Eduard Shifrin
Eduard Shifrin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eduard Volodymyrovych Shifrin July 12, 1960 Dnipropetrovsk, Soviet Ukraine |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, author, musician, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Known for | Co-founder of Midland Group, former owner of Zaporizhstal steel company |
| Notable work | The Theory of Metallurgical Processes; From Infinity to Man; Travels with Sushi in the Land of the Mind |
Eduard Volodymyrovych Shifrin (; ; born 12 July 1960) is a Ukrainian businessman and co-founder of Midland Group, headquartered in London.
Early life and education
Shifrin was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Soviet Ukraine, as the son of Vladimir Moiseyevich Shifrin, a professor specializing in metallurgy. He achieved top honors at the National Ukrainian Physics Olympiad during 1976–77 and completed his studies as a metallurgical engineer at the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys between 1977 and 1983. In 1992, he obtained a PhD focusing on metallurgy.
Business career
Between 1983 and 1993, Shifrin progressed through roles at steel manufacturer Dniprospecstal located in Zaporizhia, ultimately heading the marketing department. His reputation as a business oligarch was established through acquiring control over the privatized steel company Zaporizhstal. Together with Alexander Shnaider, he founded Midland Group, a holding company based in Guernsey with diversified interests including steel production (notably Zaporizhstal, Ukraine’s fourth-largest steel plant), shipping, real estate development, agriculture, and sports investments. The group’s portfolio has included assets such as The St. Regis Toronto hotel and formerly ownership of Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club and the Formula One team Midland F1 Racing.
In the Sunday Times Rich List of 2006, Shifrin was ranked 59th with an estimated fortune of £920 million. Forbes placed him at number 559 among the world’s billionaires in 2009 with a net worth of $1.3 billion. By 2013, Ukrainian magazine Focus assessed his wealth at $893.3 million, ranking him as the 20th wealthiest individual in Ukraine.
The global financial downturn in 2008 adversely affected Midland Group’s holdings, leading to divestments from real estate and steel assets across Russia and Ukraine. By 2010, ownership of Zaporizhstal Steel Works and associated entities had been transferred. A lengthy process dividing assets between Shifrin and Shnaider concluded with an agreement in 2017. Following this division, Shifrin acquired multiple properties in Moscow, which he developed and subsequently sold prior to his departure from Russia in 2020. By 2022, all his business operations within former Soviet republics had been fully closed.
Writing career
In collaboration with his late father, Shifrin co-authored The Theory of Metallurgical Processes in 2006, a work that received the State Prize of Ukraine.
In 2018, he published From Infinity to Man: The Fundamental Ideas of Kabbalah Within the Framework of Information Theory and Quantum Physics initially in Russian, followed by an English edition released in 2019.
His children’s book titled Travels with Sushi in the Land of the Mind appeared in English in 2019 and earned recognition as a Distinguished Favorite by the Independent Press Award for Juvenile Fiction in 2020.
Shifrin supports Jewish Book Week and frequently writes articles about the Kabbalah of Information for the Jerusalem Post.
Musical career
During 2022/23, Shifrin created and recorded twelve jazz-rock-blues compositions under the name Shyfrin Alliance in Paris, collected on the Upside Down Blues Album. He provides vocals on nine tracks. Three singles—Whiskey Blues, The Cage, and Unconditional—are available on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and have been broadcast on radio stations across the US and UK. Corresponding videos are accessible on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.
Philanthropic Activities
Since 2003, Shifrin has been a key financial contributor to the restoration of Kyiv’s most historic synagogue and a Jewish learning center dedicated to his father’s memory. He has also played a role in funding synagogue projects in Moscow, Volgograd, and Zaporozhye, supports more than 60 Chabad educational programs for youth, and held the position of regional vice-president within the World Jewish Congress. In May 2025, he was appointed as a vice-president of the World Jewish Congress with a focus on representing Ukraine.
Views on Politics
In response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Shifrin publicly denounced the military aggression and officially relinquished his Russian citizenship by lodging a formal protest at the Russian embassy in London. Alongside his family, he has contributed donations to Ukrainian humanitarian organizations, notably the UK-based World Jewish Relief. Following these actions, Russian authorities unexpectedly placed him on a wanted list. In recognition of his support, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine honored him in 2023 with the Cross of Freedom medal.
Private Life
Shifrin lives in London with his wife and their three children.
External links
- 1960 births
- Living people
- Businesspeople from Dnipro
- People who lost Russian citizenship
- Ukrainian billionaires
- Ukrainian Jews
- National University of Science and Technology MISiS alumni
- Ukrainian oligarchs
- Zaporizhstal
- Formula One team owners
- Ukrainian businesspeople in the United Kingdom
- Kabbalah
- Laureates of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology