Farhad Moshiri

Ardavan Moshiri
Born	(1955-05-18) May 18, 1955 Imperial State of Iran
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Years active	1979–present
Known for	Majority shareholder and board member at Everton F.C., chairman of USM Holdings

Ardavan Farhad Moshiri (; born 18 May 1955) is a British-Iranian entrepreneur currently residing in Monaco. He formerly held the position of majority shareholder and board member at English Premier League club Everton F.C. and served as chairman of USM Holdings, a Russian conglomerate.

Early life

Moshiri was born in the Imperial State of Iran before his family emigrated prior to the 1979 revolution. His father, Majid (1926–2020), transitioned from an army medical officer to a senior military judge, while his maternal relatives owned Kayhan, one of Iran's foremost publishing companies. He pursued studies in economics and statistics at University College London and became a certified chartered accountant in the UK.

Career

His professional journey began with roles at firms such as Ernst & Young (1979–1985), Pannell Kerr Forster (1985–1987), and Deloitte & Touche (1987–1992), where he advanced to senior audit manager. Between 1993 and 2006, he served as Executive Director at GNE Group plc and was CEO of Europe Steel Limited from 2000 to 2008. Moshiri chaired Metalloinvest from 2006 until 2013 before assuming the chairmanship at USM Holdings, a role he relinquished on 2 March 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Arsenal

Together with partner Alisher Usmanov, Moshiri co-owned Red & White Holdings, which acquired a 14.65% stake in Arsenal from former vice-chairman David Dein in August 2007. By late September of that year, their combined shareholding increased to 23%, with Moshiri targeting a minimum threshold of 25%. As of June 2012, Red & White Holdings controlled at least 29.72% of Arsenal’s shares. Arsenal’s managing director Keith Edelman confirmed their intention to maintain a long-term investment without pursuing majority control.

Everton

In February 2016, Moshiri divested his Arsenal shares to Usmanov to finance a bid for ownership at Everton. Everton announced on 27 February that Moshiri had acquired a 49.9% equity stake, which received approval from the Premier League approximately two weeks later. By January 2022, his ownership had risen to 94%. In September 2024, Moshiri agreed to transfer his Everton shares to Dan Friedkin, CEO of The Friedkin Group and proprietor of Italian club Roma, with the transaction finalized on December 19, 2024.

Personal life

Moshiri lives in Monaco. His former spouse, Nazenin Ansari, is an Iranian journalist based in London who acts as managing editor for Kayhan London and produces series for the Persian-language broadcaster Manoto. The couple has two children.

The Sunday Times Rich List of 2021 estimated Moshiri’s net worth at £1.7 billion.

His daughter Azadeh regularly presents news on BBC World News.