Alexander Ponomarenko

Alexander Ponomarenko
Born	(1964-10-27) October 27, 1964 Belogorsk, Crimea, Soviet Ukraine
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, businessman
Years active	Late 1980s–present
Known for	Banking, port operations, commercial property, airport infrastructure development

Alexander Anatolyevich Ponomarenko (Russian: Александр Анатольевич Пономаре́нко; born 27 October 1964) is a billionaire entrepreneur holding Russian and Cypriot citizenship, who amassed his wealth through ventures in banking, port operations, commercial property, and airport infrastructure development.

Early life

Born on 27 October 1964 in Crimea, specifically in Belogorsk City, within Soviet Ukraine, Ponomarenko earned a bachelor's degree from Simferopol State University and later completed a master's program at the Russian State Academy of Management.

Between 1983 and 1985, he fulfilled military service in airborne units. In the late 1980s, he achieved recognition as a junior boxing champion in Ukraine.

Career

Ponomarenko has maintained a longstanding partnership with fellow billionaire Aleksandr Skorobogatko. Together, in the late 1980s, they launched a business in Crimea focused on perfumes and construction materials.

Subsequently relocating to Moscow, they founded Russian General Bank in 1996, which was sold a decade later to Hungary’s OTP Bank for $477 million.

Following the financial turmoil of 1998, they invested in several cargo transportation firms that consolidated into Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP), Russia’s leading seaport operator. Ponomarenko assumed the role of NCSP Chairman in 2004. The company went public in 2007 by offering 19.3% of its shares on the London Stock Exchange, raising US$955 million. In early 2011, the majority ownership was transferred to Summa Capital and Transneft for US$2.5 billion.

The capital obtained from selling NCSP was channeled into TPS Real Estate, which specializes in retail and entertainment properties. In 2013, Ponomarenko’s family trust created TPS Avia Holding to invest in infrastructure projects at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport. That same year, TPS Avia secured a contract to develop a new cargo terminal. Ponomarenko joined Sheremetyevo’s Board of Directors in 2015 and was appointed Chairman the following year.

By 2016, TPS Avia had acquired a controlling 68% interest in Sheremetyevo Airport and committed US$840 million toward upgrading its facilities.

In September 2021, Kommersant recognized Ponomarenko among Russia’s leading business figures for the third year running. He was ranked 31st on Forbes’’ 2020 list of Russia’s "200 Richest Businessmen."

Sanctions

In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, both the UK government and the European Union imposed sanctions on Ponomarenko in 2022, resulting in the freezing of his assets.

Net worth

As reported by Forbes in August 2022, Ponomarenko's estimated net worth stood at $3.3 billion.

Personal life

Residing in Moscow, Ponomarenko is married and has three children.

In 2011, he acquired the estate known as Putin's Palace, initially constructed for Russian president Vladimir Putin, intending to complete it as a hotel complex valued up to $350 million; however, by 2016 he withdrew from this project.

He obtained Cypriot citizenship in 2016 through a "golden visa" investment program.