Background and career
Iskander Kakhramonovich Makhmudov (Russian: Искандар Кахрамонович Махмудов Uzbek: Искандар Қаҳрамонович Маҳмудов; born 5 December 1963) is an Uzbek-born Russian businessman. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Makhmudov's net worth was estimated at US$9.41 billion as of 25 May 2021.
Iskander Makhmudov was born in Bukhara, Uzbekistan (Uzbek SSR) on December 5, 1963, and grew up in Tashkent. He studied at the Faculty of Oriental Studies of Tashkent State University and graduated in 1984 with a diploma in history and literature. In the 1985, Makhmudov was seconded to Libya and a year and a half later to Iraq as an employee of the Principal Engineering Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Trade of USSR (the structure responsible for exporting military and dual-use products) and other organizations. In the later 1980s, he also worked for Uzbekintorg, a state enterprise that traded metallurgical and chemical products from Uzbekistan for consumer goods. In 1991, Makhmudov moved to Moscow to manage coal trade at Trans Commodities, a company established by Michael and Lev Cherney, the brothers who also originated from Tashkent. He also worked in Trans-World Group (TWG), a joint enterprise of Cherney brothers and David and Simon Reuben. In 1993, Makhmudov left TWG but continued to cooperate with Michael Cherney. In 1994, Makhmudov focused on assets in the copper mining industry. As one of the partners of Michael Cherney, Makhmudov participated in the acquisitions of several metal industry companies, including Uralelektromed, which in 1999 became the core of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC or UGMK). Later they became the co-owners of Kuzbassrazrezugol. In 2002, Makhmudov purchased Cherney's shares in UMMC and Kuzbassrazrezugol. Both turned quite profitable due to the rapid increase in the copper and coal prices. In 2004, he was included in the first ever Russian Forbes list with a net worth of USD 2.1 billion.
Makhmudov is the main owner of Uralskaya Gorno-Metallurgicheskaya Kompaniya (UGMK) Holding which he formed with support from his childhood friend Jalol Khaidarov (Russian: Джалол Хайдаров). This is the fourth largest non-ferrous metallurgical company in Russia, and the country's second-largest copper producer in terms of output. With his partner Makhmudov, he also acquired a 50% stake in Izdatelskiy Dom Rodionova (Rodionov Publishing House), which publishes the Russian version of BusinessWeek.
In 2011, both Makhmudov and his business partner Bokarev replaced Gennady Timchenko as head of the Economic Council of Russian and French Enterprises.
Makhmudov owns 17.5% of Aeroexpress, which provides rail transportation services between Moscow and surrounding airports (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo). Russian Railways JSC owns 50% of Aeroexpress. In November 2012, it was reported that Russian Railways intended to sell half of its shares (25% ownership in Aeroexpress) to TransGroup AS Ltd.
"According to some [Russian] media, President of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company ("UMMC") Makhmudov bought a controlling stake in the football club CSKA."
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
