Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has been begging his powerful friends in Hollywood and the United States to lend him a million dollars each to keep him afloat while his assets are frozen by international authorities.
According to Page Six, the owner of Chelsea Football Club is desperately borrowing from his prominent and powerful friends to maintain his $750,000 a week staff payroll, which includes the workers who keep his multiple luxury superyachts afloat.
Abramovich, whose bank accounts are frozen in the US and the United Kingdom, has been short of money since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, and has tried to serve as mediator on more than one occasion to end that conflict in the hope that sanctions against him will also be lifted.
But although Abramovich, who has organized a series of celebrity parties on his ships and on his extensive St Barth estate, has many close friends in Hollywood, Wall Street and the world of technology, the media Page Six claims that his partners are wary of lending him money, even with his recent mediator status that has earned him the protection of the Turkish government.
A source told Page Six: “Roman is asking some of his closest powerful friends to lend him $1 million. He says he has never stopped paying the payroll of his staff, which is $750,000 a week, and with his assets frozen he can't pay his people.”
“He has approached Hollywood producer and director Brett Ratner and the Rothschild family, among many others, in search of money, but, although they are good friends with Roman, they have not agreed to give him money, because either they don't have that in liquid cash, or besides it's not clear what the repercussions are under international law,” he adds. the source.
Ratner declined to comment and the Rothschilds could not be reached. But the source maintains that they have not given Abramovich any money either.
According to Bloomberg, Abramovich's net worth is $14.3 billion, but since early March the United Kingdom, the United States and much of the European Union, sanctioned the oligarch and left him without liquidity.
Then, US hedge funds froze Abramovich's assets. The sanctions also prevented Abramovich from benefiting from the sale of Chelsea Football Club for $3 billion.
Meanwhile, Abramovich continues to do what he can to keep his assets afloat, including himself in peace talks to end Putin's invasion of Ukraine. He was invited to peace talks by Ukraine, which he believes has a direct line with Putin, which he denies.
Abramovich, 55, allegedly made his fortune in the privatization race after the end of the Soviet Union and owned Millhouse Capital, an investment firm with shares in nickel mining and steel.
In 2018, Abramovich transferred $92.3 million worth of Upper East Side property to his ex-wife Dasha Zhukova, according to city property records.
He recently survived an alleged poisoning attempt during peace talks that reportedly left him with pain in his eyes and peeling skin. It was also said that two Ukrainian peace negotiators were affected and that the alleged poisoning was planned by the Russian hard line that wanted to sabotage the talks.
Abravmovich owns at least four yachts, totaling nearly $1,400,000. In addition to a $700 million property in St Barth on the island's most beautiful Gouvenour beach.
And its many luxury superyachts are still afloat. Just a few days ago, the government of Antigua confirmed that two yachts in its waters were linked to the tycoon.
He reportedly has in Antigua the superyacht Halo and the support ship Garcon, which are valued at approximately $40 million and $20 million respectively, according to the Financial Times.
Abramovich also owns the $700 million Eclipse vessel, one of the largest yachts in the world, 550 feet long and 24 cabins, with a crew of 70 people, with bulletproof glass and a missile defense system.
Your $600 million Solaris yacht is slightly smaller but more modern in design. Both Solaris and Eclipse are moored in Turkey, where authorities do not impose sanctions on Russia, but they are rumored to be a haven for the oligarchs and their money.
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