Alexey Alexandrovich Mordashov (; born 26 September 1965) is a Russian billionaire businessman. He is the main shareholder and chairman of Severstal, Russia's largest steel and mining company. As of March 2022, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated Mordashov's personal net worth at US$21.2 billion, making him the second-richest person in Russia. In the Forbes ranking, which takes into account the assets of the whole family, Mordashov ranks first among Russian billionaires ($29.1B). When he was 37, Forbes ordained him (along with Oprah) as a "new arrival" in the world of billionaires. Mordashov was mentioned in the Panama Papers and FinCEN files leaks – a company associated with Mordashov paid for a number of Vladimir Putin's pet projects and gave generously to close Putin associates. He is under sanctions due to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. According to the EU, Rossiya Bank, which Mordashov owns a financial stake in, is the "personal bank" of the senior officials who benefitted from the annexation of Crimea. Early life Mordashov is the son of Russian parents, who were both steel mill workers. According to Mordashov, his family used welfare coupons, allowed only 200g of butter and 400g of sausages per month. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Leningrad Engineering-Economical Institute, currently known as ENGECON. He later gained an MBA from Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in 2001. In an address to students at the European University at Saint Petersburg, Mordashov spoke about his decision to study in Leningrad rather than Moscow and the value his undergraduate studies played in his search for employment and eventual career path. Returning to Cherepovets, he started his career by joining the same steel plant where his parents had worked. Career Early career In 1988 he joined Cherepovetskiy Metallurgical Plant after graduation from Leningrad Engineering-Economical Institut as an economist. By 1992 he became finance director, shortly before the company was privatised. When the plant's elderly director instructed him to acquire shares to keep them out of the hands of an outsider, he formed two investment funds and, by buying up workers' shares, built a major stake in the factory. In 1996 he was appointed as CEO of the company. He went on to build a conglomerate, Severstal, acquiring steel, coal and mining companies. Investments In 2003, Mordashov became a co-owner of Rossiya Bank. In 2004, Mordashov started investing in US steel companies, purchasing companies in Dearborn,