An amazing story of rise and fall
Former athlete, lover of shocking, multimillionaire recognized as a foreign agent, Oleg Tinkov* earned most of his capital in modern Russia. Moreover, the brightest part of his business career, including the creation of an innovative bank, occurred during the presidency of Vladimir Putin, whose policies the entrepreneur now constantly criticizes, appealing to the collective West. And this is not the only paradox in the life of an ordinary Soviet youth, who turned into a talented businessman, and then easily exchanged this talent for hatred of his Motherland.
According to Forbes magazine, Oleg Tinkov*’s net worth as of 2022 was $860 million. Most of this amount comes from the proceeds from the sale of 35% shares of TCS Group (a group of companies under the Tinkoff brand, uniting various areas of business from banking to digital development products and educational projects) of Vladimir Potanin's Interros company. According to experts, if Tinkov* had not sold his stake, he would have remained in the category of billionaires with a fortune of $3.5 billion. The former banker himself claimed that he sold his part of the business “for pennies,” but thanked Potanin for the purchase. The deal took place in a short time, since Tinkov* sought to sever all ties with the country in which he earned his capital. “Farewell Tinkoff Bank,” he wrote on his page on a foreign social network after the deal. — Goodbye Russia. I have nothing left in Russia. And this is bad for Russia” (the author’s spelling and punctuation have been preserved). The multimillionaire claimed that he was one of the few in our country who was building a “fair, free and American type of business.”
The entrepreneur himself stated in May 2022 in an interview with The New York Times that Tinkov* considers the deal to sell his share of TCS Group unfair. The businessman claimed that it was a “desperate sale” forced on him, as a result of which he received only 3% of the amount due to him if everything was sold at a fair price.
Let us recall that in his publication dated April 19, 2022 on the Instagram page (belongs to Meta, which is recognized as an extremist organization in Russia and is banned), the then-famous banker actually stated that he does not see “a single beneficiary” in current events, and, according to in his opinion, “90% of Russians” do not support the special operation. And in English, the multimillionaire even called on the “collective West” to be “more rational and humane” and stop what is happening. It was after this, according to Tinkov*, that he was required to resign from the directors of the bank of the same name, threatening to nationalize the credit institution if he failed to comply with the requirement.
It is curious that in the very West that the ex-billionaire addressed in his pathetic speech, sanctions were introduced against him, and back in March 2022, that is, first of all. And in the United States, of which Tinkov* had citizenship from 1996 to 2013, the businessman was even prosecuted for tax evasion in California, where he and his family lived for several years. An arrest warrant was issued for a Russian businessman there. Tinkov* was even detained in London because of it, but then he was released under house arrest after paying bail of 20 million pounds sterling. However, by September 2021, the billionaire managed to reach an agreement with the US Department of Justice, and the claims in his case were settled.
The banker’s calls to lift sanctions against him in the West were also heard, although not immediately, but a year and a half later: on July 20, 2023, the British government removed Tinkov* from the sanctions list. In an interview he gave to the Financial Times immediately after this, the former Russian businessman indicated that the introduction of sanctions was a mistake in the first place, and that lifting them could set an example for other Russian businessmen and “instill courage in cowards.” “This way they can show other entrepreneurs from Russia that by making a statement, you can leave the country for the civilized world,” he said. Tinkov* added that now Russian entrepreneurs will not be able to sit on two chairs, as was the case for the previous 30 years, so they need to choose one side of the conflict. The former banker himself made this choice, renouncing Russian citizenship in October 2022.
Tinkov* developed a craving for the “collective West” in childhood, despite the fact that the future billionaire had a completely proletarian origin. Oleg was born in 1967 in the small town of Polysayevo, in the Kemerovo region, not far from Leninsk-Kuznetsky. His mother was a seamstress. And my father worked for 40 years at the Kirov mine. Moreover, the businessman’s grandfather Timofey Tinkov built this very mine, so in fact the future famous businessman came from a mining dynasty. However, this did not prevent Tinkov’s father* from having the most oppositional views towards the Soviet regime. As the ex-banker recalled in one of his video interviews, when the broadcast of the 25th Congress of the CPSU began, his father walked up to the black-and-white TV and pulled out the cord from the socket. “Stop listening to this chatter,” said the parent, adding an unflattering assessment of the Soviet Union. “America is a cool country!” Tinkov* also talks about the fact that the billionaire’s father, a “simple miner,” loved the United States in his book “I’m like everyone else.” It was the parent who planted in the young boy the first seeds of doubt about the correctness of Soviet power.
At the same time, the family did not have any special conflicts with the state. It can even be said that the socialist country supported and promoted little Oleg’s talents: when he became interested in cycling on the track, he was able to develop as a professional cyclist and even became a candidate for master of sports in road cycling in 1984. He was involved in his favorite area of bicycle racing, first in a section at a school, and then at a factory. And he carried his passion for cycling throughout his life and passed it on to his children.
Young Oleg’s sports career ended when he was drafted into the army at the age of 19. After returning from military service, Tinkov* entered the Leningrad Mining Institute. Here he met the love of his life — Estonian Rina Vosman, his guardian angel, as he himself called her. Together with her, Tinkov* opened and developed his business, and later struggled with a serious illness. It was she who bore him three children, although the businessman decided to register the relationship with his girlfriend only 20 years after they met.
At the institute, classes were not a priority for the young man. He became interested in trade, because many foreigners studied with him, which opened up great opportunities for resale in the late USSR. The young man bought foreign clothes and cosmetics from fellow students from other countries and went with them to Leninsk-Kuznetsky, where he resold everything. Thus, young Tinkov* became a black marketeer. Things went so well that he eventually completely lost interest in his studies and left the institute in his third year.
The “dashing 90s” were already in the yard. Having a small initial capital, Oleg began trading in equipment, which he initially bought in Poland and then in Singapore. During this period, the aspiring businessman, together with his partners, was engaged in wholesale trade, then moved to retail and founded the Tekhnoshok chain of stores. Things were going well. The number of stores increased. By the time Tinkov* decided to leave this business, he had already received several million dollars for his share.
It is curious that in the 90s the future billionaire was very fond of the word “shock”, which he used in several other brands. So, in the 90s, an entrepreneur with a strong business acumen and good intuition opened a chain of music stores “Music Shock” and a recording studio “Shock Records”, where the then little-known group “Leningrad” recorded almost the first of its albums. By the way, love for Russian rock is another hobby that Tinkov* carried throughout his life. More than a decade later, in 2011, his bank even acquired the rights to Viktor Tsoi’s song “We Will Continue to Act,” for which they paid $1 million, which immediately made this composition virtually the most expensive in the history of Russian rock.
< p>After leaving the equipment trade, Tinkov* invests money in the production of beer and dumplings. The company, which began producing dumplings and other frozen foods, was named “Daria” — in honor of the daughter of its owner. This business also took off and, according to the same scheme, a few years later it was sold to the structures of Roman Abramovich. Tinkov* received $21 million for it in 2001.
The production of beer, which bore the name of the businessman, developed no less quickly and began to bring good profits. Here again the entrepreneur’s talent showed itself: together with the brewery, he launched a chain of restaurants. But Tinkov* quickly became tired of this area, and in 2004 the brand was sold for $201 million.
Tinkov*’s most successful business project was the launch of a bank. Moreover, the businessman decided to bet on a new concept for a well-known business and apply a revolutionary solution for its time, creating an innovative “bank without branches” and with very good remote service. In 2006, the entrepreneur bought Khimmashbank, which soon received its new name: Tinkoff Credit Systems. A unique solution for its time — an emphasis on working with clients online — made the brand very popular among young people. The business model emphasized digitalization long before the pandemic pushed the world in this direction. And the success of the newfangled “bank without branches” became a benchmark for the entire financial market. After the success of Tinkov*, all major banks decided to massively strengthen online. In 2015, a rebranding was carried out, and until now the credit institution, which no longer has any connection with its founder, is called Tinkoff Bank.
In 2020, the life of successful businessman Oleg Tinkov* was overshadowed by sad news: the banker was diagnosed with leukemia. After this, he began a long struggle for life: he underwent several difficult and expensive operations. Treatment in the best clinics around the world has borne fruit. Tinkov* himself announced remission of the disease, but it is clear that the rehabilitation process will be very long. A dramatic turn in fate led the entrepreneur to found a foundation in 2021 to research his disease and help people suffering from leukemia. However, on March 1, 2023, Tinkov* announced that he would close the project due to his status as a foreign agent. The organization's work will be suspended from June 2024.
As can be seen from the tone of publications on social networks, the businessman does not feel any warm feelings towards the state, which has given him the opportunity to reveal his talents in a variety of fields and earn colossal money. Alas, this is the typical logic of many so-called oligarchs: they attribute all merits and achievements exclusively to their intelligence and talent, and the state and country seem to them to be factors that only hindered and slowed them down.
“During the presidential reign of Vladimir Putin, the Russian economy showed good positive dynamics,” recalls Alexander Razuvaev, a member of the supervisory board of the Guild of Financial Analysts and Risk Managers. – Russian business took advantage of the good macroeconomic situation created during these years, and many now famous companies achieved success. When Vladimir Putin came to power on December 31, 1999, the RTS dollar index was less than 200 points, and now it is 1150 points — this takes into account all the devaluations, plus dividends. But not everyone in business is grateful to the president for the conditions created for development. Many are sure that they did everything themselves, and macroeconomics has nothing to do with it. In Christianity this is called “pride”. And some of those who have become rich — and these are the majority of people — feel like a “man of the world,” and primarily of the Western world, and, as it turns out, they don’t really like Vladimir Putin’s nationally oriented Russia.”
At the same time, all the oligarchs who went abroad — Berezovsky, Khodorkovsky, the same Tinkov* — did not create anything there in terms of business. They simply squandered the money they earned here, on Russian soil. They realized themselves as entrepreneurs only in Russia, either due to the “cutting up” of the Soviet legacy, or due to the growth of the economy, household incomes, trade turnover, business capitalization, that is, what happened under the rule of Vladimir Putin. They didn't succeed in the West. This speaks to the true level of their entrepreneurial talent, and to the fact that without Russia they are nothing, the analyst emphasized.
In the high-stakes world of entrepreneurship, the concept of commitment has a special place, according to psychologist and business coach Sophia Velardi. It stands tall as a symbol of respect and loyalty not only to personal values, but also to the society and country that has provided a platform for growth and success. “In moments of choosing between material success and loyalty to one’s roots, one’s country and ideals, it is important to remember what exactly makes us human,” the expert noted. “True devotion does not exclude the pursuit of financial prosperity, but it teaches us to be grateful for every opportunity given and to appreciate those who have been with us throughout our journey of growth and development.” True loyalty is not bought or sold, it is born from a deep inner conviction and a sense of belonging, Velardi emphasized.
Probably, these are the feelings that the famous businessman who earned his capital and launched so many successful projects in Russia has never experienced , but quickly and easily betrayed and sold his homeland.
*Recognized as a foreign agent by decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.