Melnichenko is the largest shareholder of EuroChem, a fertilizer producer in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. He also owns most of Suek, Russia's largest supplier of thermal coal. Melnichenko's other investments include stakes in publicly traded utilities Far-Eastern Energy and IDGC of Siberia.
Andrey Melnichenko's net worth of $13.9B can buy ...
... and is equivalent to ...
The majority of Melnichenko's fortune is derived from his stakes in two closely held Russian companies, EuroChem and SUEK. SUEK is headquartered in Moscow, Russia and EuroChem is based in Zug, Switzerland.
Melnichenko controls 90% of EuroChem, according to company's website. It's valued using the average enterprise value-to-sales multiple of four publicly traded peer companies: Phosagro, Yara International, Mosaic and Acron. This valuation used in this analysis was changed on Aug. 28, 2019 to incorporate the transaction value and this led to an increase in the net worth calculation of about $900 million.
He owns a 92.2% stake in SUEK, Russia's largest thermal coal supplier, according to its 2017 annual report. It's valued using the average enterprise value-to-sales multiple of three publicly traded peers: Adaro Energy, Banpu and Yanzhou Coal Mining.
The billionaire also has stakes in two publicly traded industrial companies: 40.4% of Far East Energy Co. and 40.4% of IDGC of Siberia.
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.