Oleg Tinkov is one of the most famous and richest Russian entrepreneurs. Over the years of his activity, he managed to open and subsequently sell several successful commercial projects, and is currently the owner of Tinkoff Bank.
early years
Oleg Yurievich Tinkov was born on December 25, 1967 in the village of Polysaevo, Kemerovo Region. His parents were ordinary workers, and until graduation from school, Oleg remained the most ordinary child. His only passion was cycling, which he became interested in at the age of 12. In 1984, the future entrepreneur was recognized as a candidate for master of sports. He is actively engaged in it to the present time.
In 1988, young Oleg Tinkov entered the Leningrad Mining Institute. He quickly began to master the intricacies of trade, speculating in clothing, cosmetics and perfumery, vodka and caviar. In his student years, he met his future wife Rina Vosman, who supported his endeavors. The couple entered into an official marriage only in 2009, after 20 years of marriage. Tinkov never received a higher education, leaving in his third year. One of the advantages of studying, he said, is acquaintance and friendship with future large Russian entrepreneurs, including:
- Oleg Zherebtsov (founder of the Lenta food chain);
- Andrey Rogachev (founder of the Pyaterochka grocery chain);
- Oleg Leonov (founder of the Dixy grocery chain).
Start of entrepreneurial activity
The first major project of Oleg Tinkov was the Tekhnoshock chain of household appliances, created in 1995. In just a year, it expanded to five retail outlets in major Russian cities and reached a turnover of $ 40 million. Business problems began in 1997 after the emergence of competitive Eldorado stores. A year later, Tinkov sold his company to the company "Simtex", having managed to get out of the business with a fortune of $ 7 million.
Oleg Tinkov invested most of his own funds in the creation and promotion of the Daria trademark, under which dumplings and other semi-finished products were produced. The production workshop was opened in 1998 in St. Petersburg, but due to the outbreak of the financial crisis in the country, it did not last long. The final sale of the company took place in 2001: for $ 21 million it was acquired by the "Planet Management" holding, owned by Roman Abramovich and Andrey Bloch.
Oleg Tinkov's next business was his own brewery "Tinkoff", the idea of opening which came to him in 1997. Thanks to the support of investors, it was possible to quickly establish production and open a branded restaurant on Kazanskaya Street in St. Petersburg. In 2001, the chain began to expand, and within two years, restaurants were opened in cities such as:
- Moscow;
- Samara;
- Novosibirsk;
- Nizhny Novgorod;
- Yekaterinburg;
- Kazan;
- Sochi.
Due to active advertising on television, Tinkoff beer has gained high popularity among consumers. In 2004, Sun Interbrew began negotiating the purchase of the company. The deal took place a year later, and the brand, including manufacturing facilities and restaurants, was sold for $ 200 million.
Tinkoff Bank and other projects
In 2005, Oleg Tinkof thought about opening his own bank and began to draw up his project. He acquired the Moscow-based Khimmashbank, creating on its basis the first “remote bank” in Russia called “Tinkoff Credit Systems”. Its feature was non-standard marketing, the use of computer and Internet technologies instead of human labor. For several years in a row, the bank issued loans using its own capital. As a result, a competent strategy allowed the company to successfully survive the crisis of 2008 and increase its profits by 50 times.
In subsequent years, Tinkoff Credit Systems continued to improve the existing remote system. Office structures were completely eliminated, convenient online banking appeared, as well as unique tools and offers for starting and running a business. In 2015, the organization changed its name to the more laconic Tinkoff Bank. Oleg Tinkov personally owns more than 53% of the bank's shares, which at the moment remains his main project.
Being passionate about cycling, in 2006 Tinkov decided to create his own cycling team. The idea was successfully implemented, and the national team, which has historically become the third professional team in Russia, was named Tinkoff Restaraunts. Alexander Kuznetsov was appointed its head and coach, and the composition included famous Russian athletes:
- Mikhail Ignatiev;
- Ivan Rovny;
- Pavel Brutt;
- Sergey Klimov;
- Alexander Serov;
- Nikolay Trusov.
The team was sponsored by Oleg Tinkov in conjunction with Siberia Airlines and had an annual budget of $ 4 million. In 2006, the riders managed to win the team pursuit race at the American Track Cycling World Cup. Pavel Brutt became the sole winner of the Tour of Greece and the Cinturón a Mallorca race. Nevertheless, disagreements between Oleg Tinkov and Alexander Kuznetsov led to the early disbandment of the cycling team.
Oleg Tinkov today
In 2018, according to Forbes, Oleg Tinkov's net worth was $ 2.3 billion. The businessman is actively investing in real estate. One of the directions was the construction in 2015 of a hotel and recreational complex in Kamchatka for 250 million rubles. Later, Tinkov left the project and decided to open two luxury chalets La Datcha in the ski resorts of Courchevel and Val Thorens. Currently, his property includes real estate in Forte dei Marmi and Astrakhan, as well as a Dassault Falcon 7X aircraft with the Tinkoff Bank logo.
In 2017, the entrepreneur was involved in a public scandal: popular YouTube bloggers from the NEMAGIA channel released a review on Tinkov and criticized Tinkoff Bank. The banker himself reacted immediately and appealed to the Kemerovo District Court (at the place of residence of the bloggers) with a claim for the protection of honor and dignity.
After conducting an investigation, the court and Roskomnadzor ordered the bloggers to remove the video, recognizing him as exposing Oleg Tinkov. Most other bloggers and Internet users sided with NEMAGIA, which negatively affected Tinkov's reputation. Another blow, this time to the banker's business, was dealt by the US Treasury Department by including Oleg Tinkov in the "Kremlin report" - a list of undesirable persons close to the President of the Russian Federation. Currently, Tinkoff Bank remains 19th in terms of equity capital and 33rd in terms of assets among all Russian banks.
