Alisher Usmanov – Russian Business Magnate

As one of the richest men in Russia, Alisher Usmanov has many interests in some of the country’s key sectors. From stakes in iron ore and steel giant Metallionvest to MegaFon Russia’s number two mobile phone operator, even Kommersant the largest business daily in the country are part of his holding. However, in 2014, he ended up selling 12% of his overall stake in USM Holdings to the top managers and old partners.

In 2013, Usmanov was awarded the Order for Service to the Fatherland IV. He is the largest investor in Digital Sky Technologies funds and has many shares in international technology companies too. He was also an early investor in Facebook, as well as, having shares in the Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi and Alibaba.

Usmanov is also an avid sport fan, with shares in the Arsenal Football Club. Then, in 2015, he donated millions of dollars to the Russian Football Union for some outstanding payments to the Italian coach – Fabio Capello. Right now, he is also the current president of the International Fencing Federation. In 2016, Usmanov was listed by Forbes as #58 on the 100 most powerful people in the world.

The masculine name Alisher is a combination of both the names Ali and Sher, mainly used in Kazakh, Uzbek and Tajik cultures. The masculine name Ali means “sublime” or “lofty” in Arabic and is used in Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Malay, Indonesian and Arabic cultures. While the name Sher is masculine and means “lion” in Persian.