- Kirill Shamalov 42, became a billionaire barely one year after marrying Katrina Tikhonova, the second daughter of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin in 2013 but unfortunately lost almost 50% of his wealth in 2018 after they divorced
- His father, Nikolai Shamalov has been in the inner circle of the Russian government, reportedly managing the president’s finances even though he has been sanctioned by a couple of countries
- Shamalov reportedly filed for divorce from his second marriage with Russian socialite, Zhanna Volkova whom he married in 2018 claiming the marriage was invalid
The vice-president of SIbur holding is also a businessman and a former economic advisor to the Russian government. Kirill has been sanctioned twice for quite a number of reasons by the United States and most recently by the British government in relation to the invasion of Ukraine.
According to Forbes, Shamalov became Russia’s youngest billionaire at the age of 32.
Kirill Shamalov Is the Son of Nikolai Shamalov
Kirill Nikolayevich Shamalov was born on March 22, 1982. His father is the renowned Belarusian-born businessman and dentist, Nikolai Shamalov who worked as a dentist until the 1990s when he founded the company, Masterdentservis.
Nikolai Shamalov was listed as the 198th richest Russian in 2011 by Forbes however, he has been under sanctions by the European Union other international bodies and countries. The sanctions reportedly include freezing his accounts and restricting his travel rights.
Kirill’s father was involved in some internal money laundering, corruption, and bribery investigation in 2008. He allegedly refused to answer questions about the case while he was working as a representative of Siemens in St. Petersburg. The investigation led to his dismissal from the company.
He started working under Vladimir Putin in the Committee on External Relations of the St. Petersburg Mayor’s Office from 1993 to 1995. Then on November 10, 1996, he became a founding member of Vladimir Putin’s closed gate community, the cooperative Ozero.
His family and that of Putin shared a strong bond as they reportedly vacationed together in Davos Switzerland in early 1997.
In 2004, after Yuri Kovalchuk and Dmitry Vladimirovich Gorelov became co-owners of Bank Rossiya, Kirill’s father got the second-largest stake in the bank.
Ever since Kirill’s father has been reportedly involved in quite a number of governmental operations. He was reportedly in charge of updating Putin on the status of his offshore wealth and hidden accounts.
During the Russo-Ukarianian War, his ownership of Rossiya Bank made him and Yuri Kovalchuk the most important investors.
Kirill Shamalov’s only brother Yuri Shamalov has also worked under Vladimir Putin.
Kirill Shamalov Married Vladimir Putin’s Daughter in 2013
Even though the Russian president has been very discreet with his personal life, the news about his daughter marrying one of the sons of his closest friend and associate came to light after the wedding.
The former couple Kirill and Katerina married in February 2013 at the Iggora ski resort in the Leningrad region. According to reports, the couple invited 100 guests including six officers of the presidential security service. After the wedding, the newlyweds spent their honeymoon in Mauritius.
However, after the wedding, Kirill’s fortunes began to skyrocket. He was able to acquire a large number of shares in a major Russian oil within 18 months of marriage. He reportedly quit his job as a business manager and started his own company in other to run his personal investments.
Also, he reportedly borrowed more than $1 billion after one year of marrying Katrina. The loan was given to him by a bank that was headed by one of Putin’s longtime associates. He used the money to make an investment in Sibur and within a few months, he got a high amount of profit.
Other reports claim that Kiril received a host of proposals to buy stakes in some of the country’s largest companies shortly after he married Putin’s youngest daughter.
Some of his emails were reportedly leaked and exposed. It stated that Shamalov received at least four deals by April 2014 to buy Russian companies in telecommunications, real estate, oil services, and metals industry worth billions of dollars.
Sometime in 2016 or 2017, Kirill’s marriage dissolved the same time he sold a 17% stake in Sibur. The divorce came after Kirill was linked to Russian socialite, Zhanna Volkova. The former couple did not have any children together.
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He Claimed His Second Marriage to Zhanna Is Invalid
After his marriage with Katrina ended, Kirill Shamalov reportedly married Zhanna and they share a daughter. However, in 2018, just as in the previous one, the two separated and are reportedly in the midst of divorce proceedings.
Shamalov reportedly filed a lawsuit to dismiss the marriage stating that the marriage was invalid. According to reports, Zhanna claimed Kirill was having a relationship with another woman and for that reason, she was forced to leave their home. She added that he filed the lawsuit as fictitious because he wants to avoid any liability under the marriage contract.
According to an interview granted by Zhanna, Kirill has been involved with quite a number of women like Nelli Davydova, Anastasia Zadorina, and a few others. She also claimed that Shamalov liked wealthy girls with self-confidence and without material.
Zhanna claimed she went through the most difficult hormonal therapy for three and half years for the sake of the birth of their daughter. She equally expressed her dismay after Kiril shared the secret of the birth of their daughter to the whole country.
Zhanna also revealed that Kirill has always been mean to women. According to her, before he married Putin’s daughter, he was engaged to a woman called Victoria Tonevitskaya and after they parted ways, he reportedly sent people to her apartment in Moscow and took everything he gave her.
What Does He Do?
However, he is not left out in the family’s involvement with the Russian government. After earning a degree in jurisprudence at Saint Petersburg State University, Kirill became the vice president of the Russian petrochemical company Shibur at the age of 26.
He was later promoted from vice president to deputy CEO IN 2012 which led to him owning a 0.5% stake in the company. According to reports, Shamalov bought a stake in SIbur from billionaire Gennady Timchenko for $2.2 billion with the help of a loan from Gazprombank in the name of his Russian company Yauza 12.
In April 2017, he reportedly sold the shares he bought from Timchenko to Leonid Mikhelson.
Is Kirill Shamalov Really Worth $1.4 Billion?
In 2018, Forbes reported that Shamalov had a net worth of $1.2 billion however, during the divorce, there were rumors that he lost almost half of his wealth. According to Bloomberg, after the costly divorce, the business tycoon was valued at $800 million which is reportedly 40% less than his initial value.
Kirill is currently working as a senior executive for Sibur, the same company where he witnessed his rise and fall as a multi-billion dollar owner.
Most of his countrymen believe that he took a huge risk divorcing Katrina which was why he got stripped of his wealth.
