Top Philanthropic Donors: Len Blavatnik

Len Blavatnik  born June 14, 1957 in Moscow, Russia is a businessman, currently living in London, with a home on Kensington Palace Gardens. He has made his fortune through diversified investments, through Access Industries, in Russia, Europe, North and South America.

Born in the Soviet Union, he attended University in Moscow. He emigrated with his Jewish family from Russia to the U.S. in 1978, and received a masters in computer science from Columbia University and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School in 1989. In the West, he is known as Len Blavatnik.

In 1986 he founded Access Industries, an international industrial group, of which he is Chairman and President. Access has long-term strategic holdings in Europe, North and South America. Initially, he moved into Russian investments, just after the fall of communism. With a friend from university, Viktor Vekselberg, they formed the Renova investment vehicle, and then the two joined with Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group to form the AAR venture.

AAR gained a controlling stake in Russian oil company TNK through privatisation auctions, then in 2003 sold 50% stake to British Petroleum to form TNK-BP, one of Russia's largest oil companies, where Blavatnik serves on the board of directors.

On May 6, 2011, Warner Music Group announced its sale to Access for US$3.3 billion. On July 20, 2011 an Access affiliate acquired Warner Music Group for $3.3 billion.

Mr. Blavatnik, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Access companies have supported many cultural and philanthropic institutions over the past 15 years, including serving as the primary benefactors for numerous, major art and cultural exhibitions, including the British Museum, Tate Modern, Royal Opera House, National Portrait Gallery and Museum of Modern Art.

Blavatnik sponsors a Colel Chabad 20,000-square-foot food bank and warehouse in Kiryat Malakhi, Israel, which sends monthly food shipments to 5,000 poor families in 25 Israeli cities, and before Jewish holidays to 30,000 families in 73 Israeli cities, towns and villages.

In 2010, it was announced that Blavatnik and the Blavatnik Family Foundation would donate $50 million to the University of Oxford to establish a new School of Government. The gift is one of the most generous philanthropic gifts in the University’s 900-year history. Blavatnik has also indicated the possibility of increasing his benefaction up to $140 million over time. The Blavatnik School of Government will begin accepting students in September 2012. The new permanent home of the School will be constructed on the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in Oxford. Architects of the buildings, which will be finished by summer 2015, are the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. The first Dean of the School is professor Ngaire Woods.

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