Vagit Alekperov

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Lore & Background

Alekperov was born on 1 September 1950 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, one of the earliest centers of the international petroleum industry. His father, who died when Vagit was a boy, worked in the oilfields all his life and inspired Alekperov to follow in his footsteps. His father was an Azerbaijani Muslim, and his mother was Russian Orthodox. Alekperov is religious, but does not define himself as either Muslim or Orthodox. In 1974, he graduated from the Azerbaijan Oil and Chemistry Institute with a Master of Science in Engineering. He moved to Western Siberia in 1979 and worked at Surgutneftegaz between 1979 and 1985, earning his reputation as an industry expert. By 1985 he became the first deputy general director of Bashneft production company, and in 1987 became general director of the newly created production company Kogalymneftegaz. In 1990, Alekperov was appointed deputy minister of the Oil and Gas Industry of the Soviet Union and became the youngest deputy energy minister in Soviet history. He promoted the establishment of vertically integrated state-owned energy companies. During a 1990 visit to British Petroleum facilities in the UK, he personally headed the Russian delegation and sternly asked BP executives to explain how a modern oil company should be set up. In April 1993, Langepas-Uray-Kogalymneft became the joint-stock company LUKOIL, and Alekperov became its president and chairman of the board. By 2002, he owned 10.4% of the company. In May 2008, he bought 11.13 million shares (1.3%) in Lukoil, increasing his stake to 20.4% and becoming the company's largest shareholder. LUKoil was the first Russian company to acquire an American company, buying Getty Petroleum Marketing and its 1,300 gas stations in the US in November 2000. In 2018, Alekperov first mentioned in an interview that he was looking for a successor, stating a staff reshuffle could take place in 2023. In April 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Alekperov was sanctioned by Australia and the United Kingdom. On 21 April, Lukoil issued a statement saying Alekperov had stepped down and resigned from the board of directors after 29 years. In May 2022, Canada also imposed sanctions on Alekperov, and in October 2022, New Zealand sanctioned him.

Reader's Guide

Vagit Alekperov's significance lies in his role as the founding president of Lukoil, which he led from 1993 until 2022. He was instrumental in shaping the post-Soviet Russian oil industry, advocating for vertically integrated companies and overseeing Lukoil's expansion, including the first acquisition of an American oil company by a Russian firm. His wealth and influence placed him among the most prominent Russian oligarchs, and his ownership of a 36.8% stake in Spartak Moscow and superyacht builder Heesen Yachts reflected his reach beyond energy. Alekperov's legacy is complicated by international sanctions imposed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led to his resignation from Lukoil in 2022. His philanthropic efforts include founding The Foundation 'Our Future' in 2007 to promote social entrepreneurship in Russia, and he has stated that his stake in Lukoil (over 20% of the company) will be transferred to a specially created charitable foundation according to his will. His numismatic collection, housed in the private Museum of Numismatics he established in 2015 in the Zinoviev-Yusupov chambers in Moscow, features more than 700 coins on display, about a quarter of the entire collection, consisting of gold, silver, and platinum coins from Classical antiquity, the Byzantine Empire, the European Middle Ages, the Russian Empire, and the USSR.

Did You Know?

• Alekperov was the youngest deputy energy minister in Soviet history when appointed in 1990.
• He personally led the Russian delegation during a 1990 visit to British Petroleum facilities in the UK and sternly asked BP executives to explain how a modern oil company should be set up.
• Lukoil was the first Russian company to acquire an American company, buying Getty Petroleum Marketing and its 1,300 gas stations in November 2000.
• Alekperov established a private Museum of Numismatics in Moscow in 2015, displaying over 700 coins from his collection.
• He has stated that his stake in Lukoil (over 20% of the company) will be transferred to a charitable foundation according to his will.