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RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE SERGEY GALITSKY: I AM PROUD OF MY ARMENIAN ROOTS
by Emil Sanamyan
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2013-12-11-russian-billionaire-sergey-galitsky-i-am-proud-of-my-armenian-roots
Published: Wednesday December 11, 2013
Sergey Galitsky. Courtesy image
WASHINGTON - One of the richest people in Russia, who owns of the
country's biggest retail chain that he created from the ground up,
discussed his Armenian background in a live radio program.
In the December 10 interview with Mayak that was mostly dedicated to
football and Galitsky's role as the owner of FC Krasnodar, a Russian
premiere league side, Sergey Galitsky was asked if reports of his
Armenian background were true and if he speaks Armenian.
"75 percent of my ethnic background is Russian and 25 percent is
Armenian," Galitsky said in the interview. "Since I grew up in a
Russian environment, I unfortunately do not know the Armenian language,
nevertheless I am proud of my Armenian roots."
Galitsky is also in part responsible for the rise of the Armenian
national team star forward Yura Movsisyan, who was scouted by FC
Krasnodar from Denmark in 2011. Last year, Movsisyan transferred
to Spartak Moscow, but according to Galitsky remains one of his
favorite players.
Galitsky was born Sergey Harutyunyan in Lazarevskoye, a suburb of
the city of Sochi, the upcoming site of the Winter Olympic Games.
(Incidentally, Lazarevskoe is named after a Russian admiral of Armenian
descent Mikhail Lazarev.) According to media reports, Galitsky took
on his wife's family name when he got married.
After opening his first grocery store in 1998, the Magnit retail
chain grew to include more than 5,000 stores, employing more than
200,000 people around Russia. According to Forbes, Galitsky's personal
wealth amounts to $8.2 billion, making him the richest known person
of Armenian descent in the world.
The wealth of 96-year-old Armenian American Kirk Kerkorian is currently
estimated at about $3.9 billion, leaving him nearly "tied" with another
Russian Armenian billionaire, 48-year-old real estate developer Samvel
Karapetian, estimated to be worth $3.8 billion. Both Kerkorian and
Karapetian have invested in large-scale infrastructure projects in
Armenia, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
In other Armenian billionaire news, brothers Sergey and Nikolay
Sarkisov, co-owners of Russian RESO-Garantia insurance and worth $1.35
billion each, were recently appointed Armenia's consuls general in
Los Angeles and Lyon, respectively.
by Emil Sanamyan
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2013-12-11-russian-billionaire-sergey-galitsky-i-am-proud-of-my-armenian-roots
Published: Wednesday December 11, 2013
Sergey Galitsky. Courtesy image
WASHINGTON - One of the richest people in Russia, who owns of the
country's biggest retail chain that he created from the ground up,
discussed his Armenian background in a live radio program.
In the December 10 interview with Mayak that was mostly dedicated to
football and Galitsky's role as the owner of FC Krasnodar, a Russian
premiere league side, Sergey Galitsky was asked if reports of his
Armenian background were true and if he speaks Armenian.
"75 percent of my ethnic background is Russian and 25 percent is
Armenian," Galitsky said in the interview. "Since I grew up in a
Russian environment, I unfortunately do not know the Armenian language,
nevertheless I am proud of my Armenian roots."
Galitsky is also in part responsible for the rise of the Armenian
national team star forward Yura Movsisyan, who was scouted by FC
Krasnodar from Denmark in 2011. Last year, Movsisyan transferred
to Spartak Moscow, but according to Galitsky remains one of his
favorite players.
Galitsky was born Sergey Harutyunyan in Lazarevskoye, a suburb of
the city of Sochi, the upcoming site of the Winter Olympic Games.
(Incidentally, Lazarevskoe is named after a Russian admiral of Armenian
descent Mikhail Lazarev.) According to media reports, Galitsky took
on his wife's family name when he got married.
After opening his first grocery store in 1998, the Magnit retail
chain grew to include more than 5,000 stores, employing more than
200,000 people around Russia. According to Forbes, Galitsky's personal
wealth amounts to $8.2 billion, making him the richest known person
of Armenian descent in the world.
The wealth of 96-year-old Armenian American Kirk Kerkorian is currently
estimated at about $3.9 billion, leaving him nearly "tied" with another
Russian Armenian billionaire, 48-year-old real estate developer Samvel
Karapetian, estimated to be worth $3.8 billion. Both Kerkorian and
Karapetian have invested in large-scale infrastructure projects in
Armenia, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
In other Armenian billionaire news, brothers Sergey and Nikolay
Sarkisov, co-owners of Russian RESO-Garantia insurance and worth $1.35
billion each, were recently appointed Armenia's consuls general in
Los Angeles and Lyon, respectively.