BUSINESS

Roman Abramovich

Businessman

For a man worth $11.5 billion, the term "difficult" is a relative one – even so, 2018 must count as one of the more challenging years for Roman Abramovich, the Russian-Jewish businessman, philanthropist and confidante of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Known as the flamboyant owner of leading English soccer team Chelsea FC, Abramovich became an Israeli citizen this year in the hope of circumventing British restrictions on his work visa, imposed following the Russian attempt in March 2018 to assassinate a former KGB officer on British soil using a chemical nerve agent. Controversies aside, no other living Russian has given as much to charitable causes as has Abramovich – who has spent $2.5 billion on development in the remote Russian region of Chukotka, and $500 million on Jewish causes in Russia and Israel. Abramovich received a special award from the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia in April 2018 in recognition of his generosity to the Jewish community. (Photo: Reuters / Toby Melville / File.)