Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky is an exiled Russian businessman, oligarch, and opposition activist. Born on June 26, 1963, he was once considered the wealthiest man in Russia with a fortune estimated at $15 billion. Khodorkovsky rose to prominence during the period of glasnost and perestroika in the late 1980s and accumulated vast wealth by obtaining control of Siberian oil fields through Yukos, one of the major companies arising from the privatization of state assets in the 1990s. In 2001, he founded Open Russia, an organization aimed at strengthening civil society. Currently residing in London, Khodorkovsky continues to advocate for political and economic reforms in Russia.