Vladimir Potanin (Âëàäèìèð Îëåãîâè÷ Ïîòàíèí) was born on Jan. 3, 1961 in Moscow.

Education: International economy, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, 1983.

Potanin was active in the Komsomol, or Young Communist League, as a young man. Little else is known about his early years.

1983-1990: Soyuzpromexport, a division of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Trade. Potanin began his career as an engineer and was later promoted to a senior position dealing with trade in fertilizers and ore (story).

c.1990: Became president of the Interros Foreign Trade Association, which traded nonferrous metals, including aluminum, copper and lead. He co-founded Interros with Mikhail Prokhorov.

1992–1993: Vice president, then president of the International Company for Finance and Investments (MFK), a bank

1993: Became president of the United Export-Import Bank (Oneximbank), while remaining chairman of MFK's board of directors (story 1, 2)

c.1995: Principle author of the "loans-for-shares" program, in which large state-owned assets were leased out in return for cash. Oneximbank was one of two banks authorized by the State Property Committee to collect applications for participation in the tenders, as well as the bids. In 1995, Oneximbank and MFK acquired shares in Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest producer of nickel, oil major Sidanko, the Northwest Steamship Line and the Novolipetsk metallurgical combine for a combined $337 million. By some estimates, they were worth at least several times more, notably the Norilsk stake (story).

1996: One of the oligarchs that helped re-elect Boris Yeltsin

1996: Potanin and George Soros acquired shares in telecoms company Svyazinvest. Soros later called it the worst investment he ever made.

August 1996-March 1997: First deputy prime minister in charge of the economy, overseeing a bloc which includes the Economics Ministry, the State Committee for Anti-Monopoly Policy, the State Property Committee and other agencies. The appointment was interpreted as a political guarantee that the result of the loans-for-shares auctions would not be reversed (story).

May 1997-1998: President of Oneximbank

Fall 1997: Founded media holding ProfMedia to run Oneximbank's media holdings. ProfMedia currently owns magazines, radio stations, movie theaters and broadcasts Russian versions of MTV and VH1.

May 1998: Become chairman of the board of Interros holding, which brought together Interros, Norilsk Nickel and Sidanko

November 2000: Became a member of the Union of Russian Industrialists

November 2005: Became a member of the Public Chamber

January 2007: Potanin and Mikhail Prokhorov, co-owners of Interros, announce their intention to split their assets (story)

Forbes estimated Potanin's wealth at $17.8 billion in 2011, making him the fourth richest person in Russia and the 34th richest person in the world (source).

He is married and has three children.