Roman Abramovich is a name closely linked with wealth and power, but who was the man behind Chelsea Football Club and how did he make his fortune?
The Israeli-Russian businessman is estimated to be worth £9.95bn ($13.1bn), according to Forbes, and in 2019 he was considered the second richest person in Israel and the eleventh richest in Russia.
The oligarch was reportedly a confidant of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin, and has been photographed with current ruler Vladimir Putin, and he became one of the World's richest men before he turned 40.
But now the billionaire football club owner has officially been added to the list of sanctioned individuals by the British Government and his assets have been frozen.
Born in Saratov in 1966, the billionaire oligarch was a hustler from a young age and dropped out of college - selling plastic dolls on a market stall in Moscow to get by.
He also sold rubber ducks from his home, before upgrading to deodorants and perfumes when he was given 2,000 roubles as a wedding present from his in-laws.
But his life changed forever with the introduction of the controversial 'loans for shares' scheme, when Yeltsin sold off public shares in companies and services to raise funds for a re-election campaign.
Together with late oligarch Boris Berezovsky, the pair bought Sibneft oil company for £100m, a fraction of its estimated value, which they sold in 2005 for £9.95bn.
The sale was said to have as much to do with politics as money, as "the group of individuals who control the country's energy resources will be the real political and economic powerbrokers".
After the sale, Putin's government had "de facto control" of "at least 30 per cent of the country's crude oil production, tightening the Kremlin's grip on the energy sector", according to Radio Free Europe.
Through Berezovsky, Abramovich had key access to Government officials and he secured a flat at the Kremlin.
But the pair's business dealings couldn't last, and they ended up in a bitter court battle over a disputed £3bn debt, alongside allegations of blackmail, breach of trust and breach of contract, which Abramovich won.
Despite his involvement in the controversial Russian scheme, the majority of Abramovich's wealth is believed to have come from his dealings with Evraz, a mining company listed on the London Stock Exchange.
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But that shareholding is just one of a number of investments held by Chelsea owner, and the 55-year-old is notoriously secretive about his wealth and dealings.
He is described as "quiet" and "shy" by his friends, who include the Marquess of Reading and banking millionaire Lord Rothschild, and according to his biography, he spends his spare time on his superyachts, fishing, bowling, or watching football.
In 2011, we laid bare Abramovich's wealth for the first time, back when he was worth a more humble £11bn, as he had to declare his assets for an election campaign in Russia’s far-eastern Chukotka province.
Among his riches included art worth over £50m, including Francis Bacon’s Triptych, a £56m Boeing 767-300, which was the most expensive private jet in Russia, and a £600m yacht - named the Eclipse.
He also had 16 homes including a £150m super-townhouse at Lowndes Square in London’s Belgravia, the £30m Chateau de Croe, once owned by Edward VIII and Wallace Simpson, in France, and a £25m, 200-acre ranch in Aspen, Colorado.
His election campaign, which he won with nearly 100 per cent of the votes, was described as a "ruthless but bloodless coup" by his unofficial biographer.
Both of Abramovich’s parents died before he was three years old and he spent most of his childhood living with relatives.
He served briefly in the Russian army, before marrying his first wife, Olga, at 21.
He has seven children with two other ex-wives, Irina and Dasha.
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