Andrei Skoch

Early life

Andrei Skoch was born near Moscow, Russia. He was educated at the Institute of Physical Culture.

Career

He worked for MontazhSpetsBank before joining fellow billionaire Alisher Usmanov in the metals business.

Skoch met Usmanov in 1995, while he was working as an oil trader for the bank. Together with Len Kvetnoi, and Skoch, Usmanov’s first purchases were the Lebedinsky Mining and a steel production plant in Belgorod.

Skoch went to work at Lebedinsky Mining. Usmanov formed the Metalloinvest conglomerate in 2006 after the acquisition of Mikhailovsky GOK. The merge included Lebedinsky Mining, and Skoch continues to be a partner in the company. Koch owns 30% of Metalloinvest, though the shares are reportedly held in his father Vladimir’s name.

In 1999, he became a member of the Russian parliament's lower house (State Duma). According to Forbes, Skoch has a net worth of $6.3 billion, as of January 2015.

Philanthropy

He is a creator of the humanitarian Pokolenie ("Generation") Foundation.

He has reportedly donated over $117 million, a portion of which was earmarked for the restoration of war monuments in Russia. Through the Pokolenie Foundation, Skoch is the sponsor of the Debut Prize, a literary award for Russian writers under the age of 25.

Honours

In 2010, he received the Russian Order of Honour for outstanding contribution to the perpetuation of the memory of Russian and Soviet soldiers who died in the territory of the People's Republic of China, and active charity.