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Sergei Polonsky
Photo: Dinozaurus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons11

Sergei Polonsky

Russian Oligarch

Sergei Yurievich Polonsky (Russian: Сергей Юрьевич Полонский; born 1 December 1972) is a Russian businessman. He is the owner and head of one of the largest real estate companies in Russia, previously known as Mirax Group (2004–2011).2

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

Born Dec 1, 1972.1

About

He was one of the richest men in Russia before the 2008 financial crisis with a net worth of $5 billion and projects in 11 countries in the world. Now, he is a shareholder and investor in a number of commercial structures incorporated by the holding company Potok.

From Wikipedia’s article on Sergei Polonsky, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedSaint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering3

Early life

Polonsky was born 1 December 1972 in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia). His father, Yuri Polonsky, is Jewish by ethnicity, and his mother, Nina Makusheva, is Russian. Polonsky finished secondary school No. 99 of the Vyborg District of Leningrad. In 1989, he joined the airborne troops. He completed his military service in the 21st Separate Air Assault Brigade (1990–1992), which was stationed in the time of the armed conflict between South Ossetia and Georgia in the combat zone at Tskhinvali.

In 2000, Polonsky graduated from the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. He qualified as an economist and manager with a specialization in economics and management of building enterprises. In 2002, he defended his PhD thesis "Formation of Functional Procurement Strategies in Construction".. In 2008, Polonsky attempted doctoral, but, considering the academic council biased, he withdrew the work and posted the text of the thesis for an open discussion on the Internet.

Educational initiatives and volunteer work

In March 2008, Polonsky refused to defend his doctorate thesis in the State Commission for Academic Degrees and Titles and organized a public defense in his blog.

Polonsky arranges regular master classes for university students (MSU, MGIMO, HSE, MFPA, and others) and lectures for the Nazvanie.NET personnel. The most popular topics of his master classes and lectures are enterprising, personal development and success strategies in business.

Starting from the 2009–10 academic year, Polonsky is the chairman of the Management in Development Business Department set up under the agreement with the Moscow Finance and Industry Academy for training young specialists for the benefit of construction companies.

In 2002 Polonsky was elected Senator and president of the International Chamber of Youth.

In certain periods, Polonsky was a member of various voluntary associations: in 2001–2005, he was a member of the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Mayor and Government of Moscow, and in 2001–2010 he was a member of the "Business Russia" organization of entrepreneurs. In 2003, Polonsky was elected vice president of the Russian Academy of Business and Enterprising, in 2004, he became Vice President of the public association of professional managers, the International Club of the Best Managers of the New Era. In 2005, Polonsky was one of those who established the Russian Builders' Association, and until now remains its first vice president.

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

Career

Occupation: entrepreneur.4

Stroymontazh

In 1994, when Polonsky was 22, he founded Stroymontazh LLC with his longtime friend Artur Kirilenko. Stroymontazh was a construction and real estate firm set up with the initial intention of selling apartments that they had plastered and finished. However, when the building owners ran into financial difficulty, they began to pay the pair in apartments. It was through these means that Polonsky and Kirilenko took control of their first unfinished building, starting them on the path to being property developers. In 1996 the company took its first contract job, completing an apartment project in St. Petersburg for a company called Lenenergo. "The house had an area of 22,000 sq. m. That year, the entire Leningrad region finished, probably less. I thought they would thank me, but the woman who came to take over the house refused to take it for another six months for various reasons. We did it only by a miracle," Polonsky said for forbes. By the end of the 90s, Stroymontazh was one of the largest players in the St. Petersburg real estate market.

During the 1998 Russian financial crisis, Polonsky and Kirilenko began to achieve huge financial success. According to The New York Times, by paying construction costs in rubles and selling property in dollars they were able to profit in the lag time between construction and sale as the value of the rouble fell. The company rapidly amassed wealth and made a name for itself as one of Saint Petersburg's largest developers, eventually building Petrovsky Fort, a 540,000-square-foot complex that became the standard for business centers in the former capital.

Polonsky opened an office in Moscow in 2000. Two years later, Mayor Luzkhov appointed him as an adviser. Polonsky was not yet 30.

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Mirax Group

In 2004, the Moscow branch of Stroymontazh was renamed "Mirax Group" and in 2006, split from Stroymontazh, the Saint Petersburg branch, with Polonsky at the head of Mirax and Kirilenko at the head of Stroymontazh. Both men maintained 10% ownership of the other's company until 2009 when they each sold their respective stakes.

Mirax carried out projects in Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Cambodia, United States, Montenegro, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Vietnam, France. At its peak in the late 2000s, Mirax Group's assets amounted to more than 12 million square meters of real estate, with 2008 revenues estimated at $1.65 billion and net profits of $616.4 million. Some notable projects are outlined below.

Moscow's Federation Tower

Identified as Moscow's first skyscraper, the Federation Tower is recognized as the tallest building in Europe. The building consists of two towers, the taller one with 93 floors and a height of 1,161 feet, and the other with 63 floors. The towers have 4.5 million square feet of high-end office space, luxury apartments, shops, restaurants, and a 44-story Grand Hyatt hotel. A spire was to be also built which would have extended the complex's height to 450 meters (1,476 feet) as well as provided an observation deck, but it was never completed and was dismantled afterward.

In 2009, The Federation Tower won the FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence Award (Office Category Winner).

Construction of the project stalled in 2008 due to the Great Recession; however, it was resumed in August 2011 and completed in 2017.

Korona residential property

Korona was a Moscow landmark project, aiming to reflect state-of-the-art achievements in architecture, planning, construction technologies, and landscaping. The ceremony of laying the first stone in the foundation of the Korona Project intended to demonstrate a "new, unusual, vigorous and assertive style" of the young businessmen from St. Petersburg.

Golden Keys

Golden Keys 2 Residential Property was the 2nd project implemented by Polonsky's team. Polonsky suggested a comfortable "town within the city" living concept where high-rise residential buildings are mixed with a cottage village named "Y".

After that, the company launched new business centers Pollars and Europe Building. In 2002–2007, the company started the construction of such residential compounds as Taganka House, Kutuzovskaya Riviera, Mirax Park and the Federation Tower – a mixed-use complex in the Moscow International Business Center – Moscow City.

Other projects in Moscow

Residential Complex "Dubrovskaya Sloboda" - 2 buildings of 19-30 floors. 982 apartments (47-218 sq. m.), 8 penthouses (173-375 sq. m.). 2.25 Hectares of landscaped territory.

Residential Complex "Kutuzovskaya Riviera" - 4 buildings 30-35 floors. 840 apartments (76-966 sq. m.). More than 40,000 sq. m. underground Parking. It has its own small nature reserve with several species of animals and birds.

The Mirax Park residential complex consists of 4 high-rise buildings of 31-37 floors, a multi-section building of 10-14 floors. 1035 apartments. 16 Hectares of landscaped territory combined with the residential complex "Korona".

The MIRAX-SCHOOL Children's educational complex is a 260-seat preschool. A comprehensive school with 550 places.

The residential complex "Well House" consists of 4 buildings of 30-48 floors, 2 low-rise sections of 5-7 floors. 655 apartments (43-200 sq. m.) 2.48 Hectares of landscaped territory The residential complex "House on Taganka" has 14-18 floors. 207 apartments (63-158 sq. m.). 12 penthouses.

The residential complex "Fort Kutuzov" has 22 floors. 156 apartments (57-138 sq. m.). Winter garden with exotic plants.

The office Building "Europe Building" has 15 floors. the total area is 16,000 sq. m.

The Pollars Office Center has 7-16 floors. The total area is 55,500 sq. m.

Foreign projects

Montenegro

Astra-Mentenegro resort town - 43 villas, a hotel complex, a high-rise residential building. The total area of 120,000 sq. m. is more than 9 hectares of landscaped territory.

Astra Montenegro is located in the heart of the Budva Riviera, on the cape separating the city of Budva and the village of Becici. Astra Montenegro includes a wellness complex, fitness center, SPA center, children's club, zoo, marina, casino.

Cambodia

Mirax Resort Boutique Hotel in Koh Dek Kul Private Island is the only operating 5* private island resort in Cambodia. The resort has a cascade of saltwater pools, an exclusive collection of historical treasures, a unique diving base in the hotel, where each of the 12 rooms has its own exotic style.

France

Since 2004, Polonsky, together with Hermitage and Artur Kirilenko, wanted to build residential complexes with a total area of 50 thousand square meters and a 323-meter skyscraper designed by Norman Foster in the suburbs of Paris. Investments in the skyscraper alone were estimated at €2 billion. But in March 2011, Hermitage CEO Emin Iskenderov bought out Polonsky's share.

Switzerland

Since 2007, Mirax has been planning the construction of the Aminona Luxury Resort ski resort in the Swiss resort of Aminona — luxury apartments, a 500-room hotel complex, a chalet and a shopping center. The investment was estimated at $830 million.

USA

In Miami, Mirax acquired a stake in the Aqua project from the American Dacra Development corporation in 2007: the developer received 13 villas without finishing and the right to build up housing for about 3.4 hectares more. The termination of the project or its sale was not reported

Turkey

In Kemer, Turkey, Mirax became the owner of the Sungate Port Royal Hotel in 2007. It included more than 900 rooms and villas, and the total area of the territory was 250 thousand square meters. m. In Mirax itself, investments were estimated at €340 million.

Vietnam

Mirax acquired a plot on the Nha Trang coast in Vietnam in 2008 for the construction of a 200-bed hotel and 100 villas.

England

In the historic center of London, Mirax was going to reconstruct a complex of residential buildings of the XIX century "Cornwell Terrace" with a total area of more than 8 thousand square meters. m. The total investment in the project was supposed to be about £10 million. The company held a corresponding presentation in July 2008.

Since 2008, Mirax has also been involved in the construction of a 52-storey skyscraper on the south bank of the Thames.

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

Personal life

  • BornDec 1, 1972, Saint Petersburg5
  • CitizenshipRussia, Soviet Union, Cambodia6

Politics

Presidential candidacy

Polonsky expressed interest in running for President of Russia in the 2018 Russian Presidential Election. Polonsky was nominated by an initiative group made up of 520 activists on 24 December. He filed registration documents with the CEC on the same day. Polonsky's documents were rejected because the initiative group did not have enough members. In addition, his past criminal conviction prevented him from becoming a candidate. At the same time, Polonsky announced the creation of a political party "For All" with which he intended to participate in 2021 legislative election, and will run for President in 2024. However, the party did not participate in the 2021 election, and changes to the Russian constitution in 2020 barred Polonsky from running for president in 2024 due to him obtaining Cambodian citizenship.

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

Sources

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