Rinat Akhmetov

“My life philosophy is the same as my business philosophy. I want success both for myself and for others. I wish to see people happy.”

Rinat Akhmetov is a Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist and the founder and sole shareholder of SCM, a leading Ukrainian investment group whose businesses operate in many countries worldwide.

Mr Akhmetov entered business in the early 1990s, when – in the emerging economy of independent post-Soviet Ukraine – he began trading industrial raw materials and products.

A native of an industrial region, Mr Akhmetov focused on the coking coal, coke and metal products value chain in the coal industry, a key sector in southeastern Ukraine, and founded several trading companies.

Mr Akhmetov then began acquiring minority stakes in coke and metallurgical plants. This strategy ultimately proved successful, and the trading companies were transformed into management companies.

“Donbas is Ukraine. And everything that happened in Ukraine also happened in Donbas: the collapse of the USSR, economic chaos, poverty, unemployment, social protests, the collapse of the national currency, galloping inflation and, consequently, the rise of crime. The entire economy remained state-owned and on the verge of a complete standstill. This was the picture across the whole country. I decided to invest in the industrial sector, and as a result, the factories began working again, and people started to receive wages. That is how the difficult path of Ukraine’s transition to a market economy began.” 

By the late 1990s, Mr Akhmetov continued to direct his efforts and capital into developing vertical integration in coking coal mining and the steel industry. He also established an international metals trading company – which today is Metinvest International S.A., headquartered in Geneva – to further expand overseas economic activity and attract international financing.

In 1998-99, large-scale privatisation began in Ukraine. Mr Akhmetov started purchasing companies with significant debt obligations, including the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Khartsyzk Pipe Plant and mining and processing plants in Kryvyi Rih.

In 2000, Mr Akhmetov established System Capital Management (SCM), a holding company for managing his asset portfolio.

“I took on responsibility; I convinced Western investors to invest in Ukraine. We restarted the factories, paid off all debts to workers, built new production facilities and began selling products on global markets. We moved away from the Soviet past and gained our main partner — the European Union, where more than half of our products went. I built the largest private Ukrainian company according to Western standards, one that competes on global markets.” 

“Football taught me to enjoy every day. People say that one should look at a day as a small life, and take pleasure in every minute lived.”

Since 1996, Rinat Akhmetov has been the owner and president of Shakhtar FC. At that time, the club was in 10th place in the league, without its own stadium, training base or even a team bus. Today, it is one of the leading football clubs in Ukraine. During Mr Akhemtov’s presidency,the team has won the 2009 UEFA Cup and the Ukrainian championships, Ukrainian Cup and Ukrainian Super Cup numerous times.

At Mr Akhmetov’s initiative, in 1999, the Shakhtar Football Academy was founded, with a network of branches across Ukraine. The Kirsha modern sports and training base was also opened near Donetsk.

In 2006, Mr Akhmetov began building a new, modern football stadium in Donetsk. In 2008, he announced that the stadium would be called the Donbass Arena, after the region. In 2009, the Donbass Arena, the largest Category 4 (formerly, Elite) stadium in Eastern Europe, was opened. At the inauguration celebration, Beyoncé performed. Later, the Donbass Arena hosted UEFA Champions League and UEFA Euro 2012 matches.

“On 27 March 1999, I had a dream: to build a stadium in Donetsk. We were in Paris, where our national team drew 0:0 against France. The atmosphere there was incredible. I stood up and looked at the stadium, and tears almost welled up in my eyes. It was then that the dream of building such a stadium in Donetsk was born. One could have dreamt for a long time, but later the opportunity appeared. Eventually, in 2003, the decision to build it was made.” 

In December 2021, during Shakhtar’s 85th anniversary year, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin presented Rinat Akhmetov with the UEFA Football Leadership Award in recognition of the club’s achievements during his 25 years of presidency.

“In every tournament, in every match, we want only one thing: to win. Our ambitions are to be first. Our ambitions are to hold gold medals and trophies in our hands. Our ambitions are to always remain a source of pride for our fans.”

“I think that a happy person is not the one who has much, but the one who knows how to give himself to people.”

In 2005, SCM established the Development of Ukraine Foundation, which was renamed the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation in March 2008.

“I think that the decision to do charitable work comes only from the bottom of your heart. Therefore, there is only one thing you need to feel: a huge desire to help people. A huge desire not to leave people in need to fend for themselves. If you want with all your heart to help, if you cannot stay indifferent to someone else’s suffering, then charity is your path and your destiny.” 

Since 2005, the foundation has focused on addressing pressing social problems such as tuberculosis, cancer, the development of a national adoption system and the prevention of orphanhood. It has provided emergency assistance to Ukrainians in difficult life circumstances, awarded grants for cultural projects and supported the development of museums.

“I have said many times and will repeat: charity is the ability to hear another person’s pain. It is a big heart that knows compassion, and it is a tremendous force that knows how to create.”

Since the beginning of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2014, the foundation has concentrated all its efforts on assisting the civilian population of Donbas (delivery of food and medicine, evacuation, resettlement and so on).

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the foundation has played a crucial role in providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

“Since the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian army into Ukraine, we have all been united by one goal: to win the war and return all lands occupied by the enemy. Everything we have done since 24 February 2022 has served this purpose. All our efforts have been aimed at helping Ukraine and Ukrainians.”

“My position has always been and will remain unambiguous: an independent, democratic and united Ukraine with Crimea and my native Donbas.”

In 2014, when Russian-backed separatists attempted to take control of Donetsk and other territories of Donbas in southeastern Ukraine, Mr Akhmetov publicly condemned their actions. He clearly expressed his support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and declared that Donbas could be successful and prosperous only as part of a united Ukraine.

“I am convinced that the so-called DPR deceives people. They deceive the people of Donbas. They are impostors: they have taken the entire Donbas hostage and are terrorising it… If anyone thinks they are leading us to success, that is a mistake, a great mistake. They are leading us to collapse, poverty, hunger and cold. With their actions, they are not defending Donbas: they are destroying Donbas.”

In February 2022, after then US President Joe Biden warned that Russia might launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mr Akhmetov decided to travel to Mariupol. On 15-16 February, he met city residents and workers of Metinvest metallurgical plants, announcing that he would continue to invest in Mariupol and Ukraine. 

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war caught Mr Akhmetov at his home in Kyiv. He was the first among Ukrainian business leaders to openly call Russia an aggressor state and Vladimir Putin a war criminal.

“Russia is an aggressor state, and Putin is a war criminal. Ukraine has always been a peaceful country and has never attacked anyone. But today, our towns, villages and infrastructure are being destroyed, and peaceful people are dying and suffering.”

Due to Mr Akhmetov’s pro-Ukrainian stance, in 2014-17, the Russian government and its separatist proxies illegally expropriated SCM’s assets in Crimea and the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics. During the full-scale aggression unleashed by Russia in 2022, many of SCM’s enterprises were damaged or destroyed by Russian forces. Mr Akhmetov’s businesses suffered enormous losses.

On 23 June 2022, Mr Akhmetov filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights against Russia seeking compensation for damages inflicted by its aggression since 24 February 2022 to more than 70 SCM assets. In 2023, he also initiated proceedings in international commercial arbitration regarding assets lost, destroyed or illegally expropriated by Russia since the start of its armed aggression against Ukraine in 2022.

As an investor, Mr Akhmetov has also launched another international arbitration case against Russia, demanding compensation for all losses caused by interference in or expropriation of assets and investments by the so-called DPR and LPR under Russia’s leadership or control in 2014-17. These assets include dozens of enterprises in the mining and metals and energy sectors, as well as real estate, particularly the Donbass Arena, in the construction of which over US$400 million was invested. The funds that the aggressor will be required to repay will, in the future, be allocated to the restoration of Ukraine and its integration into the economies of the European Union and other democratic countries.

“Evil cannot go unpunished. Russia’s crimes against Ukraine and every Ukrainian are outrageous. The guilty must be held accountable. This barbarity must be stopped, and Russia must pay in full. I believe in justice and the fight for it.”

“We have helped, we help now and we will continue to help peaceful people. And we will help our army and territorial defence to stop the military aggression against our country.” 

Throughout the entire period of Russian aggression since 2014, Rinat Akhmetov, through his statements and actions, has consistently defended Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence, supporting both civilians and defenders of the nation.

In 2014, when hostilities erupted in southeastern Ukraine, Mr Akhmetov decided to unite the resources of his charitable foundation, SCM businesses and Shakhtar FC to provide maximum assistance to residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions who were in danger.

The Humanitarian Centre established as a result of this initiative launched a large-scale programme to evacuate people from war zones, support internally displaced persons, and deliver humanitarian aid to people both in Ukrainian-controlled and temporarily occupied territories. Over its years of operation, the centre has distributed 12.5 million food packages, saving more than 3.5 million people in southeastern Ukraine from death, hunger and disease, making it the country’s largest humanitarian mission.

From the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Mr Akhmetov and his businesses, charitable foundation and football club have directed all their efforts into helping Ukraine and Ukrainians.

“SCM businesses, the Shakhtar football club and my charitable foundation are now focused on one goal only: helping Ukraine to win the war and helping peaceful Ukrainians to survive. SCM enterprises keep the country running, providing light and energy supplies. Another priority is humanitarian aid. We supply medicines and food, conduct evacuations and assist the Ukrainian army.”

To support Ukraine’s defenders, Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front initiative was launched. Its main goal is to save soldiers’ lives and help them to effectively resist the enemy, bringing Ukraine’s victory closer.

Steel Front has united all military aid from SCM businesses to the Ukrainian army, police and critical infrastructure workers. For them, Mr Akhmetov’s companies purchase vehicles, fuel, communication systems and protective equipment. Industrial enterprises of Metinvest Group produce special steel for body armour, steel shelters for soldiers and stoves for heating. DTEK’s energy enterprises provide free electricity to hospitals, bakeries and military and security structures.

“Steel Front is a contribution to our common victory and Ukraine’s future. Metinvest steel in 100,000 bulletproof vests protects the lives of our soldiers who defend Ukraine’s independence. Metinvest steel has also formed the basis of tens of thousands of defensive structures, tank obstacles and fortifications that help to stop the aggressor. Together, we will walk this path to victory, and afterwards, we will rebuild everything that has been destroyed.”

In January 2023, at Mr Akhmetov’s initiative, the Heart of Azovstal project was launched to provide systematic support to Mariupol’s defenders and their families.

“I decided to launch the Heart of Azovstal project to help the defenders of Mariupol and families of fallen soldiers. Their heroism is unparalleled in modern history. Thanks to them – their sacrifice and courage in holding back the enemy in the first months of the war – we all now feel the inevitability of Ukraine’s victory. I am allocating 1 billion hryvnias to help our soldiers and defenders and their families. The funds will cover various needs: from treatment, psychological support and prosthetics to fulfilling specific requests. To ensure transparency, a professional, independent team will be formed to work with the Azovstal defenders, their families, care services and volunteers. We owe our soldiers an eternal debt!”