Alexander Mashkevitch
Alexander Antonovich Mashkevich (Hebrew: אלכסנדר משקביץ; also transliterated Alexandr Mashkevic; Russian: Александр Антонович Машкевич; born 23 February 1954) is a businessman and investor. He has major holdings and close political relationships in Kazakhstan. He holds both Kazakh and Israeli citizenship; according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, he usually travels on his Israeli passport and "rarely spends more than a week each month in Kazakhstan."[3]
Alexander Mashkevich | |
---|---|
Born | [1] Frunze, Kyrgyz SSR | 23 February 1954
Nationality | Israeli Kazakhstan |
Occupation | Major shareholder in Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation |
Net worth | US$3 billion (January 2020)[2] |
Biography
Mashkevich was born in Frunze, Kyrgyz SSR, Soviet Union, in 1954. His father Anton, a doctor born in Lithuania, and his mother, Rakhel Yoffe, a lawyer born in Vitebsk, were evacuated to Kyrgyzstan in 1941.[1] His family background is Lithuanian Jewish. He is a graduate of Kyrgyz State University where he studied philology. Mashkevich started out an academic career but became a businessman during perestroika. Mashkevich, Patokh Chodiev, and Alijan Ibragimov form "the Trio," a group of Kazakh businessmen who became billionaires.[3] The Trio gained control of the recently privatized chromium, alumina, and gas operations in Kazakhstan (some of the largest ones in the world).[4][5]
With his partners Chodiev and Ibragimov, Mashkevich helped to develop these assets, and is a major shareholder in Eurasian National Resources Corporation (ENRC), now one of the world's leading natural resources groups.[6] ENRC, based in London, operates a number of metals assets in Kazakhstan and Africa, having acquired numerous mining operations in Eastern Europe and Africa. In 2009, ENRC generated a $1,462 million profit on sales of $3.8 billion.
ENRC was floated on the London Stock Exchange in December 2007, with a market capitalisation on Admission of approximately £6.8 billion.
In 2013, ENRC was privatized to form Eurasian Resources Group.
Mashkevich served as president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) until 2011. The EAJC is one of the five regional branches of World Jewish Congress (WJC). In this capacity, he has visited a number of synagogues around the world and met with many prominent individuals. In 2002, Mashkevich had a private meeting with then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.[7] In apparent consultation with Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, he asked his personal friend Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to intervene with Iran concerning Israeli soldiers captured by Hizbullah.[7] Also, while in Israel, Mashkevich "several times rather closely cooperated" with Kazakh Ambassador, now Deputy Foreign Minister, Kairat Abdurakhmanov.[8]
Mashkevich is one of the owners of Alferon Management. Based in London, Alferon Management has acquired mining operations in different places: Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Kosovo, Russia, and other countries.[9]
In 2010 he was on the Forbes list of billionaires at #287. In 2017, he was on the list at #1098, with a worth of $1.9 billion.[10]
On April 6, 2011, Mashkevitch announced his intention to found a Jewish version of Al-Jazeera that would "represent Israel on an international level, with real information.[11][12]
References
- "Машкевич Александр". Tengrin News. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
- "Alexander Machkevich". 10 January 2020.
- Krichevsky, Lev (18 October 2004). "Wealthy Kazakh businessman looks to make mark on Jewish world". www.ncsj.org. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-17.
- "The Steel Maharajah". BBC. BBC News. 24 July 2002. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
- Kazhegeldin, Akezhan (24 December 2004). "The end of the "controlled" democracy". "Respublika". International Eurasian Institute for Economic and Political Research. Archived from the original on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2006.
- Hecht, Albert (June 24, 2013). "Alexander Mashkevich Looks Like Finally Getting His Wish To Take ENRC Private". Jewish Business News. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- Galili, Lily (29 October 2002). "A Kazakh Oligarch Trying To Be a Jewish Tycoon". www.ncsj.org. Ha'aretz. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-17.
- Rozen, Sami (March 9, 2006). "Kazakh Historian Turned Deputy Minister After Stay in Israel". www.axisglobe.com. Axis. Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-17.
- Laruelle, Marlene; Peyrouse, Sebastien (2015). Globalizing Central Asia: Geopolitics and the Challenges of Economic Development. Routledge. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-7656-3505-1.
- "Russian billionaire to found 'Israeli Al-Jazeera'". The Jerusalem Post. April 7, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- Weisler, Alex (June 27, 2011). "Billionaire Mashkevich quits Euro-Asian Jewish Congress presidency". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved January 1, 2020.