Len Blavatnik

Born in Ukraine, raised north of Moscow, Len Blavatnik emigrated to the U.S. in 1978 for school; he studied computer science at Columbia University. He made a fortune selling his stake in Russian oil company TNK-BP for $7 billion in 2013. After purchasing Warner Music in 2011 for $3.3 billion, he took the company public in June 2020 at quadruple the value. His investment firm Access Industries holds stakes in chemicals firm LyondellBasell, e-commerce firm Rocket Internet and fashion label Tory Burch. Blavatnik says he has given or pledged over $700 million to philanthropy, mostly to universities, including Oxford, Stanford and Harvard. He is a dual citizen of the U.S. and the U.K. The Blavatniks have given to both political parties in the U.S., from Trump’s inaugural committee to Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign.