Aras Iskanderovich Agalarov (; ; born 8 November 1955) is an Azerbaijani-Russian billionaire real estate developer. Several sources have described him as a Russian oligarch. Early life Born in Baku, Agalarov was educated at the Azerbaijan Polytechnical Institute. There, he studied computer engineering and was a member of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan and Baku City Committee. Career Agalarov then opened the first Crocus Inter store, which became a retail business that includes malls offering housewares. This moved him into property development, where he built the Crocus City Mall, the largest shopping centre in Moscow. Adjacent to this he then built the largest trade center in Russia on the outskirts of Moscow, Crocus Expo, and has since developed a luxury housing development. He has partnered with Robert De Niro in Nobu Matsuhisa's two Moscow restaurants. In 2012, the built a new campus for the Far Eastern Federal University outside Vladivostok. Agalarov says he had to buy a larger Gulfstream jet to visit the site, where he spent $100 million of his own money on cost overruns on the $1.2 billion campus of 70 new building on Russky Island overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He then won projects for a Moscow superhighway and two stadiums for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In January 2013, Agalarov and his son visited Las Vegas, Nevada, after Donald Trump, the beauty pageant's owner, announced at Miss Universe 2012 that the next competition would be hosted by Agalarov in Moscow. He paid Trump $20 million to host the pageant. In November 2013, President Vladimir Putin awarded Agalarov the Russian Order of Honor. That month, Agalarov hosted Miss Universe 2013 at his Crocus City Hall. Moreover, Agalarov's wife acted as a judge on the panel while his son was one of the performers. Herman Gref, who runs Sberbank of Russia, Agalarov and his son hosted a dinner for Trump on the night of the pageant. While in Moscow, Phil Ruffin, who is a partner in Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, and Trump met with the Agalarov and his son at the Ritz-Carlton. Trump then appeared in a music video with Agalarov's son alongside many of the contestants. Trump and Agalarov planned on a $3 billion project, with state-owned Sberbank agreeing to provide 70% of the financing. Agalarov has served as a liaison between Trump and Putin. According to an interview, they once discussed the construction of a Trump