Wikipedia

Igor Makarov (businessman)

For other people with the same name, see Igor Makarov.

Igor Viktorovich Makarov (Russian: Игорь Викторович Макаров; born 5 April 1962 Ashkhabad, Turkmen SSR, Soviet Union) is the President of ARETI International Group (previously the founder of ITERA International Group).[1] A former professional cyclist and member of the USSR national cycling team, Makarov has, since his retirement from competition, been a key supporter and sponsor of international cycling and serves on the UCI Management Committee since 2011.[2] In March 2023, Forbes estimated Makarov's net worth at $2.2 billion.[3] In the summer of 2023, Makarov renounced Russian citizenship in favor of Cypriot.[4]

Igor Makarov
Born (1962-04-05) 5 April 1962 (age 62)
Ashkhabad, Turkmen SSR, Soviet Union (now Ashgabat, Turkmenistan)
NationalityCyprus
OccupationPresident of ARETI International Group

On 26 September 2022, Makarov was sanctioned by the government of the United Kingdom due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.[5][6] On 5 March 2024, United Kingdom removed sanctions on Makarov after a successful legal challenge.[7][8]

Early life edit

Makarov was born as the only child of his parents in Ashkhabad, Turkmen SSR[9] in 1962.

From 1979 to 1986, Makarov was a cyclist for the Soviet team, winning medals and awards, and became acquainted with Saparmurat Niyazov or Turkmenbashy[a] who ruled the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic and later Turkmenistan from 1985 to 2006.[10][b]

He graduated from Turkmen State University in 1983, then served in the Soviet Army.[11]

The name ARETI is derived from Makarov's previous company's name ITERA (spelled backwards). In the summer of 2017, Makarov's new yacht, Areti, was delivered by Lürssen.[12]

Career edit

ITERA Oil and Gas Company, founded in 1992 by Makarov with headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida and was the main subsidiary of the ITERA Group.[c] Makarov purchased a mansion in the 1990s in Jacksonville, Florida, where ITERA was headquartered.[10] Due to enormous reserves, Makarov's Itera was the fourth largest natural gas company in the world in 2000.[20][d] In 2012, ITERA entered into a joint venture with Rosneft and a year later, Rosneft acquired Itera Oil and Gas Company for $2.9 billion.[22] In 2015, ITERA International Group of Companies was renamed ARETI International Group as a result of a rebranding to signal a new direction subsequent to sale of Itera Oil and Gas Company in 2013.[23][24]

Cycling edit

Makarov was a member of the USSR national cycling team, champion and prizewinner of the all-Union (USSR) and international cycling competitions. Makarov is also a Master of Sports of International Class.[25]

He actively supports and sponsors the international cycling movement.[26] From 2010 to 2016, he was President of the Russian Cycling Federation (RCF)[27] and in 2016 was elected as Honorary President of the Russian Cycling Federation. In March 2011, Makarov became a member of the Management Committee of the International Cycling Union, UCI.[28] The UCI team Katusha was created by Makarov in 2008 to develop cycling in emerging countries.

Awards edit

Makarov has been decorated with state awards from different countries for his significant contributions to developing economic relations and strengthening friendship and cooperation between the people. Among the awards are the Order of Friendship of Peoples and the Medal of Francisk Scorina (state awards of Belarus), the Friendship Medal (state award of Mongolia), the Order "Gloria Muncii" (Work Merit) (the state award of Moldova), as well as the Order of Holy Faithful Prince Daniel of Moscow and Innokenty the Sanctifier Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, 3rd Class of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Order of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, 3rd Class of the Russian Orthodox Church, Honorary Reward "Аkinfy Nikitich Demidov" of the International Demidov's Foundation.[29]

Community service edit

Makarov has created the charitable Makarov Foundation to support children's welfare and people with autism and other developmental disabilities. Makarov, through his foundation, has given a grant to build the Mount Sinai Adult Autism Clinic,[30] supported the Best Buddies International’s annual Hublot Best Buddies Challenge: Miami[31] and the annual Tour de Broward 2020, which raised more than $700,000 for the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.[32] In addition, Makarov also donated money to the Flight of Hope Project to save the population of Siberian cranes.[33]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Turkmen: Türkmenbaşy
  2. ^ Saparmurat Niyazov or Turkmenbashy was appointed First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR in 1985 by Mikhail Gorbachev and was a staunch supporter of the August Putsch.
  3. ^ Itera's competitor was the Hungarian registered Eural Trans Gas, which became the dominant natural gas supplier to Ukraine beginning in late 2002 and was later replaced by Gazprom and Semion Mogilevich supported RosUkrEnergo as Ukraine's dominant natural gas supplier in 2003.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]
  4. ^ In 1998, Itera became largest independent natural gas producer in Russia by 1998, and, in 2002, Gazprom began to reduce Itera’s market share by increasing transit tariffs.[21]

References edit

  1. ^ "Igor Makarov (private website)".
  2. ^ "UCI Management Committee".
  3. ^ "Igor Makarov". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
  4. ^ "Forbes сообщил об отказе миллиардера Макарова от российского гражданства". Rbc.ru (in Russian). 2023-06-29.
  5. ^ "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK - Russia" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  6. ^ "UK sanctions collaborators of Russia's illegal sham referendums - GOV.UK". gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  7. ^ "Financial Sanctions Notice 05/03/2024" (PDF). HM Treasury. 5 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "UK lifts sanctions against Itera founder Makarov, who renounced Russian citizenship". interfax.com. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  9. ^ "Russian oligarch denies links to woman in epicenter of Austrian leak scandal — RT World News". Sky News. 20 May 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Tinker, tailor, cyclist, spy". INRNG. The Inner Ring. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Игорь Макаров: Биография" [Igor Makarov: Biography]. «Ведомости» (in Russian). 2010. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "Yacht Areti".
  13. ^ "Веселящий Газ: Абсурдность в Газовой торговле Между Туркменистаном и Украиной" [Laughing gas: Absurdity in Gas Trade Between Turkmenistan and Ukraine] (PDF). Global Witness. 1 April 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  14. ^ Зыгарь, Михаил (Zygar, Mikhail) (4 February 2008). "Газовый бен Ладен" [Gas Bin Laden]. Kommersant (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Найем, Мустафа (Nayyem, Mustafa) (24 July 2007). "Дело Фирташа. Часть первая. Дела колхозные" [The Firtash case. Part one. Collective farm affairs]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 August 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Найем, Мустафа (Nayyem, Mustafa) (13 August 2007). "Дело Фирташа. Часть вторая. Дела семейные" [The Firtash case. Part two. Family matters]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Найем, Мустафа (Nayyem, Mustafa) (31 January 2008). "Дело Фирташа. Часть третья. Дела газовые" [The Firtash case. Part three. Gas affairs]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Найем, Мустафа (Nayyem, Mustafa) (31 January 2008). "Дело Фирташа. Часть четвертая. Тени Cемена Могилевича" [The Firtash case. Part four. Shadows of Semen Mogilevich]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Disputed links to an alleged crime boss". Financial Times. 14 July 2006. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  20. ^ Weiss, Michael (19 March 2014). "Married to the Ukrainian Mob: Meet Dmytro Firtash, the shady billionaire at the heart of Russia's energy stranglehold over Kiev". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  21. ^ Lelyveld, Michael (December 17, 2002). "Russia: Gazprom Seeks Turkmenistan-Ukraine Gas Trade". Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  22. ^ "Igor Makarov". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  23. ^ Renaud, Karine. "The Mineral Industry of Turkmenistan" (PDF). USGS. U.S. Department of the Interior.
  24. ^ Hasanov, Huseyn. "ARETI interested in implementation of joint projects in Turkmen fuel and energy complex". Menafn.com. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  25. ^ "ARETI INTERNATIONAL GROUP". www.itera.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  26. ^ "Inside UCI". World Cycling Centre.
  27. ^ "Федерация велосипедного спорта России". www.fvsr.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  28. ^ New European members of the UCI Board elected. March,11,2011
  29. ^ "iteragroup.com - iteragroup Resources and Information". www.iteragroup.com. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  30. ^ Rodriguez, Rene. "Mount Sinai opens clinic for autistic adults". Miami Herald. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  31. ^ "Makarov Foundation Supported The Hublot Best Buddies Challenge: Miami". Best Buddies International. Bestbuddies.org. 20 December 2019.
  32. ^ Curreri, Gary (March 6, 2020). "Tour de Broward raises $700K for children's hospital". sun-sentinel.com. Sun Sentinel.
  33. ^ Makarov, Igor (15 June 2017). "Flight of Hope Project: The Conservation of Cranes".
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