What do the wives of the richest men in the world look like, who never deny themselves anything? Who guards the hearth of the oligarchs
What girl doesn't dream of marrying a billionaire? Okay, as a last resort - a millionaire. And what are the girls willing to do to meet generally accepted ideas about the wives of the richest! Diets, plastic surgery, first Botox at 19... And all because there is a stereotype: the spouses of billionaires are young, fit, long-legged, busty, high-cheeked, with 30-carat eyes. Hmm, but is that true?
The first “bell” of doubt sounded when photos of the wife of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, appeared on the Internet in a swimsuit. The online community examined photographs of the Chinese woman Priscilla Chan almost under a microscope, trying to understand what the young billionaire saw in this inconspicuous girl with short legs. Bloggers wrote irritably: one of the richest men on the planet “has a frankly ugly wife”! And they listed all the flaws found on the body and face of 30-year-old Priscilla. But the fact remains: Zuckerberg adores his imperfect wife and is not shy about demonstrating it. In the interview he laughs mischievously, but he doesn’t care about that, he loves her for her “simplicity and openness”!
You will be surprised, but the unusual Zuckerberg couple among billionaires is rather the rule than the exception. Let's prove this clearly - we publish photos of the wives of the richest men on the planet. We took billionaires from the top twenty of the Forbes ranking for 2015, excluding widowers, divorced people and those who, for some reason, hide their spouses from the paparazzi.
Melinda Gates - wife of Bill Gates
Melinda, 51, has been married to 60-year-old Microsoft founder Bill Gates for more than 20 years. The couple has three children and is actively involved in charity work. Fortunately, there is somewhere to get money for good deeds - Bill Gates still tops the ranking of the richest people on the planet. His fortune in 2015 was estimated at $79.2 billion.
By the way, in an interview, Bill Gates said that when they met, Melinda charmed him... with flat shoes. The fact is that a little earlier he had read that the lower the girls’ heels, the higher their intelligence. And he believed this controversial statement. But in the case of my future wife I was not mistaken!
Astrid Menks - wife of Warren Buffett
In second place in the Forbes ranking for last year is 85-year-old American entrepreneur Warren Buffett ($72.7 billion). 9 years ago he married Astrid Menks, a native of the USSR. The age difference between the “young” is 16 years: he is 85, she is 69. Before the wedding, the couple spent 29 years together! The couple met in a cafe in Nebraska, where Astrid Menks worked as a simple waitress.
Flora Perez Marcote - wife of Amancio Ortega
Last year, Spanish entrepreneur Amancio Ortega was in fourth place in the Forbes world ranking - his fortune was estimated at $64.5 billion. The rich man married for the second time in 2001.
His chosen one was Flora Perez Marcote, who had previously worked for Ortega as a secretary for a long time.
Julia Koch - wife of David Koch
David Koch owns a substantial sum of $42.9 billion. Much more is known about his fortune than about his wife, Julia Margaret Flesher. The couple got married in 1996. They are raising three children. The brilliant Julia could become the star of social events, but instead she devotes her time to her family and the Koch charitable foundation. Julia appears publicly very rarely.
Melanie Walton - wife of Robson Walton
Robson Walton, the son of the founder of the Wal-Mart chain of stores, is in 12th place in the Forbes ranking at the end of 2015. His fortune is estimated at $39.1 billion. Robson Walton married for the third time in 2005. His beloved Melanie will turn 42 this year, and Robson himself will be 72 in October.
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Melanie Walton is 30 years younger than her husband. Photo: www.flickr.com
Hélène Mercier - wife of Bernard Arnault
French businessman Bernard Arnault, whose fortune is estimated at $37.2 billion, is married for the second time - to the famous pianist from Canada Hélène Mercier. In her marriage, the owner of the fashion houses Dior, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton and Kenzo had three sons. In an interview, the pianist says that she was captivated by how Bernard Arnault plays Chopin, and not by his money.
By the way, it is from Bernard Arnault’s son, Antoine, that model Natalya Vodianova is now expecting her fifth child.
Diana Taylor - girlfriend of Michael Bloomberg
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is ranked 14th in Forbes' 2015 ranking. His fortune is $35.5 billion. Officially, 73-year-old Bloomberg is now divorced, but has been in a civil marriage with 60-year-old Diana Taylor (she is a successful investment banker) since 2000. The couple has repeatedly stated that they see no point in officially registering their relationship.
By the way, the day before it became known that Michael Bloomberg is ready to compete for the presidency of the United States. Perhaps, if he wins, he will still give Diana a gift in the form of the official status of First Lady?
Priscilla Chan - wife of Mark Zuckerberg
The 31-year-old founder of Facebook is in 16th place in the Forbes ranking for 2015 with a fortune of $33.4 billion. Billions are shared with him by 30-year-old Priscilla Chan, whom Zuckerberg married in 2012.
And recently - in December 2015 - Priscilla gave her husband a daughter, who was named Max. As the couple admitted, they took a very long time to have a child - Priscilla had 3 miscarriages. But, thank God, now they have charming Max, whom the famous parents, judging by their Facebook posts, simply dote on!
Miriam Oxhorn - wife of Sheldon Adelson
The 82-year-old American businessman with $31.4 billion in his account is married for the second time - to 71-year-old Miriam Oxhorn. The couple has been together for 25 years. But the story of their acquaintance cannot be called happy. Sheldon and Miriam met at a drug clinic. The gambling king was visiting his son from his first marriage there, and his future wife was a doctor. Alas, in 2005, Sheldon Adelson’s son died of a drug overdose; he was never cured. Miriam Oxhorn continues to conduct research on the fight against drug addiction.
Lucinda Southworth - Larry Page's wife
The fortune of one of the founders of the Google search engine was estimated at $29.7 billion in 2015, and it continues to grow steadily. 9 years ago, Larry Page, after just a few months of dating, married Lucinda Southworth, who is 7 years younger than him. Not much is known about Page's chosen one - she avoids publicity. The media only managed to find out that the girl studied biomedical informatics.
WHAT ABOUT OTHER FOREIGN RICH PEOPLE?
Melania Knavs - wife of Donald Trump
American businessman Donald Trump, who aspires to the presidency, did not make it into the top twenty richest people on the planet. His fortune is $10 billion. But I still want to mention his spectacular wife. The outrageous entrepreneur decided on a third marriage in 2004. He married Melania Knavs from Slovenia, who is 24 years his junior. Two years later, the beautiful Melania gave Trump a fifth son.
In addition to five children, the youngest of whom is only 10 years old, Trump currently has 7 grandchildren.
Tamika Bolton - wife of George Soros
No. 29 on the Forbes world list - George Soros - owns $24.2 billion. At the moment, he is 85 years old, which does not prevent the financier from leading an active life. Personal, including. In 2013, the billionaire married Tamika Bolton, who sold dietary supplements and vitamins and also taught yoga. This is already the third marriage for George Soros. The chosen one is 42 years younger than him!
WHAT ABOUT OUR BILLIONAIRE?
We also studied the personal lives of the top five Russians in the Forbes world ranking for 2015. The first two places went to divorced businessmen - Vladimir Potanin ($15.4 billion) and Mikhail Fridman ($14.6 billion).
And fifth on the list, Alexey Mordashov ($13 billion), reliably hides his second wife Elena from camera flashes. Perhaps the desire to avoid publicity is dictated by the bitter experience after the first marriage of the general director of Severstal OJSC. Let us remember that the businessman divorced his previous wife (also Elena) in 1996, but until 2003 all newspapers wrote about their litigation. Mordashov's ex-wife demanded a share in his property. The court rejected her. Almost nothing is known about Alexei’s second wife, except her name and the fact that she gave birth to two sons to the billionaire.
And we can show you the beautiful wives of the other two billionaires of the top five.
Irina Winner - wife of Alisher Usmanov
Since 1992, entrepreneur Alisher Usmanov (net worth: $14.4 billion, 71st place in the Forbes world ranking) has been married to rhythmic gymnastics coach Irina Viner.
Alisher Usmanov proposed to his beloved beautifully. He sent her a handkerchief. And according to Uzbek traditions, this means a marriage proposal.
Marina Vekselberg - wife of Viktor Vekselberg
The fortune of the president of the Skolkovo Foundation, Viktor Vekselberg, is estimated at $14.2 billion (73rd place in the Forbes world ranking for 2015). The billionaire hides his soulmate - Marina Vekselberg (nee Dobrynina) - from the general public. The paparazzi managed to photograph her only a few times. Vekselberg's wife turned out to be a surprisingly sweet and pleasant middle-aged woman. As the plastic surgeons who were shown Marina’s photo noted, no traces of any intervention were visible either on her face or on her figure. It is known that the couple met during their student years. During their marriage, Marina and Victor raised two children.
The billionaire hides his soulmate - Marina Vekselberg (nee Dobrynina) from widely
The exact date of birth of Marina Dobrynina did not appear in the media, but she is almost the same age as her husband, who was born in 1957.
You won’t see Viktor Vekselberg’s wife on the covers of glossy magazines; she doesn’t give interviews or attend social events. There is almost no information about it in the public domain.
It is only known that the future spouses met in their youth. They were students at the Moscow Institute of Railway Transport Engineers (MIIT) and met on one of the hikes. And after graduating from university, they got married. The couple has two adult children: the eldest daughter Irina (b. 1979) and the youngest son Alexander (b. 1988).
Marina was engaged in scientific activities, and now heads the Good Century charity foundation. This organization, founded in 2002, helps children and adults with mental disorders.
For the first time, the public saw in person the wife of one of the richest people in Russia at the opening of a children's somatic clinic in Severouralsk, where Sevuralboxytrud, the brainchild of Viktor Feliksovich, was located. The clinic staff did not immediately realize that this was the wife of a billionaire, she behaved so modestly.
Vekselberg himself rarely appears with her in public, trying not to make his personal life known to journalists.
When using the word “oligarch”, many people have associations with yachts, casinos and spectacular models. The heroes of our selection may have the first two points, but they prefer their beloved wives to models.
IRINA VINER-USMANOVA (WIFE OF ALISHER USMANOV, FOUNDER OF USM HOLDINGS)
In 1980, while in prison, Alisher Usmanov sent Irina Viner a scarf, which, according to Uzbek customs, means a marriage proposal. The lovers got married in 1992. Since then, Irina has been a loyal friend and a reliable support for her husband. “Alisher is a king, a god, he even has the same name. And I am a woman, and therefore just his creation. Edge. And he rarely lets anyone into his space. But this does not mean that we are not close. On the contrary, we understand each other, we talk, we consult, he criticizes me,” Irina shared the secrets of a successful marriage in one of her interviews.
IRINA AGALAROVA (WIFE OF CROCUS GROUP OWNER ARAZ AGALAROV)
Irina Agalarova met her future husband during her school years. After graduation, she and Araz got married. The couple have been happily married for more than 40 years and during this time they have not lost any interest in each other. According to Irina, the main thing is to develop and broaden your horizons all the time, then a man will never get bored with you.
LYUDMILA LISINA (WIFE OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF NOVOLIPETSK IMPLANT AND ASSET OWNER OF UNIVERSAL CARGO LOGISTICS HOLDING VLADIMIR LISIN)
Lyudmila Lisina is a person who does not like excessive attention to her person. She also met her husband during her school years and after some time received a marriage proposal from him. The couple had three children in their marriage, but family life is not the only thing that Lyudmila pays special attention to. She owns the private gallery “Seasons” on Sretensky Boulevard, and actively instills in her husband a love of art.
MARINA VEXELBERG (WIFE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE SKOLKOVO FOUNDATION, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE RENOVA GROUP OF COMPANIES VIKTOR VEXELBERG)
Victor and Marina Vekselberg met while studying at the capital's MIIT and, when they finally realized that the relationship had become too serious, they got married. Marina is an infrequent guest at social events; she does not appear on the covers of glossy magazines and is reluctant to give interviews. The businessman’s wife devotes all her attention to work. She heads the Dobry Vek charity foundation, which helps people with mental illnesses.
Galina Tsvetkova and her husband went through fire, water and copper pipes. When he and Nikolai got married, he was a career military man. In 2002, Galina became a shareholder of the company ZAO Lomonosov Porcelain Factory, and later acted as the owner of the enterprise. In addition, she is also on the board of the META Education Foundation and the Victoria Charitable Foundation.
Of course, Viktor Vekselberg is far from a television star and not a famous actor to lay claim to recognition and fame among the general public. However, the fact that he is fourth on the list of the richest people in our country cannot but arouse interest in his person on the part of media representatives and ordinary people. Naturally, when it comes to the personal lives of celebrities, family connections are the first thing that attracts attention. And here, for many years, the curious stumbled upon a blank wall, because wife of Viktor Vekselberg Marina Dobrynina she is not one of the famous socialites, and you don’t often see her accompanied by her husband.
Viktor Vekselberg and his chosen one met in their young student years, when both were studying at MIIT. Some time later, friendships grew into something more, and a little later the decision to start a family came. From the first days of marriage, Marina Dobrynina chose the role of the keeper of the hearth. Now, when Viktor Vekselberg ranks first in the list of the richest people, she still - probably out of habit - continues to stay in the shadow of her husband. Now the wife of a billionaire and businessman is engaged in charity work through the Good Century Foundation, created and managed by her personally. Thanks to the activities of this fund, many children's institutions and clinics received the necessary expensive equipment. Moreover, representatives of the press have repeatedly mentioned in their essays that Viktor Vekselberg’s wife is distinguished by modesty unusual for women of her rank.
In the photo - Viktor Vekselberg with his wife and children
The wife gave her billionaire husband two children - daughter Irina and son Alexander, who also do not appear in the scandalous gossip columns. All that is known about the children of Viktor Vekselberg is that the eldest daughter is receiving higher education at Yale University, and the son is studying at school in New Jersey. This union could have served as an example of fidelity and stability if it had not been for the rumors that have recently flooded the Internet about Viktor Vekselberg’s possible affair with socialite Maria Conte. Of course, no one from the press has any reliable data confirming such guesses, so these rumors remain just rumors. Naturally, a businessman whose personal life remains shrouded in such secrecy is not going to give any official explanation. Be that as it may, his first student love Marina Dobrynina remains the legal wife of Viktor Vekselberg to this day, and nothing so far indicates that her status threatens to change in the near future.
Creator of the foundation with the symbolic name “Good Century”
"Biography"
Education
Graduated from MIIT
Activity
He heads the Dobry Vek charity support foundation (founded in 2002), which helps children and adults with mental disorders.
The main work of the foundation is to support state and public organizations; the foundation oversees more than 100 projects for the rehabilitation of mental patients and helps create rehabilitation centers.
The foundation holds a festival of creativity for people with mental disorders “Ariadne’s Thread”.
Since 2008, together with the Nikita Mikhalkov Foundation, “Urga-Territory of Love” has been helping film veterans.
Family
Married. Children: daughter and son.
"Family"
Husband - Russian entrepreneur, manager, president of the Skolkovo Foundation, chairman of the board of directors of the Renova group of companies. After Rosneft purchased 50% of TNK-BP in October 2012, Vekselberg became the richest person in Russia: his fortune, according to Bloomberg, increased by $1.5 billion and was estimated at $18 billion; Vekselberg beat Alisher Usmanov, who had headed the list of Russian billionaires since March 2012, by $700 million. Currently (as of 2016) lives in Russia.
Son - - Works at the Columbus Nova investment fund, part of the Renova structure, owns two car dealerships in the United States of America
Daughter — — Director of the Specialized Endowment Fund “Faberge Museum”, worked in the structures of “Renova”, as an investment specialist
"Companies"
"Good Century"
"News"
“Our American cousin”: what Vekselberg risks losing in the USA
Viktor Vekselberg and his Renova turned out to be the most unexpected targets of the latest US sanctions. RBC figured out what Vekselberg has in the United States and what damage sanctions could cause to his interests in the West
One among strangers
The main surprise of the new US sanctions against Russia, announced on April 6, was the inclusion in them of the owner of the Renova group, Viktor Vekselberg, perhaps the most loyal Russian “oligarch” to the American establishment with extensive connections and interests in the West. In 2005, an American court called Vekselberg a “permanent resident of the United States.” And last year, it was Vekselberg who told Vladimir Putin at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum about how the Russia-US business dialogue is proceeding, and on behalf of American and Russian business he expressed hope for the development of economic relations.
What the wives of the richest Russian businessmen and officials look like
Every year, Forbes, the favorite magazine of hunters for big easy money, compiles a list of the richest people in Russia. Their number invariably includes Alisher Usmanov, Andrey Melnichenko, Ziyad Manasir, Vladimir Potanin and other equally famous personalities.
It is noteworthy that almost all of them are happily married. We decided to see what kind of great women are behind the most influential and richest men in our country.
The wives of the majority of participants in the ranking of the richest people in Russia according to Forbes lead an extremely private lifestyle. Their names appear in the press either in connection with high-profile breakups, as in the case of Dasha Zhukova and Natalya Potanina, or in connection with personal successes, as in the case of the President of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation Irina Viner or the famous psychologist Elena Feigin.
Non-public personality of Marina Dobrynina
Marina is the institute’s first love, constant life partner and wife of the world-famous Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Today she looks much younger than her 57-year-old husband, although they are almost the same age. And it is not surprising, because any woman, and especially the wife of a famous person, is simply obliged to look perfect, beautiful and charming, even despite the fact that she is not a public figure and tries to appear in public and communicate with the press as little as possible. With Victor, they studied at the university together, after which they got married. And even then the young wife immediately went into the shadows, completely devoting herself to the family and raising two children.
10 oligarchs who love smart people.
Marina Dobrynina, the modest and intelligent wife of Viktor Vekselberg, chairman of the board of directors of the Renova group of companies, decided to devote her life to children. They studied together at MIIT, met on a student trip, got married after graduating from high school.
Who is “covering the rear” of the Russian oligarchs?
Among those who hide their significant other from the general public is multimillionaire, owner of the Renova group of companies and general director of the Skolkovo innovation center Viktor Vekselberg. “His wife Marina Dobrynina never appeared in gossip sections, you won’t see her on TV, and the press wrote about her only a couple of times, and then only one line at a time. For the first time, the wife of one of the richest people in Russia appeared before the public in the Sverdlovsk region, and not even in Yekaterinburg, but in small Severouralsk, writes Ura.Ru. — Marina Dobrynina really doesn’t look like a socialite
Vekselberg's wife has been declassified. PHOTOS are published for the first time
The spouses of many large businessmen are socialites, extravagant party girls, and queens of prestigious parties. Other oligarchs try not to show their chosen ones to the general public. Among the latter is multimillionaire Viktor Vekselberg. His wife Marina Dobrynina never appeared in gossip sections, you won’t see her on TV, and the press wrote about her only a couple of times, and then only one line at a time. For the first time, the wife of one of the richest people in Russia appeared before the public in the Sverdlovsk region, and not even in Yekaterinburg, but in small Severouralsk. Exclusive photographs of the billionaire and her love story are in the material “URA.Ru”.
The wives of Russian oligarchs preferred charity
Marina Dobrynina, wife of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renova CJSC Viktor Vekselberg, founder, together with her husband, of the Good Century charity support foundation. Assistance to patients in psychiatric hospitals and their relatives, activities aimed at reforming the mental health care system as a whole. “Good Century” collaborates with Nikita Mikhalkov’s foundation “Urga - Territory of Love”, helping cinema veterans. The businessman does not advertise this activity. More famous are his “Link of Times” foundation and Faberge eggs.
The Mikhalkov Foundation allocated about 5 million rubles to help film veterans
“At the last festival we presented our foundation, and today we would like to talk about what we have already managed to do, what specific assistance we have been able to provide,” said Mikhalkov. “The very idea of creating such a fund that could provide financial and medical assistance to film veterans came to me after I despaired of fighting with representatives of the Moscow Union of Cinematographers, who did not want to understand and do not want to understand that it is necessary to create a pension fund.”
Cultural and Historical Foundation "Link of Times"
At the same time, Viktor Vekselberg and his wife Marina established the Dobry Vek family foundation, which provides support to people with mental illnesses and is engaged in reform of the mental health care system.
Serious Conversations of the Film Elite: Film Academy Lunch
Finally, the main organizer of what was happening, Nikita Mikhalkov, appeared. After greeting his acquaintances, he gave several interviews and introduced the journalists to Marina Dobrynina, a colleague of the Urga - Territory of Love fund for helping cinema veterans, the head of the Good Century charity organization, and the wife of businessman Viktor Vekselberg.
The wife of... Viktor Vekselberg came to Rossel
Candidate Rossel gives it his all. He has a cold and is tired, but he holds fifteen meetings a day, gets up in the dark and goes to bed late in the evening. Our correspondent continues to accompany the governor on this trip. In the next report - about the meeting of the head of the region with the wife of Viktor Vekselberg, the new political star of the Sverdlovsk region and the first “matyuka” of Eduard Rossel.
Gala reception organized by the Fund for Assistance to Cinema Veterans “Urga - Territory of Love”
The reception was opened by Nikita Sergeevich Mikhalkov and President of the Good Century Foundation Marina Dobrynina. The reception was attended by stars of Soviet and Russian cinema.
Who's whose husband
The famous businessman Viktor Vekselberg met his wife Marina Dobrynina during his student years. The couple have two adult children - a daughter and a son. Marina Dobrynina is a former scientist who now heads the Good Century charity foundation.
Fund for assistance to cinema veterans “Urga – Territory of Love”
Providing assistance to cinema veterans is a joint project of the Fund for Assistance to Cinema Veterans “Urga - Territory of Love” (President – Nikita Sergeevich Mikhalkov, Executive Director – Klim Anatolyevich Lavrentiev) and the V. Vekselberg family foundation – Charitable Support Fund “Good Century” (President – Marina Viktorovna Dobrynina, executive director – Valentina Konstantinovna Timonina).