty straight sort of guy' as he would label himself, where Mandy was a complex and secretive character. Mandy was media savvy, ruthless in his dealings with the press, Tony was the photogenic, spell-binding speaker with the great smile. The dark and the light. The Ying and theYang. A marriage made in heaven.

There were a couple of slip-ups - The Dark Lord has always had a tendency to recklessness - but even the slip-ups turned out well because with Tony's support, Mandy became European Trade Commissioner, and that job gives its holder access to real power on the world stage.

How Mandy  used it, and how it elevated him into the circles where true power exists, we'll talk about in my next post.

At the moment, back in London, Mandy has become almost overnight not only a member of the House of Lords, but the UK's Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, President of the Board of Trade and Lord President of the Council.  All this without even being an elected as an MP.  How about that for style?

But what need has he of all these names and titles?  He is, in fact, the top man  of the UK, the Prime Minister in everything but name, the power behind the power that rests in the occupant of No 10 Downing Street.

- or, as history might say, Lord Mandelson is the alter rex, the other King.

Yes, Lord Mandelson understands power, he knows where it lives, he has a feel for it and is comfortable around it.  And though he has many enemies, powerful people like and appreciate him.  And that's important.  Brilliance is not enough. The right people have to like you. 

Of course, those who don't like him use adjectives such as complex, vengeful, dangerous; they talk of his combination of suave charm and icy menace.

But the people who like him see clearly his strengths -  his steadiness in a crisis, his ability to communicate a sense of purpose, his sense of humour and his refusal to despair.

We last met him a few posts back, wheeling and dealing in Montenegro with two particularly powerful people who like him, Nat Rothschild and Oleg Deripaska. 

Oleg Deripaska - now there's a man of power.  Let's take a look at Oleg and the Mandelson connection next time.  

But it's the witching hour in London so  that's all for tonight.

.

The Prince and the Kings in the new playground of the rich

To Home Base this morning to look at mirrors for living room, which is half way through being redecorated. How prosaic is that?

So let's move on swiftly to the rich, a much more fun subject, and follow up on the Lockerbie story I posted on yesterday - tho' now the coverage has moved on to the personalities involved.

So, more on the rich world playground which is in full swing in the Adriatic.
Above is the Hotel Splendid, Becici, the setting for the get- together of the Prince of Darkness and his pals, with further details supplied this morning by the Daily Mail.

"And what a small world it is. In March this year, Prince Andrew went to Montenegro to open the new British embassy there.

During the trip he took time out to be shown round the £500million Porto Montenegro marina which is being developed on the coast near Tivat.

Two of the main investors in the project are Mr Deripaska and his financial adviser Mr Rothschild. Indeed, the former's business interests make him the largest private employer in Montenegro.

Early last year, when he was still EU Trade Commissioner and not yet ennobled, Peter Mandelson announced that he had secured a bilateral agreement with the tiny Adriatic nation.

'Today's signature is an important milestone,' he declared at the time. Montenegro's progress toward becoming a reliable world trading partner had been ' remarkable'. Mr Deripaska must have been delighted.

It later emerged that during Lord Mandelson's tenure as commissioner, there had also been two cuts in EU aluminium import tariffs, which has benefitted Mr Deripaska's company Rusal - the EU's biggest importer of the raw metal - by tens of millions of pounds a year.

In June this year what was described as the most lavish celebration ever held in the Adriatic took place near the Tivat marina.

Saif Gaddafi had chosen the Splendid hotel in Becici as the location for his 37th birthday party. Among the guests, who flew in on a fleet of a dozen or more private jets, were Prince Albert of Monaco, Mr Deripaska and Mr Rothschild.

Saif is said to be interested in investing in Montenegro. Presumably he and Mr Deripaska had plenty to talk about - the Russian also controls the oil company Russneft and Libya is looking for foreign investors in the energy industry. Business and pleasure combined in one ostentatious display. "

In the comments, a writer asks an intriguing little question: All Bilderberg members . . . ?

You don't know what Bilderberg is? Watch and learn, reader.

The Prince of Darkness, Montenegro and Lockerbie

Left is Porto Montenegro

I am in the final stages of finishing my second book, hence this blog has been neglected. But from now on, tho' I may not always have the time to write it up from the personal daily perspective, I'll try at least to post anything that is of particular interest to me in the news of the day.

Those of you who know my Money blog (also 'resting' whilst I bring my book to a close), will expect the items selected to in one way or another concern my favourite subject, that mysterious and enchanted world of the very rich.

And enchanted so describes that world, for to be enchanted is to be subject to magical influences, to be bewitched, to be put under a magical spell - and all those things come about when you enter the world of the rich, for its high voltage air crackles with magic.

As the cliched quote says "The rich are different." Most people say that comes from Scott Fitzgerald, but what he actually said was: "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me," and the famous misquote actually comes from Hemingway.

Personally I like "The rich are different, they pay less taxes." It is reminiscent of that other lovely 'rich' quote, courtesy of J. Paul Getty - "The meek shall inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights."

So, here is the Sunday Telegraph debating the mystery of the release of the Lockerbie bomber, and the involvement therein of The Prince of Darkness , as he wheels and deals among his delightfully rich friends:

"Mandelson, his wealthy friends and the Libyan connection"

Lord Mandelson, the Business Secreatry, is facing growing questions over his links with Saif Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Colonel Gadaffi, following the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi.

In a destination that developers predict will soon make the tax haven of Monaco look "second rate", it was described as the most glamorous party ever seen in the Adriatic.

As the champagne flowed, fireworks lit up the night sky, a dozen private Lear jets were parked on a nearby runway and giant yachts were moored offshore.

The fabulously wealthy guests at the appropriately-named Splendid Hotel included Prince Albert of Monaco and Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate.

Also at the resort were Oleg Deripaska, the Russian entrepreneur, and Nat Rothschild, the British financier - both close allies of Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary. The billionaires held a business meeting the following morning.

And who hosted the 37th birthday party in June in one of the trendiest locations in Montenegro – a newly-independent nation whose cause Lord Mandelson has repeatedly championed?

The unlikely host – hundreds of miles from his African homeland – was Saif Gadaffi, the son of the Libyan leader, who, it emerged last week, has met Lord Mandelson twice in the past four months.

At at least one of those meetings, the fate of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, was discussed.

In October 2008, just days after his return to the Cabinet to shore up Gordon Brown's ailing leadership, Lord Mandelson admitted that his links to Mr Deripaska, the billionaire Russian oligarch, stretched back years more than he had earlier admitted.

Lord Mandelson, who denies acting improperly or trying to influence Mr MacAskill's decision, most recently met Mr Gaddafi "fleetingly" at the Rothschild's family's Greek £30 million estate on Corfu – just a week before it emerged that Megrahi was set to be freed because he is suffering from aggressive and terminal prostate cancer.

According to Lord Mandelson's spokesman, the Business Secretary also met the met the man tipped to be the next leader of Libya at an official engagement in London in May this year.

Less than a decade ago Libya was a pariah nation that was not only blamed for Lockerbie but also had a long history of sponsoring international terrorism.

Saif Gadaffi, 37, the favoured of Colonel Gadaffi's seven sons, is an architect, businessman and politician, who was educated at the London School of Economics.

In recent years Mr Gadaffi has forged a firm friendship with Mr Deripaska and Mr Rothschild, Lord Mandelson's friends.

Mr Rothschild hosted a party Mr Gaddafi in New York late last year. More recently, Mr Gadaffi has developed personal links with the Business Secretary himself.

Indeed, Lord Mandelson's spokesman said this weekend that he hopes to see more of the Libyan politician in the coming months.


What is not known is the extent of the personal business interests that Mr Gaddafi, who has a penchant for pet tigers, now has in Montenegro, a nation that Lord Mandelson has supported during its three years since gaining independence.

Libya has significant business links in Montenegro, and judging from his recent birthday party, Mr Gaddafi is clearly quite a "player" in the country.

Mr Deripaska and Mr Rothschild have invested heavily in the £500 million-plus Porto Montenegro project to make the country the "premier marina destination in the Mediterranean".

Lord Mandelson, as EU Trade Commissioner, championed Montenegro's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) saying last year: "Montenegro has made remarkable progress in preparing for WTO entry.... The EU is a strong supporter of Montenegro's entry into the WTO, and is proud to be the first partner to conclude bilateral accession talks."

But, crucially, did Lord Mandelson, who in 2006 ended EU trade tariffs on aluminium thereby hugely benefiting Mr Deripaska's business interests, lobby for Mr Megrahi's release?"