Alisher Usmanov

Alisher Usmanov
Image	; Usmanov at the 2013 World Fencing Championships in Budapest
Born	9 September 1953 (Forbes) Uzbekistan (Forbes)
Nationality	Russian
Residence	Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Forbes)
Occupation	Businessman and investor
Known for	Metalloinvest; USM Holding; early Facebook investor; former Arsenal shareholder; president of the International Fencing Federation
Spouse(s)	Irina Viner (Forbes)
Education	Finance Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation; Moscow Institute of International Relations (LLM) (Forbes)

Russian businessman; main shareholder of Metalloinvest; sanctioned by the EU, UK and US in 2022

Alisher Usmanov (born 9 September 1953) is a Russian businessman. His largest holding is a stake in the iron ore and steel producer Metalloinvest. He was an early investor in Facebook and has held stakes in Xiaomi and in telecoms, mining and media companies.^[1] On 10 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Usmanov 208th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$14.3 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as steel, telecom, investments.^[1]^[2] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Usmanov 199th, at US$14.5 billion.^[3] After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union, United Kingdom and United States imposed sanctions on him. The EU said he had "particularly close ties" to President Vladimir Putin.^[1]^[4] The EU General Court dismissed his challenge to the listing in September 2025. In December 2025 German prosecutors agreed to drop a sanctions investigation in return for a payment of €10 million.^[5]^[6]

Early life and career

Forbes says Usmanov was born in Uzbekistan and made his first fortune producing plastic bags, which were so scarce in the Soviet Union that people washed and reused them.^[1] It also says he was convicted of fraud and embezzlement in 1980 and served six years. Uzbekistan's supreme court later ruled that the case had been "trumped up".^[1] He headed Gazprom Investholding, a subsidiary of the state-run Gazprom, from 2000 to 2014.^[1]

Business interests

Forbes describes Metalloinvest as his largest holding, alongside stakes in Xiaomi and in telecoms, mining and media companies. He was an early investor in Facebook.^[1] Forbes's 2018 profile listed a stake in JD.com and shares in Arsenal Football Club. In 2018 he sold his 30% stake in Arsenal for nearly US$700 million in cash.^[1] In his EU court challenge he described his 49% stake in the USM Holding conglomerate as non-controlling and said he had retired from active management, according to EU Law Live.^[5]

Sanctions

Forbes says Usmanov was hit with US, UK and EU sanctions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. German authorities stopped the 512-foot superyacht Dilbar from leaving port, and Italian authorities froze his villa in Sardinia.^[1] OCCRP's Russian Asset Tracker linked him to more than a dozen luxury properties in Europe, as well as bank accounts, boats and aircraft. His representative told OCCRP that he had never benefited from the Russian government or from privatisation. The representative also said most of the properties had been transferred to his family and that he used them only on a rental basis.^[4] On 3 September 2025 the EU General Court dismissed his claim in case T-1117/23. It held that the Council was justified in keeping his funds frozen because of his close ties to the Russian government and his role in the Russian economy.^[5]

German investigation

According to AP, the Munich prosecutor's office investigated suspected breaches of sanctions. The case had led to police raids on dozens of properties in Germany linked to him. Prosecutors suspected him of moving about €1.5 million through foreign companies to pay for the management of two properties in Rottach-Egern, south of Munich, and of failing to declare jewellery, paintings and wines. A separate money-laundering probe had been dropped the previous year, his press office said.^[6] On 30 December 2025 prosecutors said they would drop the case once he paid €10 million (about US$11.8 million). The money was to be shared between the state treasury, a Bavarian victim-support foundation and a prisoner-welfare association.^[6] OCCRP reported his representatives' breakdown: €8.5 million to the treasury and €1.5 million to German charities. His representatives said the payment "does not represent a fine". AP corrected its own report to say that it was not a fine.^[4]^[6]

Sport and philanthropy

Usmanov is a former fencer. He has led the International Fencing Federation since 2008 and was re-elected in 2022 and 2024, but Forbes says he voluntarily suspended his duties after the sanctions.^[1]^[6] Forbes says his wife, Irina Viner, trained many Russian Olympic medallists in rhythmic gymnastics. In 2006 he founded the Art, Science and Sport charity foundation, and he says he has given more than US$2.6 billion to causes such as healthcare and education.^[1]

Wealth

Forbes classes Usmanov as self-made, with wealth from steel, telecoms and investments.^[1]

Wealth history

Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 22 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2005. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.^[3]^[1]

Forbes estimates by list year
Year	World's Billionaires rank	Net worth (US$ bn)
2005	366	1.8
2006	278	2.6
2007	142	5.5
2008	91	9.3
2009	450	1.6
2010	100	7.2
2011	35	17.7
2012	28	18.1
2013	34	17.6
2014	40	18.6
2015	71	14.4
2016	73	12.5
2017	66	15.2
2018	118	12.5
2019	106	12.6
2020	83	13.4
2021	99	18.4
2022	167	11.5
2023	122	14.4
2024	144	13.4
2025	125	16.7
2026	199	14.5

International and political links

This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."