Len Blavatnik

Blavatnik was born in Odessa, Soviet Ukraine, to a Jewish family. He attended Moscow State University of Railway Engineering, but did not complete his coursework due to the family's request for emigration visas. His family emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States of America in 1978, and he received a master's degree in computer science from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1989.

In 1986, Blavatnik founded Access Industries, an international conglomerate company located in New York, of which he is chairman and president. Access has long-term holdings in Europe and North and South America. Initially, he moved into Russian investments, just after the fall of communism. He and a friend from university, Viktor Vekselberg, formed the Renova investment vehicle, and then the two joined with Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group to form the AAR venture. Access has since diversified its portfolio to include investments in industries such as oil, entertainment, coal, aluminum, petrochemicals and plastics, telecommunications, media, and real estate.

AAR gained a controlling stake in Russian oil company TNK through privatization auctions, then in 2003 sold a 50% stake to British Petroleum to form TNK-BP, one of Russia's largest oil companies, where Blavatnik served on the board of directors. On March 21, 2013, Rosneft completed its $55 billion acquisition of TNK-BP. Blavatnik also has interests in UC Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer, where he sits on the board.

In August 2005, Access Industries bought petrochemicals and plastics manufacturer Basell Polyolefins from Royal Dutch Shell and BASF for $5.7 billion. On December 20, 2007, Basell completed its acquisition of the Lyondell Chemical Company for an enterprise value of approximately $19 billion. The resulting company, LyondellBasell Industries then became the world's eighth largest chemical company based on net sales. On January 6, 2009, the U.S. operations of LyondellBasell Industries filed for bankruptcy.

On April 30, 2010, LyondellBasell emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a significantly improved financial position. As part of its exit financing, LyondellBasell raised $3.25 billion of first priority debt as well as $2.8 billion through the rights offering jointly underwritten by Access Industries, Apollo Management, and Ares Management. LyondellBasell stock has increased 103% in value since April 2010. Access currently owns approximately 14% of LyondellBasell.

In 2010, Blavatnik sued JPMorgan Chase after losing $100 million by allegedly following Morgan's advice three years earlier to buy mortgage securities with AAA credit ratings. JPMorgan Chase was ordered to pay $50 million to Blavatnik on August 27, 2013.

In early 2010, Access Industries was reported as one of the handful of bidders for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

In 2010, it was announced that Blavatnik and the Blavatnik Family Foundation would donate £75 million to the University of Oxford to establish a new school of government. The gift is one of the largest philanthropic gifts in the university's 900-year history. Blavatnik also indicated the possibility of increasing his benefaction up to £100 million over time. The Blavatnik School of Government began accepting students in September 2012, and the new permanent home of the school was constructed on the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter. The building, which was finished in summer 2015, was designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. The first dean of the school is professor Ngaire Woods.

On May 6, 2011, Warner Music Group announced its sale to Access for US$3.3 billion. On July 20, 2011, an Access affiliate acquired Warner Music Group for $3.3 billion.

In 2011, Blavatnik donated to both President Barack Obama and his GOP rival, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

Blavatnik also owns AI Film, the independent film and production company which backed Lee Daniels’ film The Butler and the summer 2015 release Mr. Holmes. He was an early investor in Rocket Internet and Beats Music, helped finance fashion designer Tory Burch, and in 2013 paid $115 million for wireless spectrum in Norway.

In 2013, Harvard University announced a $50 million donation from Blavatnik's foundation to sponsor life sciences entrepreneurship at the university and named the first five HBS graduates to receive the Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship. In 2018, Harvard Medical School announced a $200 million donation from Blavatnik's foundation to sponsor research, investments in data science, and the creation of subsidized lab space for biotech startups.

In 2013 Blavatnik was made chevalier of the French Legion d'Honneur. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to philanthropy.

In 2016, Blavatnik launched Access Entertainment, which bought James Packer's stake in RatPac Entertainment and a 24.9% stake in Bad Wolf in 2017.

Blavatnik is a supporter of the US Republican Party, and in 2015–2016 donated a total of $7.35 million to six Republican political candidates, including South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Arizona Senator John McCain. In February 2016, Blavatnik donated over $1 million to an anti-Donald Trump GOP group. He also donated $1 million to the committee for the inauguration of Donald Trump. In August 2017, political scientist Bo Rothstein resigned from the Blavatnik School of Government out of opposition to Blavatnik's politics.

In 2017, after two senior Trump administration officials went on record as being lobbyists for Blavatnik's Access Industries, Blavatnik was mentioned in investigations led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian donations to the administration. Since April 2016 Blavatnik contributed $383,000 to the Republican National Committee and $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. However, he did not give directly to the Trump campaign. Between 2015 and 2017, Blavatnik contributed $3.5 million to Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell's super PAC.

In April 2018, it was reported that Blavatnik was a front runner in the bidding to purchase Britain's third oldest theatre, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Sources report that the bid is around £40 million