Which Russian Oligarchs Have Been Major Donors in the United States?

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Over the past couple of weeks, one particular subset of the global super-rich has risen to the forefront of the debate over so-called “toxic donors,” and whether some philanthropic gifts would better be left untouched. I’m referring, of course, to Russian oligarchs, whose famed wealth has come under intense scrutiny—and sanctions—since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Conspicuous consumption has been one favorite pastime of Russian billionaires, many of whose ties to the Russian state under Putin have now landed them in hot water. But as one might expect, many Russian oligarchs have also turned their billions to philanthropic pursuits—including here in the United States. 

These donors and their grantees are now experiencing a backlash. As the war in Ukraine drags on and the international community ratchets up the pressure, U.S. beneficiaries of oligarchs’ largesse have backpedaled on Russia-related programming and, in the case of several arts organizations, turned away pro-Putin performers. Meanwhile, Russian billionaires have voluntarily exited prominent roles in civil society and sport, from a trusteeship at the Guggenheim Museum to the ownership of U.K. football club Chelsea F.C. Analysis by the Anti-Corruption Data Collective identified millions in donations from tycoons aligned with Putin, and activists have called on Western academic and cultural institutions to reject their donations and naming rights, among other measures.

The response is just the latest chapter in an ongoing debate over exactly when an ultra-wealthy donor should become persona non grata to current and potential grantees. The Sackler family, the Mercer family, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeffrey Epstein, Roger Ailes and Bill Cosby have all been the subjects of past toxic donor controversies. In certain cases, the answer is (or should be) pretty straightforward. In others, it means grappling with complicated questions about what, exactly, makes a “good” billionaire and what makes a “bad” billionaire.

In an effort to track the current controversy, we’ve compiled a list of oligarchs who’ve been active on the U.S. philanthropy circuit. But first, that does raise the question: What exactly is a Russian oligarch?

Well, the term is a loose one, but it typically refers to businessmen from Russia and other post-Soviet states who enriched themselves in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s fall. In most cases, they took advantage of the economic free-for-all surrounding the transition from state control to a market-based system, including by jumping in on the “loans-for-shares” program under Russian President Boris Yeltsin—a corruption-ridden process in which the government sold off major state industries for a fraction of their value.

The lucky winners went on to consolidate their control over wide swathes of the Russian industrial base, often selling those holdings for billions in profit. Many also forged or maintained connections with the government as Putin consolidated his own grip on the Russian state over the past two decades. 

Without further ado, here’s a list of oligarchs who’ve been active philanthropic donors in the United States—and who’s been getting their money.

Vladimir Potanin

Often characterized as the wealthiest man in Russia, Potanin founded and chairs Interros, a conglomerate active in energy, mining, finance and a variety of other sectors besides. Like many here, the origins of his fortune go back to the early 1990s and the loans-for-shares program. Potanin has a long business history with another oligarch on this list, Mikhail Prokhorov. The longtime Kremlin insider is also, reportedly, on hockey-playing terms with Putin. 

In the U.S., Potanin has been a significant patron of the arts (a theme we’ll see a lot more of). He’s a longtime donor to the Guggenheim Museum, where he recently departed the board of trustees. He has also given millions to the Kennedy Center in Washington, where leadership must now grapple with the fact that Potanin’s money funded a so-called “Russian lounge” at the venue. 

Mikhail Prokhorov

A longtime business partner of Potanin, Mikhail Prokhorov acquired large chunks of Russia’s metals industry in the post-Soviet scramble. He went into the investment business after parting ways with Potanin in 2007 and owned the Brooklyn Nets between 2010 and 2019, when he sold the team to Alibaba Group co-founder Joseph Tsai. 

Prokhorov founded the Cultural Initiatives Foundation in 2004. While much of the oligarch’s giving takes place in his home country, some of it has touched down stateside, including a $1 million gift to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) to fund U.S.-Russia cultural exchanges. Karen Brooks Hopkins, BAM’s former president, recently regaled us with an account of the “chilly” reception she received during a trip to Siberia to secure that funding. 

Leonid Mikhelson

Leonid Mikhelson’s acquisition of a post-Soviet stake in a gas pipeline construction company led him to found NovaTek, now one of Russia’s largest natural gas producers. This oligarch is no stranger to U.S. sanctions—the feds slapped them on back in 2014 following the Russian occupation of Crimea, a region with immense natural gas reserves. 

Nevertheless, Mikhelson has given repeatedly in the U.S. and in Western Europe through his V-A-C Foundation. Beneficiaries include the New Museum in New York, the Tate Modern in the U.K., and the Art Institute of Chicago, where Mikhelson’s money funded a show on Soviet art in 2017. One of the oligarch’s primary philanthropic interests is promoting Russian art, which he is also doing in Moscow via an art center designed by the firm of celebrated architect Renzo Piano. 

Viktor Vekselberg

Viktor Vekselberg founded the Renova Group in 1990 with a college classmate, Len Blavatnik, his partner in numerous business ventures in early-1990s Russia. Like Mikhelson, Vekselberg has also been under U.S. sanctions for the past several years. Blavatnik, who is also a major donor in the United States, was born in Ukraine, has US and UK citizenship, and has not faced economic sanctions.

In Russia, Vekselberg has been an active donor to Jewish causes. Among his larger donations there was $50 million for the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow. Vekselberg’s stateside giving has focused, unsurprisingly, on the arts. Recipients over the years include the Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art and Carnegie Hall, as well as the Tate Modern in London. 

Vekselberg has also been a patron of Fort Ross, a historical site in Sonoma County, California, that marks the southernmost extent of 19th-century Russian settlement along North America’s western seaboard. Through an entity called the Renova Fort Ross Foundation, Vekselberg backed the California state historic park and on-site programming on Russian culture and heritage until sanctions forced him to call it quits. He also gave the Clinton Foundation a six-figure sum and has supported the U.S.-Russia Forum at Stanford University. 

Mikhail Fridman

The Ukraine-born co-founder of Alfa-Bank and LetterOne is also one of a set of Jewish Russian oligarchs who founded the Genesis Philanthropy Group, which promotes Jewish identity worldwide, and especially among Russian-speaking Jews. The organization also issues the $1 million Genesis Prize. 

The Genesis Philanthropy Group recently directed $10 million in emergency aid to Jewish communities in Ukraine, money that is currently going to the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Ukraine, and other Jewish community groups.

Fridman’s business career has unfolded in close partnership with other oligarchs who back Genesis, including Petr Aven and German Khan. He also worked with Len Blavatnik and Viktor Vekselberg to acquire the state-owned Siberian oil company TNK in the late 1990s. In partnership with BP and with Blavatnik and Vekselberg’s firms, the company went on to become one of Russia’s top oil producers. Fridman and his partners received nearly $30 billion after they sold the firm to Russian state oil concern Rosneft in 2013. Fridman has been characterized by the European Union as a close associate and “enabler” of Putin. 

Petr Aven

As with Fridman, Petr Aven’s wealth derives from the success of Alfa-Bank and investment firm LetterOne. Formerly a minister in the fledgling post-Soviet Russian government, Aven went on to head Alfa-Bank, which grew into one of the nation’s largest financial institutions. 

While Aven isn’t of Ukrainian origin like his longtime associate Fridman, he is another one of the Jewish Russian oligarchs who founded Genesis Philanthropy Group. Aven is also one of the many oligarchs fond of backing the arts in the U.S. and western Europe—he’s sponsored Russian art exhibitions at the Guggenheim and the Tate Modern.

Despite their longstanding efforts to build international business empires with roots in the west, both Aven and Fridman have been hit hard by E.U. sanctions, and recently stepped down from their positions at LetterOne. Damage to the two men’s reputations in the U.S. goes back further, including to their embroilment in allegations of their involvement in collaboration between Putin’s government and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. 

Dmitry Rybolovlev

Known for his ownership of the AS Monaco football club, Dmitry Rybolovlev got rich in part from his stake in potash fertilizer producer Uralkali. Having consolidated majority control of the firm by around 2000, Rybolovlev went on to sell it a decade later and relocate to Monaco. He has been a Western-Europe-based investor since then, also acquiring the Belgian football club Cercle Brugge K.S.V. 

On the U.S. philanthropy front, Rybolovlev has donated to a number of health charities, including at least $1 million to the Mayo Clinic, as well as to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research. 

Correction: This article has been edited to remove two donors who are not considered Russian oligarchs.