The term “oligarch” is applied routinely to the billionaires to have emerged since the Iron Curtain fell, but it’s not one Leonard Blavatnik relishes.
He may have been born in Odessa on the shores of the Black Sea, but he has been an American citizen since 1984 and calls New York and London “home”.
Nevertheless, the roots of his wealth, estimated at £10 billion, making him the fourth richest person to reside in the UK, are to be found in Russia, as he capitalised on the privatisation of the Siberian aluminium industry.
He was also one of the shareholders in TNK, the Russian oil group and former joint venture partner of BP in Russia, which fell out with the British business.
He keeps a low profile, although the acquisition of Warner Music for $1.3 billion in 2011 put him on the map. The move by Mr Blavatnik, who likes Leonard Cohen and klezmer music, led to him rubbing shoulders with artists such as Michael Bublé. More recently, he took a stake in Tango, the messaging app.