02 May 2003 00:55
Human touch OBSERVER
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the influential Russian oil tycoon whom Forbes has
estimated to be Russia's richest man, has apparently decided that his
Dollars 8bn (Euros 7.2bn) fortune is insufficient to fund his philanthropic
aims.
Instead, he is using Yukos, the company in which he is the leading
shareholder, to pay Dollars 100m over the next decade to the Russian State
Humanitarian University.
A graduate of Moscow's prestigious but rather drier Chemical-
Technological Institute, perhaps Khodorkovsky had a secret unfulfilled wish
to study sociology or history when he was at university.
Yukos's other shareholders - which include many foreign financial
institutions - may be a little bit less romantic on the subject.
There again, given the rise in the company's share price in the past
three years, and the prospects of hefty dividends in the next few months
ahead of a planned merger with the Yukos rival Sibneft, they can hardly
complain. And, given the rumours that Khodorkovsky fancies a future political
career, his populist generosity could prove a prudent investment.
[FTI [The Financial Times]] |
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