Sports News… Everyone dealing with the same stories. Like for example the player that one day breaks a historical record, while the next one the same player breaks the lockdown rules… (Benjamin Mendy are you listening?). The rest of the reports follow the same path…
Let’s try a new approach this time and deal with a different subject. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Does anyone remember this name at all? Who is he? The owner of Leicester City football club that became champions of the Premier League in 2016 breaking down all sorts of betting predictions and bringing immense profits for those select few… He is not among us anymore (died in a helicopter crash over Kings Power Stadium) and it is most unfortunate that we will probably never remember his name. A hard name to remember anyhow…
Here is another name that could potentially fall under the same category. The number 24 of the Forbes list of billionaires: Dmitry Yevgenyevich Rybolovlev. The owner and man in charge of a French club that has had its ups and downs over the years. A club that ranged from the relegation zone to French champions, to runners up for the UEFA Europa and Champions Leagues: AS Monaco.
The businessman
He was born in 1966 in the city of Perm. 24 years later he received his degree from the Perm State Medical University. What did he study? Surprise, surprise… His parents were doctors, so he got a degree in cardiology… Along with his father, Evgeny, they founded a company called Magnetics, offering a form of alternative medical treatment using magnetic fields. This is the time that he earned his first million dollars.
The collapsing of the centralized economical structure of the former Soviet Union, made Rybolovlev seek other financial interests, mostly through investing in companies, banks and industrial complexes. At some point, he acquired Uralkali, a company dealing with potash, which he turned into a major global enterprise.
As there is no mogul of this level that has not been involved in numerous controversies, let’s discuss the first part of our title. Him as a jailbird. In 1996 he spent 11 months in prison after being accused of plotting the murder of Evgeny Panteleymonov, a rival businessman. Eventually, he was acquitted due to lack of evidence. Other scandals where his name was involved are the pollution of Kama river, the Panama Papers and the infamous Football Leaks Scandal that actually affected the odds provided by all the top European and Asian bookmakers including those in our list.
President of AS Monaco
The family relocated to Monaco in 2010. In December 2011, a trust acting on behalf of Rybolovlev’s daughter Ekaterina bought 66% of AS Monaco FC shares. This was a rather strange move, as, at the time, the club was in bad shape, playing at the bottom of League 2 and heavily in debt. According to French media reports, Rybolovlev acquired the club for a symbolic € 1, under the commitment to invest at least € 100 million over the next four years. Consequently, he was appointed as president of the club.
The impact was almost immediate. By May 2013, Monaco had advanced to Ligue 1 while in 2017, they won the French Ligue 1 title and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. In fact, they were declared as one of the best-managed clubs in Europe.
The person
In May 2014, a Swiss court ordered him to pay more than $ 4.5 billion to his ex-wife Elena, in one of the most expensive divorce settlements in history. The amount was reduced to $ 500 million by a later decision. It was the value of “Salvator Mundi”, the only painting by Leonardo Da Vinci that remained in private hands and was owned by Rybolovlev at the time.
Another aspect of his controversial persona is his relationship with Donald Trump. In 2008, he bought a mansion from the outgoing President of the United States worth € 95 million. After Trump’s rise to power Rybolovlev was considered as a suspect for promoting his interests in Russia.
Flamboyancy is a trademark of everyone that racks up money by the billions. The mansion mentioned above is just a small part of his holdings. Other parts include an Airbus A319 valued at $ 55 million, the Greek island of Scorpios (previously owned by the Onassis family and given as a present to his daughter Ekaterina) valued at $ 100 million and a loft in New York valued at $ 88 million. Not bad… Not bad at all…
It’s precisely this financial prominence that makes the fans of “Les Monégasques” not miss any of their future football events. So can you, if you hurried up and opened a betting account via agent and enjoyed all of our services.
