Alexei Mordashov: Russia’s richest man is now an EU sanctions target | The super rich

He’s the Russian oligarch who stepped in to keep travel company Tui afloat and pumped cash when international tourism ground to a halt during the pandemic.

However, Alexei Mordashov – who owns a third of Europe’s largest tour operator and is its largest single shareholder – could become something of a liability for Tui, whose shares are listed in London, after the EU placed him on its sanctions list on Monday night.

While Mordashov has not been sanctioned in Britain, his business interests in the region are now severely restricted.

The EU has raised various concerns about Mordashov, claiming that Rossiya Bank, in which he has a financial interest, is the “personal bank” of senior Russian officials who benefited from the annexation of Crimea. The bloc also said it believes media companies it has invested in helped destabilize Ukraine through pro-Russian TV channels.

Russia’s richest man, 56-year-old Mordashov, rose from humble origins to factory workers in the town of Cherepovets, 300 miles north of Moscow, to become CEO of Russia’s largest steel and mining company, Severstal.

According to Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires, he narrowly missed out on a spot in the top 50 richest people in the world in 2021, ranking 51.

At the time, his personal fortune was valued at a staggering $29.1 billion, and Mordashov remains the controlling shareholder of Severstal, Russia’s largest steel company.

Severstal has previously published bulletins detailing how some of its high-strength products are used in the manufacture of Russian defense equipment, including armored vehicles. Mordashov is chairman of his parent company Severgroup, a private investment company, and has interests ranging from telecommunications to gold mining, media and technology.

In addition to his wide-ranging business interests, Mordashov owns the sort of accessories no self-respecting billionaire would be without, including a private jet and at least one yacht.

Perhaps fittingly for a travel company shareholder, he is reportedly currently enjoying a holiday far from conflict or the European winter. The billionaire’s Bombardier Global 6000 private jet was tracked by plane spotters as having traveled from the Seychelles to Moscow last week, although it offered no data on who was on board. Last Thursday, President Vladimir Putin invited some of Russia’s most prominent businessmen to a meeting in the Kremlin.

Mordashov’s jet – which boasts a large cabin that seats 14 passengers and has a range that allows it to travel non-stop from London to Beijing – didn’t spend long in Russia before flying back to the Seychelles.

Meanwhile, one of the billionaire’s yachts, the 142-metre Nord, which shares its name with Mordashov’s gold mining company, is wintering in the Indian Ocean.

Built by German shipyard Lürssen and delivered in 2021, the ship is estimated to cost $500 million and features Italian interior design and a helipad. The shipbuilder’s stunning description on his website explains how the ship “was designed with one idea in mind: it must evoke strong emotions in any viewer, not just through its sheer size, but through the design itself”.

At a time of strong emotions, Tui boss Fritz Joussen made an attempt to reassure tour company staff by insisting that Mordashov’s involvement was not a problem.

“Mr. Mordaschow has been a Tui shareholder for around 15 years and has held around a third of our company since he built it up during the corona crisis,” writes Joussen in a personal note.

“Like every German stock corporation, our company is managed by the board of directors and not by the shareholders or the supervisory board. We therefore assume that any restrictions or sanctions against Mr. Mordashov will not have any lasting negative consequences for us as a company.”

Mordashov first invested in Tui in 2007 and has been a member of the company’s supervisory board since 2016. He repeatedly bought shares throughout 2021, regularly spending millions and increasing his family’s current ownership to 34%.

In a statement, Mordashov said he did not understand how his inclusion on the EU sanctions list would help resolve the conflict in Ukraine, stating: “I have absolutely nothing to do with the emergence of the current geopolitical tensions.”

He described himself as removed from politics and called for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which he described as a “tragedy of two brotherly peoples”.

“It’s terrible that Ukrainians and Russians are dying, people are suffering, the economy is collapsing. We must do everything necessary so that a way out of this conflict is found in the near future and the bloodshed stops,” he said.