Vladimir Lisin

Now Russia's richest person thanks to soaring value of his publicly traded firm, Novolipetsk Steel. Lisin is a proletarian success story. First job was as a mechanic in a coal mine. After college in Siberia he worked as steelworker. In 1991, when his boss was appointed minister of metallurgy, Lisin came with him to Moscow. In 1992 he joined up with tough group of traders called Trans-World Group; they came to dominate Russia's aluminum and steel exports. He managed the factories, and when the partners went their separate ways in 2000, Lisin got majority stake in Russia's giant Novolipetsk steel mill as his share. He constructed one of the largest shooting-range complexes in Europe's Lisya Nora, which is close to Moscow. Publishes the loss-making newspaper Gazeta. In parallel with his main activity, he bought out shares in several sea ports, shipping and transportation companies, and united them into Universal Cargo Logistics Holding B.V. (UCL Holding), of which he is now sole owner.