Roustam Tariko

Roustam Tariko (born August 30, 1961 of Tatar parents), one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Russian history, the owner and founder of the "Russian Standard" brand, which includes the Russian Standard Bank, consumer credit and insurance firms, plus the popular Russian Standard vodka.

Unlike many Russian businessmen who created their empires through the corrupt privatization of state enterprises in the early 1990s, Tariko built his company from scratch.

In "Forbes" magazine's "World's Richest People" ranking of 2007, he was listed at number 150 with an estimated wealth of $5.4 billion.

Similar to fellow Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, in September 2005 Tariko was financially linked to a bid by Irish former Formula One driver Eddie Irvine, to buy an existing F1 team in time for the 2006 F1 season. [ [http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=34068 "Irvine to go it alone with new team?" 16 September 2005.] ]

In May 2006 he was widely reported in the media as being the "mystery Russian buyer" of Pablo Picasso's painting "Dora Maar au Chat" bought at auction at Sotheby's for $95.2 million. The speculation proved to be incorrect, [ [http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060529ta_talk_ross "The New Yorker" "Wanna buy a Picasso?" Issue of 2006-05-29.] ] though the real buyer's identity is unknown. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/06/arts/design/06buye.html?ex=1304568000&en=8f4e637fd6f73618&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss "Recognize This Man? The Art World Doesn't"] , Carol Vogel, "New York Times", May 6, 2006.]

Tariko is the owner of a Boeing Business Jet, registered VP-BRT. The aircraft is painted in a very intricate and ornate silver and black colour scheme.

References

External links

* [http://www.finansmag.ru/offline/num95/ List of Russian billionaires] (in rubles)
* [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/JAHI.html Biography at Forbes World's Richest People]
* [http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_23/b3886193.htm Biography and photo in Businessweek]