Vagit Alekperov

Vagit Alekperov was born on September 1, 1950, in Baku. He holds Russian citizenship and is an Azerbaijani national. Alekperov is an entrepreneur with background and expertise as an economist and engineer. He studied at the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industrial University.

Alekperov is the founder of Lukoil, a subsidiary oil and gas company where he also serves as the CEO. He is currently employed by Lukoil. Additionally, Alekperov owns FC Spartak Moscow, which is a subsidiary of the same parent company as Lukoil.

Throughout his career, Vagit Alekperov has received multiple awards and distinctions, including the Dostlug Order, Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 4th and 3rd classes, Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" 2nd class, Order of Alexander Nevsky, Order of Friendship, Order of Dostyk 2nd class, and the Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation.

Vagit Yusufovich Alekperov (Azerbaijani: Vahid Yusuf oğlu Ələkbərov, Russian: Вагит Юсуфович Алекперов; born 1 September 1950) is an Azerbaijani and Russian oligarch, businessman, and the president of the leading Russian oil company LUKOIL.

First Deputy Minister of the Oil and Gas Industry of the USSR (1991-1992).

Owner of 36.8% stake in Spartak Football Club (Moscow). Business partner of Vagit Alekperov is Leonid Fedun.

Vagit Alekperov is a Doctor of Economics.

As of 16 April 2021, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index by Bloomberg L.P., Alekperov has an estimated net worth of USD $19.6 billion ranking him the 94th richest person in the world and the 5th wealthiest person in Russia.

Biography

Alekperov was born on September 1, 1950 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, one of the earliest centers of the international petroleum industry. His father, who died when Vagit was a boy, worked in the oilfields all his life and inspired Alekperov to follow in his footsteps. Alekperov's father was an Azerbaijani Muslim and his mother, Russian Orthodox. Alekperov is religious, but does not define himself as either Muslim or Orthodox. He was eighteen when he landed his first job in the industry.

Alekperov graduated in 1974 from Azerbaijan Oil and Chemistry Institute. As a student he also worked as a drilling operator in Kaspmorneft, a Caspian regional production company.

After graduation, he continued to work there, and by 1979 he had advanced from engineer to deputy head of a production unit. He had to work in extreme conditions on oil platforms. On one occasion, an explosion on his rig threw him into the stormy Caspian sea, and he had to swim for his life.