Background and career
Kostyantyn Valentynovych Zhevago (Ukrainian: Костянтин Валентинович Жеваго, Russian: Константин Валентинович Жеваго; born 7 January 1974) is a Ukrainian businessman, philanthropist, and politician. He served as a member of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament of Ukraine) continuously for 21 years from 1998 until 2019. Additionally, he served as the Executive Director of Ferrexpo from 2008 to 2019. As of July 2026, Forbes reported his estimated net worth to stand at US$1 billion. This made him one of Ukraine's six billionaires in 2026.
He was born into a family of a mining engineer in the village of Iultin, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Magadan Oblast, in the former Soviet Union, and spent his childhood in the city of Dniprorudne, Zaporizhia Oblast, in Ukraine. He has been a citizen of Ukraine since 1991. Kostyantyn Zhevago graduated from school with honors. In 1991, Zhevago entered the Kyiv National Economic University, specialising in accounting and analysis of foreign economic activity. In 1996, he graduated with a degree in International Economic Relations and obtained a master's degree in Economics with a specialization in International Economics. In 2003, Kostyantyn Zhevago earned a PhD in Economics with a thesis on international investments and effective economic development at Kyiv National Economic University.
1993–1996 — Financial Director of Finance and Credit JSC. 1996–1998 — Chairman of the Board of Finance and Credit Bank, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ferrexpo Poltava Mining, and member of the Supervisory Board of Ukrnafta. Kostyantyn Zhevago, a 34-year-old investor, became the first Ukrainian billionaire to make the Ferrexpo company public. It was the first company with assets in Ukraine whose shares started trading in the main market of the London Stock Exchange, and it still has premium listings on the LSE. The company is a member of FTSE250 and FTSE4Good Indices. As the largest shareholder of Ferrexpo, Kostyantyn Zhevago supported and made decisions on investments in Ukraine, as a result of which Ferrexpo invested more than $3 billion in Ukrainian assets. In 2007, Forbes magazine named Kostyantyn Zhevago the world's youngest billionaire, who made his fortune by himself. His bank, Finance and Credit, was ranked among the ten largest Ukrainian banks with hundreds of branches across Ukraine (liquidated at the end of 2015). Throughout his career, Kostyantyn Zhevago has held leadership positions on the supervisory and management boards of various Ukrainian and international companies across industries such as mining, metallurgy, machine-building, pharmaceuticals, and food. He was also the largest shareholder of Avtokraz, where he invested significantly in the development of defense equipment, including the chassis for the Neptune missile complex, which played a pivotal role in the destruction of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's flagship Moscow (Moskva), the wheeled self-propelled howitzer Bogdana, with which it was possible to recapture Zmiiniy Island in the Black Sea, the base for the Verba multiple launch rocket system. He owns the Ukrainian Premier League football team Vorskla (Poltava).
He was elected to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the age of 24 on 12 May 1998 and until 14 May 2002, and was a People's Deputy of Ukraine from Ukraine's 149th electoral district, located in Poltava Oblast. Member of the Committee on Economic Policy, National Economy Management, Property and Investments. From 14 May 2002 to 25 May 2006 — People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 4th convocation from 150th electoral district of the Poltava region. Member of the Committee on Legal Policy, member of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Additionally, he served as a member of the "European Choice" group, the "Regions of Ukraine" faction and, "Reforms and Order". From 25 May 2006 to 23 November 2007 — People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 5th convocation from the "Tymoshenko Bloc", No. 62 on the list. Moreover, he served as a member of the Committee on Legal Policy. From 23 November 2007 — People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 6th convocation from the "Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc", No. 62 on the list. Member of the Committee on Legal Policy, member of the Special Control Commission on Privatization. Head of the deputy group on inter-parliamentary relations with Japan. In the 2012 parliamentary elections, he ran for People's Deputy as a self-nominated candidate in the 150th single-mandate majoritarian constituency in Poltava region (centered in the city of Horishni Plavni) and won, gaining 61.20% of the vote. Eventually, he served as a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Legal Policy, independent member of parliament. In the 2014 parliamentary elections in Ukraine, he ran again as an independent candidate in the 150th electoral district, where he won, receiving 43.81% of the vote. Member of the Committee on the Rule of Law and Justice, independent. Candidate for People's Deputy in the 2019 parliamentary elections (again as an independent candidate in the 150th electoral district). He lost to the candidate from the ruling party, "Servant of the People".
Over the course of his career, he has held senior roles on the supervisory and management boards of numerous Ukrainian and international companies, spanning industries including mining, metallurgy, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and food. "Finance and Credit" bank was founded in 1990 and, by the size of assets, it was considered one of the largest banks of Ukraine according to the classification of the National Bank of Ukraine. By 1 April 2009, the authorized capital stock of the bank made ₴2 billion, net wealth made ₴18,316 billion, bank liabilities — ₴15,840 billion. The loan portfolio made ₴15,880 billion, the loan portfolio of natural person — bank clients — ₴5,983 billion. By 1 April 2009, the bank system included 16 branches and 326 departments in all areas of Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian Bank Association data, by 1 April 2009, the bank was ranked among the ten largest banks from 162 operating in the country. On 17 December 2016, the National Bank of Ukraine withdrew the banking license of Finance and Credit and liquidated the bank.
Real estate JSC «F&C Realty», Hotel «Salute» Kyiv, Institute «Kyivsoyuzdorproekt»
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.
