Andrey Melnichenko

Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko (; ; born 8 March 1972) is a Russian-Emirati billionaire entrepreneur. He is the founder and ex-beneficiary of fertilizer producer EuroChem Group and coal producer SUEK, and was a non-executive director in both companies until 9 March 2022. In 2022 Forbes and Bloomberg estimated his net worth at $15.8 billion and $17.4 billion respectively, which makes him one of the richest persons in Russia. In the 2023 ranking, for the first time, he took first place among Russian billionaires with a fortune of $25.2 billion. After the Soviet Union fell, he began trading currency with two friends while a physics student at Moscow State University, and then registered a bank, MDM Bank. Melnichenko took an interest in the commodities market and began buying assets in coal and fertilizers, with the acquisition of plants and mines, many of which were distressed. He founded fertilizer producer Eurochem and coal energy company SUEK.