Page 38 - bne_Magazine_May_2017_print

38 I Cover story bne May 2017
Ion Sturza Moldova (4)
Ion Sturza, 56, has come a long
way from the Moldovan village of Pirjolteni, 50km northwest of Chi- sinau, writes Clare Nuttall. Estimates of Sturza’s net worth vary, but he is now believed to be worth around $100mn.
After the collapse of communism, Sturza developed several businesses in Moldova during the 1990s, includ- ing Incon, an industrial group active in the food and beverages industry.
He also entered politics, founding the Alliance for Democracy and Reforms and gaining a seat in parliament in the 1998 election. He was swiftly appointed economy minister in Ion Ciubuc’s government, where he initi- ated a number of economic and social reforms including fiscal and agrarian reform as well as major privatisations.
After Ciubuc’s unexpected resignation in February 1999, Sturza became prime minister. However, his term in office was short lived, as the government collapsed just 11 months later when several parties withdrew from the coali- tion in protest against plans to privatise some wine and tobacco companies.
Sturza then worked with Romania’s Rompetrol Group, and contributed to the $2.7bn sale of 75% of the com- pany to KazMunaiGas in 2007. After the sale of Rompetrol, Sturza founded Fribourg Capital in Romania, which acts like a venture capital and private equity investor, with commitments in technology, agriculture, real estate
and industrial production. Its portfolio includes Romanian e-commerce com- pany elefant.ro and Liberty Technology Park in Romania’s second city Cluj.
Sturza enthused about the tech park in an interview with bne IntelliNews, say- ing the aim was to attract talent from around the world and thereby “create this density of talents which will help us create a new Google or Facebook”.
He was also bullish about fintech,
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KOSOVO
MACEDONIA
1
Behgjet Pacolli
$545mn Construction
Kosovo’s richest man Behgjet Pacolli (65) is co-founder, president and CEO of the conglomer- ate Mabetex, headquartered in Lugano. Mabetex renovated the Kremlin as well as completing con- struction projects in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
1
$25mn
Trading, finance, construction, healthcare
Jordan (Orce) Kamcev
Kamcev, 46, is the youngest entry on Macedo- nia’s rich list. The Orka Holding owner also owns Acibadem Sistina hospital, Stopanska Banka
– Bitola, and construction company Beton Stip, though he recently exited his investment in news- paper publisher MPM.
2
$25mn Metallurgy
Minco Jordanov
Jordanov, 73, is the owner of Makstil steel mill, and a shareholder in construction firm Beton, metal processing company Fakom, Stobi winery and numerous other companies. He was also deputy prime minister in the Social Democrat- led government of 2005-2006.
3
$22mn
Oil trading
Andreja Josifovski
Josifovski, 65, is the CEO of oil trading and dis- tribution company Makpetrol. He also owns oil products transport company Oilko and opposition broadcaster Telma.
MOLDOVA
1
Vlad Plahotniuc
$2.3bn
Media, banking, energy
The power behind Prime Minister Pavel Filip’s government, Plahotniuc (51) is the most influen- tial Moldovan as well as the richest. Plahotniuc’s first major business was developing the local branch of Romanian (at that time state-owned) oil company Petrom in 2001.
2
Anatol Stati
$500mn Oil and gas
Stati (64) is an exception to the politicians on Mol- dova’s rich list; his businesses are in upstream oil and gas, located in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iraqi Kurdistan and South Sudan. In Moldova, the Stati family operates in agriculture, real estate, construction and insurance.
3
Ilan Shor
$1bn
Insurance, pharmaceuticals, retail
Israel-born Shor (30) is the heir to Miron Shor, who died in 2005 after building up a business empire in Moldova starting with insurance and duty-free shops, and later diversifying into other sectors in- cluding pharmaceuticals and retail. Investigations have shown he was the recipient of $1bn stolen from three Moldova banks, though it is not clear whether he was the ultimate beneficiary.
Name Net worth
Sector