Russians rising in City's circles
The growing ranks of very wealthy Russians who have taken up residence in London might be best known for buying expensive houses and taking stakes in top football clubs. But increasingly, these emigrant Russian billionaires are intertwining themselves in the social and cultural fabric of the capital, becoming big acquirers of art and taking a prominent role in philanthropy.
In a series of sales featuring Russian works of art at London's leading auction houses earlier this month, Sotheby's raised GBP 39.7 million ($78.5 million) in three days, surpassing the estimated GBP 30 million the auction house anticipated. Sotheby's says between 70% and 80% of buyers were from Russia or former Soviet states.
Wealthy London-based Russians also have become substantial buyers of high-profile international works. Sotheby's estimates that Russian buyers of Impressionist and Modern art at its February auction this year accounted for 15% of sales, compared with 9% in 2007.
Roman Abramovich, a high-profile Russian business tycoon and owner of the famed Chelsea Football Club, was identified by Art Newspaper as the buyer of Francis Bacon's "Triptych, 1976," which Sotheby's sold in New York last month for $86.3 million, the highest amount ever paid for a postwar work of art.
Now active philanthropists, many wealthy Russians attended the recent Raisa Gorbachev Foundation fund-raiser in London, organized by Alexander Lebedev, a Russian entrepreneur who owns about a third of Aeroflot.
The event, to benefit Russian children with cancer and Marie Curie Cancer Care, a U.K. charity, attracted a celebrity crowd including actor Hugh Grant, U2's Bono and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. It raised GBP 2.9 million, nearly three times last year's GBP 1.1 million.
Now in its third year, the event is firmly established among the top charitable evenings on London's social calendar. Mr. Lebedev said he hopes to expand the guest list next year "to make this annual dinner broader in scope than some of the other similar fund-raising events in London -- attracting givers from a wide variety of backgrounds."
- By David Bain
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