More Than A Number

With an estimated fortune of $7.5 billion, Len Blavatnik ranked No. 74 on Forbes’ 2010 list of the world’s billionaires. Here is an inside look at how this 52-year-old self-made tycoon made it to the top as one of the world’s richest men.

Len Blavatnik ranked No. 74 on Forbes’ 2010 list of the world’s billionaires with an estimated fortune of $7.5 billion. However, this 52-year old entrepreneur wasn’t always wealthy. Like many self-made billionaires, Blavatnik invested in a good education and worked hard to achieve his philanthropic legacy.

Leonard Blavatnik was born in 1957 in the Soviet Union. At 21 years old and penniless, he moved with his family to the United States where his journey began. Blavatnik attended and eventually received a master’s degree in computer science from Columbia University. In 1981, he became a U.S. citizen. Blavatnik left Columbia and continued his education at Harvard Business School, where he earned his MBA.

In 1986, Len Blavatnik founded holding group Access Industries. Today, he is the current chairman of the privately-held industrial group and controls holdings in various industries and countries around the world. Len Blavatnik and Access Industries have strategic investments in natural resources and chemicals, media and telecommunications, real estate, and emerging technology and retail industries.

According to the Access Industries website, the Access portfolio features a number of market-leading companies including LyondellBasell Industries (the world’s third-largest independent chemical company), TNK-BP (a vertically integrated oil company) and UC RUSAL (the largest vertically integrated aluminum producer in the world).

Blavatnik, industrialist and active philanthropist, shares his wealth and gives back to the community. For example, last year the Blavatnik Family Foundation donated two gifts to Harvard University totaling $10 million. He is an ongoing supporter of various organizations including The National Gallery of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate, the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Prince’s Trust and many other leading cultural and charity institutions.