12 February 2022 was one of the great days in Roman Abramovich’s life. His football club, Chelsea, beat Brazilian Palmeiras 2–1 in the final and won the Club World Cup for the first time. Having practically invented sports washing when he bought Chelsea in 2003, February 12 was the day his club won everything there was to win. Together with coach Thomas Tuchel and the Chelsea players, Abramovich celebrated the victory on the turf in Abu Dhabi, writes Bloomberg. On 12 February last year, Roman Abramovich celebrated with the Chelsea players on the pitch in Abu Dhabi after the club had won the Club World Cup. Photo: Hassan Ammar / AP Forced to sell 12 days after he was on top, everything unraveled when Russia invaded Ukraine. Britain was quick to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs, a group that had been welcomed to the country for years. On March 10, Abramovich was sanctioned because of his “clear ties” to Putin’s regime, writes the Guardian. The result is that he cannot sell his two luxury properties in London. That includes, among other things, a house with 15 bedrooms in the Kensington district, writes the Guardian. He is said to have paid 120 million pounds – over NOK 1.4 billion – for the property. Abramovich was also forced to sell Chelsea for around 4 billion pounds, or around 50 billion kroner. Although it is not definitively settled, there is little chance that Abramovich will ever see anything for that money. The same applies to around NOK 60 billion that Abramovich had in so-called hedge funds. The US authorities have seized them. The US has also seized two luxuriously equipped private planes belonging to the 56-year-old Russian. It concerns a Boeing 787 Dreamliner worth 350 million dollars and a Gulfstream worth 60 million dollars. The Dreamliner is considered to be the world’s most expensive private plane. “Eclipse”, one of Roman Abramovich’s yachts, at anchor near Marmaris in Turkey on July 1, 2022. Photo: Suzan Fraser / AP Two superyachts Abramovich probably also owns several large yachts. Because the ownership is hidden through a number of straw companies, it is difficult to prove the ownership, but Abramovich disposes of the boats. Or the ships, which is perhaps a more correct term. The largest of them is “Eclipse”, which is 162.5 meters long. The second and newest “Solaris” was built in 2021 and is 140 meters long. It is as far as Hurtigruten’s new ship “Roald Amundsen”. A number of other Russian oligarchs have had their huge yachts confiscated as a result of sanctions following Russia’s invasion, writes Superyacht Times. According to Bloomberg, Abramovich has a total of four yachts that he owns or is linked to. Abramovich has managed to keep his yachts out of the hands of Western countries who want to confiscate them. The yachts are anchored in Turkish waters and Turkey is not part of the sanctions regime. The result is still not so good for Abramovich. He can hardly sail anywhere with them, as he risks having them confiscated. “Solaris”, one of Roman Abramovich’s yachts, at anchor in Montenegro. Photo: STEVO VASILJEVIC / Reuters Bad end to the year The bad news has continued throughout the year for Abramovich. On the Monday before Christmas, the authorities in Canada announced that they are starting a process to confiscate 26 million dollars from a company owned by the Russian. That’s what Bloomberg writes. Canada says it will use the money for the reconstruction of Ukraine and to compensate the victims of the war. Roman Abramovich’s private Dreamliner is considered to be the world’s most expensive private plane. The US Department of Justice has seized the plane. Photo: AFP Lost almost NOK 1,000 billion In total, Russian oligarchs have lost 95 billion dollars – up to NOK 1,000 billion – due to the sanctions following the invasion on 24 February last year. The Guardian writes that. Abramovich is the one of the oligarchs who has lost the most money. According to Bloomberg’s overview of billionaires, his fortune has been reduced by 10.2 billion dollars – around 100 billion kroner – during the year. His fortune has thus fallen 57 per cent in value. The result is that he has fallen to 260th place on the list of the world’s richest. With a fortune of 7.82 billion, the Russian has continued to add salt to his diet. His problem is that if he tries to sell any of what he has left, that money can also be confiscated.
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Abramovich has lost Chelsea and more than half his fortune – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
