JULY 5, 2003

Abramovich and Formula 1

Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, who is buying Chelsea Football Club in a deal worth $200m, was a guest at the recent European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Abramovich is one of the major shareholders in one of Russia's largest oil companies, and a keen follower of sport. He has amassed a fortune of $5.5bn from oil and aluminium and enjoys close links with Russia's top politicians. He also owns shares in a TV station and in the Russian airline Aeroflot. Abramovich's fortune is based on a shareholding in Sibneft which recently announced a merger with Yukos Oil, Russias second largest oil producer, to create Russias largest oil producer, and the fourth largest oil company in the world. This is in opposition to Lukoil, the company which has also been mentioned as a possible source of funding for a Russian Grand Prix.