Melnichenko is the founder of EuroChem, a producer of mineral fertilizers and agricultural products, and Suek, Russia's largest supplier of thermal coal. He resigned from the board of both companies and withdrew as a beneficiary in March 2022 following the imposition of sanctions by the European Union.
Andrey Melnichenko's net worth of $15.5B can buy ...
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The majority of Melnichenko's fortune is derived from stakes in two closely held Russian companies, EuroChem and SUEK. SUEK is headquartered in Moscow, Russia and EuroChem is based in Zug, Switzerland.
Melnichenko controlled 90% of EuroChem, according to company's 2020 annual report. He also held a 92.2% stake in SUEK, Russia's largest thermal coal supplier, according to its website.
Melnichenko withdrew as beneficiary a trust that holds the shares of Suek and EuroChem in March 2022 ahead of European Union sanctions, leaving his family as the beneficiary of it. Stakes in EuroChem and Suek remain credited to him in this analysis to reflect his status as the founder and key investor.
The billionaire also has a stake in publicly traded industrial company Rosseti Siberia PJSC (40.4%) and fully controls the Luchegorsky steam coal mine and Primorskaya GRES, a hydroelectric power plant.
The value of the billionaire's cash investments and personal assets is based in part on local media reports and figures provided by his press representatives. He's netted more than $800 million based on available information about Suek and Eurochem dividends, the purchase and sale of stakes in those closely held business, and spending on personal assets. He's also collected more than $500 million from dividends and share sales of publicly traded companies through December 2017, based on an analysis company filings and Bloomberg data. Taxes and market performance are applied to these cash flows.
Andrey Melnichenko was born in Gomel, Belarus, in 1972. His first business was a currency exchange office he established in Moscow in the early 1990s. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1993 he created closely held MDM Bank with two former classmates.
MDM had become one of Russia's largest non-state banks by 2000, when Melnichenko partnered with metals and oil trader Sergei Popov. The two started buying industrial plants and coal mines around Russia. Their acquisition spree resulted in three closely held companies: EuroChem, now Russia's largest fertilizer producer; SUEK, Russia's largest thermal coal producer; and TMK, a steel pipe manufacturer.
Popov and Melnichenko sold their TMK stakes to another partner, Dmitry Pumpyansky, in 2006. The following year, Melnichenko and Popov swapped assets: Popov took control of MDM Bank and Melnichenko became the sole owner of EuroChem. Melnichenko later bought Popov's stake in SUEK.
Melnichenko is married to Aleksandra Nicolic, a Serbian model.