MOSCOW - Russian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik's international empire faces its biggest test with Tuesday's bankruptcy filing by a key component, the U.S. operations of LyondellBasell, the world's No. 3 petrochemical maker.
In two decades of impressive but highly leveraged growth fueled by Soviet-era links, U.S. citizen Blavatnik became a rare middleman between Western capital and a new generation of Russian entrepreneurs in the early 1990s.
His business interests stretch from the United States to Kazakhstan, and his $11 billion fortune ranks him 28th on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans. Google (GOOG.O) co-founder Sergey Brin is the only Russian emigrant to rank higher.
Blavatnik was a pioneer in converting his Russian wealth into large assets in Europe and the United States, a path later followed by many Russian metals and oil barons.
He once earned $675 million on a Russian asset that previous owner George Soros rated his worst ever investment.
Blavatnik, who a spokesman said was not available for interview, is now in the vanguard of a less welcome trend as the global financial crisis strips the wealth of Russian tycoons.
The U.S. operations of LyondellBasell filed for bankruptcy protection in a New York court on Tuesday. The company took on billions of dollars in debt a year ago, when Blavatnik led a $12.7 billion leveraged buyout of Lyondell by Basell of the Netherlands.
Blavatnik, 51, emigrated to the United States in 1978, turning his back on a career as a Soviet engineer after four years of studies in Moscow's Transport Engineering Institute.
Three years later he became a U.S. citizen. He retained his appetite for studies, receiving a master's degree in computer science from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
His education, coupled with his title of chairman of then little-known investment firm Access Industries, was guaranteed to impress any potential partner in the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s. One knew Blavatnik better than most.
Viktor Vekselberg, a fellow student at the Moscow institute, aligned his Renova company with Access Industries to begin a decade-long crusade to capture Soviet oil and aluminum assets after the collapse of Communism.
Both men played big roles in Russia's privatization auctions. They ended up with significant stakes in Russia's No. 3 oil firm, TNK-BP (TNBPI.RTS), and the world's largest aluminum producer as well as coal, telecoms, media and real estate assets.
Blavatnik once bought 25 percent of Russian national telecoms firm Svyazinvest for $625 million from Soros in 2006, eight years after Soros paid $1.875 billion for the stake.
Blavatnik later doubled his money selling the stake for $1.3 billion to Russian billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov.
Blavatnik rarely gives interviews, and has even avoided having a link on www.compromat.ru, a website featuring rumors about wealthy people with links to Russia.
He sits on the academic boards at Cambridge University, Harvard Business School and Tel Aviv University and sponsors the Babylon exhibition at the British Museum in London, which runs until March 15.
Blavatnik retains an interest in Russia as a board member of aluminum leader United Company RUSAL and owner of a 12.5 percent stake in TNK-BP. He is estimated to have made $2 billion when Access/Renova and a third shareholder, Alfa Group, sold half of the company to oil major BP (BP.L) for cash and shares.
Blavatnik's other major investment in Russia, a minority stake in UC RUSAL, also faces problems. Debts of $14 billion forced UC RUSAL's biggest shareholder, Oleg Deripaska, to ask the Kremlin for help in refinancing debts.
RUSSIA RISKS
Blavatnik, active in Russia during the 1998 financial crisis, is familiar with Russian risk. He bought German petrochemical giant Basell in 2005 for 4.4 billion euros from Royal/Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and BASF (BASF.F).
Like many Russian-born peers, he drew heavily on loans to grow his business. LyondellBasell struggles under $26 billion of debt after Basell merged with Houston-based Lyondell in a $12.7 billion deal in 2007.
Still, associates say Blavatnik will not quickly lose his talent for big deals or his great connections.
In two decades of impressive but highly leveraged growth fueled by Soviet-era links, U.S. citizen Blavatnik became a rare middleman between Western capital and a new generation of Russian entrepreneurs in the early 1990s.
His business interests stretch from the United States to Kazakhstan, and his $11 billion fortune ranks him 28th on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans. Google (GOOG.O) co-founder Sergey Brin is the only Russian emigrant to rank higher.
Blavatnik was a pioneer in converting his Russian wealth into large assets in Europe and the United States, a path later followed by many Russian metals and oil barons.
He once earned $675 million on a Russian asset that previous owner George Soros rated his worst ever investment.
Blavatnik, who a spokesman said was not available for interview, is now in the vanguard of a less welcome trend as the global financial crisis strips the wealth of Russian tycoons.
The U.S. operations of LyondellBasell filed for bankruptcy protection in a New York court on Tuesday. The company took on billions of dollars in debt a year ago, when Blavatnik led a $12.7 billion leveraged buyout of Lyondell by Basell of the Netherlands.
Blavatnik, 51, emigrated to the United States in 1978, turning his back on a career as a Soviet engineer after four years of studies in Moscow's Transport Engineering Institute.
Three years later he became a U.S. citizen. He retained his appetite for studies, receiving a master's degree in computer science from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
His education, coupled with his title of chairman of then little-known investment firm Access Industries, was guaranteed to impress any potential partner in the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s. One knew Blavatnik better than most.
Viktor Vekselberg, a fellow student at the Moscow institute, aligned his Renova company with Access Industries to begin a decade-long crusade to capture Soviet oil and aluminum assets after the collapse of Communism.
Both men played big roles in Russia's privatization auctions. They ended up with significant stakes in Russia's No. 3 oil firm, TNK-BP (TNBPI.RTS), and the world's largest aluminum producer as well as coal, telecoms, media and real estate assets.
Blavatnik once bought 25 percent of Russian national telecoms firm Svyazinvest for $625 million from Soros in 2006, eight years after Soros paid $1.875 billion for the stake.
Blavatnik later doubled his money selling the stake for $1.3 billion to Russian billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov.
Blavatnik rarely gives interviews, and has even avoided having a link on www.compromat.ru, a website featuring rumors about wealthy people with links to Russia.
He sits on the academic boards at Cambridge University, Harvard Business School and Tel Aviv University and sponsors the Babylon exhibition at the British Museum in London, which runs until March 15.
Blavatnik retains an interest in Russia as a board member of aluminum leader United Company RUSAL and owner of a 12.5 percent stake in TNK-BP. He is estimated to have made $2 billion when Access/Renova and a third shareholder, Alfa Group, sold half of the company to oil major BP (BP.L) for cash and shares.
Blavatnik's other major investment in Russia, a minority stake in UC RUSAL, also faces problems. Debts of $14 billion forced UC RUSAL's biggest shareholder, Oleg Deripaska, to ask the Kremlin for help in refinancing debts.
RUSSIA RISKS
Blavatnik, active in Russia during the 1998 financial crisis, is familiar with Russian risk. He bought German petrochemical giant Basell in 2005 for 4.4 billion euros from Royal/Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and BASF (BASF.F).
Like many Russian-born peers, he drew heavily on loans to grow his business. LyondellBasell struggles under $26 billion of debt after Basell merged with Houston-based Lyondell in a $12.7 billion deal in 2007.
Still, associates say Blavatnik will not quickly lose his talent for big deals or his great connections.
