Background
Len Blavatnik was born in Odessa in a Jewish family on the 14th of July in 1957. Raised in Russia, he immigrated from USSR to the United States in 1978 and became a U.S. citizen in 1984.
Leonid, Leonard
Industrialist businessman, investor, and philanthropist
Len Blavatnik was born in Odessa in a Jewish family on the 14th of July in 1957. Raised in Russia, he immigrated from USSR to the United States in 1978 and became a U.S. citizen in 1984.
He attended Moscow State University of Railway Engineering, but did not complete his coursework due to the family's request for emigration visas. His family emigrated to the United States in 1978, and he received a master degree in computer science from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1989.
In 1986, Blavatnik founded Access Industries, an international conglomerate company located in New York, of which he is chairman and president. Access has long-term holdings in Europe and North and South America.
Initially, he moved into Russian investments, just after the fall of communism. He and a friend from university, Viktor Vekselberg, formed the Renova investment vehicle, and then the two joined with Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group to form the AAR venture.
Access has since diversified its portfolio to include investments in industries such as oil, entertainment, coal, aluminum, petrochemicals and plastics, telecommunications, media, and real estate.
In August 2005, Access Industries bought petrochemicals and plastics manufacturer Basell Polyolefins from Royal Dutch Shell and BASF for $5.7 billion. On December 20, 2007, Basell completed its acquisition of the Lyondell Chemical Company for an enterprise value of approximately $19 billion. The resulting company, LyondellBasell Industries then became the world's eighth largest chemical company based on net sales. On January 6, 2009, the U.S. operations of LyondellBasell Industries filed for bankruptcy.On April 30, 2010, LyondellBasell emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a significantly improved financial position. As part of its exit financing, LyondellBasell raised $3.25 billion of first priority debt as well as $2.8 billion through the rights offering jointly underwritten by Access Industries, Apollo Management, and Ares Management. LyondellBasell stock has increased 103% in value since April 2010. Access currently owns approximately 14% of LyondellBasell. In early 2010, Access Industries was reported as one of the handful of bidders for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
In 2010, Blavatnik sued JPMorgan Chase after losing $100 million after following Morgan's advice three years earlier to buy mortgage securities with AAA credit ratings. JPMorgan Chase was ordered to pay $50 million to Blavatnik on August 27, 2013. AAR gained a controlling stake in Russian oil company TNK through privatization auctions, then in 2003 sold a 50% stake to British Petroleum to form TNK-BP, one of Russia's largest oil companies, where Blavatnik served on the board of directors. On March 21, 2013, Rosneft completed its $55 billion acquisition of TNK-BP. Blavatnik also has interests in UC Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer, where he sits on the board. On May 6, 2011, Warner Music Group announced its sale to Access for US$3.3 billion. On July 20, 2011, an Access affiliate acquired Warner Music Group for $3.3 billion.
Blavatnik is a member of the Global Advisory Board of the Centre for International Business and Management at Cambridge University, a member of the board of Dean's Advisors at the Harvard Business School and a member of the academic board at Tel Aviv University.
Len Blavatnik has been on RUSAL’s board since March 2007. Mr Blavatnik has been Director and Vice President of SUAL Partners Limited since October 2006. Between October 2001 and September 2006 he was Director of SUAL International Limited. Len Blavatnik is the founder and Chairman of Access Industries, a privately held US-based industrial group with holdings in natural resources and chemicals, media and telecommunications, and real estate. Incorporated in 1986, Access Industries is today an international industrial group with strategic investments in the U.S., Europe and South America. Mr Blavatnik serves on the board of a number of companies that are part of Access Industries’ portfolio including Lyondell Basell Industries (the world’s third largest independent chemical company), TNK-BP (a vertically integrated oil major) and Warner Music Group (one of the world’s leading music companies).Mr Blavatnik is deeply engaged in educational projects and sits on the academic boards at Cambridge University, Harvard Business School and Tel Aviv University. As an active philanthropist, Mr Blavatnik also sits on the board of The White Nights Foundation of America, the 92nd Street Y in NY and The Center for Jewish History in New York.
the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Access companies have supported many cultural and philanthropic institutions over the past 15 years, including serving as the primary benefactors for numerous, major art and cultural exhibitions, including the British Museum, Tate Modern, Royal Opera House, National Portrait Gallery and Museum of Modern Art. Since 2007, the Blavatnik Family Foundation has supported the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists together with the New York Academy of Sciences. The annual award recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding young scientists in life sciences, physical sciences and engineering and provides all finalists with a significant cash prize. In 2010, it was announced that Blavatnik and the Blavatnik Family Foundation would donate £75 million to the University of Oxford to establish a new school of government.The gift is one of the largest philanthropic gifts in the university's 900-year history. Blavatnik also indicated the possibility of increasing his benefaction up to £100 million over time. The Blavatnik School of Government began accepting students in September 2012. The new permanent home of the school will be constructed on the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in Oxford. Architects of the buildings, which are scheduled to be finished by summer 2015, are the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. The first dean of the school is professor Ngaire Woods. In 2013, Harvard University announced a $50 million donation from Blavatnik's foundation to sponsor life sciences entrepreneurship at the university
Blavatnik Family Foundation
The White Nights Foundation of America , USA New York City
The Center for Jewish History , USA New York City
He is a notable and global philanthropist. The Blavatnik Family Foundation has been a generous supporter of cultural and charitable institutions for more than 15 years: It proudly supports The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Art, The Royal Academy of Arts, and Colel Chabad, a 20,000-square-foot food bank and warehouse in Israel. He recently made a donation of $20 million to Tel Aviv University (TAU) to launch the Blavatnik initiative.
In 2007, Blavatnik created the New York Academy of Sciences Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists. The annual awards recognize achievements of young postdoctoral and faculty scientists in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Each year, three unrestricted cash prizes of $250,000 are also awarded to America's most innovative scientific researchers.
In 2010, he donated $117 million to University of Oxford in England to establish The Blavatnik School of Government (BSG). It's the youngest department at the University — its first class of 38 students was admitted in 2012 to the Master in Public Policy program.
Len Blavatnik is married to Emily Appelson Blavatnik.
Together they have four children — two boys and two girls.
