Viatcheslav Kantor
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 8, 1953 Moscow, Russia |
| Citizenship | Russian, British, Israeli |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, Jewish communal leader |
| Known for | President of the European Jewish Congress, Chairman of the European Jewish Fund, President of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation |
| Notable work | Founder of the World Holocaust Forum, Founder of the European Jewish Fund, Founder of the Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery |
Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor (, born on 8 September 1953) is a businessman holding Russian, British, and Israeli citizenships, often characterized as an oligarch. He holds the positions of President of the European Jewish Congress (EJC), Chairman of the European Jewish Fund (EJF), and President of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation (WHF).
In the aftermath of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kantor was subjected to multiple sanctions, which temporarily interrupted his leadership role at the EJC. However, in 2025, he was removed from the sanctions lists maintained by the EU and Switzerland and subsequently secured a fifth term as President of the European Jewish Congress.
Early life and education
Born in Moscow, Kantor graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) in 1976. He earned his PhD in Spacecraft Automatic Control Systems in 1981 and subsequently led a research laboratory at MAI.
Career
Between 1989 and 1993, Kantor held the position of Director General at Intelmas, a telecommunications firm. From 1996 until 2000, he acted as an economic advisor to the Chairman of the Federation Council within the Russian Federal Assembly.
Kantor is the principal owner of the Acron Group, a major international producer and distributor in the mineral fertilizer industry. In 2021, Forbes valued his net worth at approximately US$7.6 billion.
He is known to have maintained close connections with the regime of Vladimir Putin. Notably, in 2014, Kantor donated no less than two million dollars to support Matilan, a voluntary Jewish battalion engaged against separatist forces in Donbas.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kantor was included on the United Kingdom’s sanctions list in March of that year. This development led University College School to reassess its decision to name its sports pavilion after him.
The European Union imposed sanctions on Kantor on 8 April 2022 but lifted these restrictions on 14 March 2025. Switzerland followed suit by removing him from its sanctions list on 18 March 2025.
Civic activities
Kantor held the presidency of the European Jewish Congress from 2007 until 2022 and was re-elected for a fifth term during the EJC General Assembly held in Jerusalem in May 2025, winning nearly two-thirds of delegate votes. The EJC represents approximately 2.5 million Jews across 42 European national communities, positioning it as Europe’s largest secular organization advocating for Jewish interests.
In addition to this role, Kantor was reappointed in 2021 as Chairman of the Policy Council of the World Jewish Congress for a third term. He also occupies the role of Vice President within the Jewish Leadership Council. In 2010, he established the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University. Since joining its Directorate in 2010, he was nominated by Yad Vashem as Chancellor of its Council in 2019. Kantor served as President of the Russian Jewish Congress from 2005 to 2009 and founded the World Holocaust Forum (WHF) in 2005. He continues to chair both the WHF Foundation and is founder and chairman of the European Jewish Fund, created in 2006.
Under Kantor’s guidance, the World Holocaust Forum has brought together world leaders to commemorate Holocaust victims and address antisemitism; however, it encountered controversy in 2020 related to Vladimir Putin’s address and the exclusion of Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Kantor also founded and presides over the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR), which advocates for implementing the Model National Statute for the Promotion of Tolerance—a proposed legislative framework across Europe aimed at combating hate speech and antisemitism.
In 2007, he launched and assumed presidency of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, an NGO that assembles top experts specializing in nuclear non-proliferation. This Forum originated following a conference held in Luxembourg attended by distinguished figures such as Sergey Kirienko (Rosatom), Mohamed ElBaradei (IAEA), Nikolay Laverov (Russian Academy of Sciences), William Perry (former U.S. Secretary of Defense), and Hans Blix (Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission).
Personal life
Kantor is married to Anna Kantor and they have five children, consisting of four sons and one daughter. He holds citizenship in Russia, Israel, and the United Kingdom.
He acquired a violin crafted in 1912 by the Italian luthier Riccardo Antoniazzi, valued at $140,000, which is awarded as the First Prize at the 2nd International Violinists Vladimir Spivakov Competition.
Previously serving as a trustee for the Anna Freud Centre in London, Kantor was removed from this role following the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. He has also contributed to the advancement of King Solomon High School in London, supporting its establishment as a Jewish comprehensive institution.
Since 2013, Kantor has been a patron of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation, backing a range of initiatives. His charitable foundation financed the refurbishment of Macintosh House near King Edward VII's Hospital in London, resulting in his designation as Life Governor and Trustee; subsequently, the facility was renamed the Kantor Medical Centre.
He presides over the Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery (MAGMA), which he founded in Moscow in 2001. In 2018, Kantor was bestowed with Honorary Membership of the Russian Academy of Arts by its president, Zurab Tsereteli.
Honors and awards
Kantor’s accolades include numerous state decorations such as Russia’s Order of Friendship (1998), Poland’s Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit (2005), Ukraine’s Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (2006), Belgium’s Order of Leopold (2009), France’s Chevalier rank in the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2012), Italy’s Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2013), Romania’s Grand Cross with honors of the National Order of Merit (2014), France’s Officer rank in the National Order of the Legion of Honour (2014), Russia’s Order of Honour (2016), Belgium’s Officer rank in the Order of the Crown (2020), and Austria’s Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services (2021).
He holds honorary citizenship in Veliky Novgorod since 1997 and is an Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts. Additionally, Kantor earned an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University in 2004 and received the Medal of Merit "Deserved for Tolerance" awarded by the Ecumenical Foundation Tolerance in 2011.
For seven consecutive years, he has been recognized among the '50 Most Influential Jews Worldwide'.
See also
- European Jewish Congress
- World Jewish Congress
- European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation
- International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe
- European Jewish Fund
- World Holocaust Forum
- Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery