Photo: council.gov.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons¹⁵

Leonid Mikhelson

Russian businessman

Leonid Viktorovich Mikhelson (Russian: Леони́д Ви́кторович Михельсо́н; born 11 August 1955) is a Russian-Israeli billionaire oligarch, businessman, CEO, chairman and major shareholder of the Russian gas company Novatek.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Leonid Mikhelson (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Aug 11, 1955.¹

Net worth $24.0B (as of 2019, per The World's Billionaires).¹⁶ Richest people

About

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mikhelson obtained a stake in a privatized pipeline construction company out of which he formed Novatek. He is a business partner of Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko, a close confidante of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Mikhelson had a net worth of US$24.8 billion as of 24 August 2026, making him the 103rd richest person in the world and the second richest in Russia. In the 2026 Forbes annual billionaires ranking, he was ranked 88th in the world and fourth in Russia, with an estimated net worth of US$28.3 billion.

From Wikipedia’s article on Leonid Mikhelson, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

NovatekFounder¹²
V-a-c FoundationFounder¹³

Early life and education

Date not recordedSamara State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering³

Career

Occupation: entrepreneur.⁷

Date not recordedFounded Novatek⁴
Date not recordedFounded V-a-c Foundation⁵
Date not recordedChief executive officer⁶

Personal life

BornAug 11, 1955, Kaspiysk⁸
CitizenshipSoviet Union, Russia⁹
ResidenceMoscow¹⁰

Mikhelson is married, with two children, and lives in Moscow. His daughter Victoria studied art history at New York University and London's Courtauld Institute. His VAC Foundation Victoria, the Art of Being Contemporary, is named after her. Mikhelson also holds Israeli citizenship.

Sanctions

Mikhelson is one of many Russian "oligarchs" named in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017. He was sanctioned by the British government in 2022 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War.

From Wikipedia’s article on Leonid Mikhelson (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

Date not recordedMedal "100 years anniversary of the foundation of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic"¹¹
Date not recordedMedal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class without swords¹¹
Date not recordedOrder of the Badge of Honour¹¹