Victor Pinchuk

Victor Pinchuk, a Ukrainian businessman and oligarch, is the founder of EastOne Group LLC and Interpipe Group. He is also the owner of four TV channels and a popular tabloid, Fakty i Kommentarii, and the former member of the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. Pinchuk, who was born in Kyiv in 1960, graduated from Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute in 1987 with a doctorate in industrial engineering. He founded Interpipe, a major producer of seamless pipes and railway wheels, in 1990. Additionally, Pinchuk has been involved in various philanthropic projects in Ukraine through the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

Despite his success in the business world and philanthropy, Pinchuk has faced accusations of corruption. In 2015, he was accused of receiving a bribe of $5 million a month for the rights to manage Ukrnafta. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau opened criminal proceedings against him that same year. However, Pinchuk reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement in 2016.

One of Pinchuk's notable initiatives is promoting Ukraine's membership in the European Union. In 2004, he created Yalta European Strategy, an organization dedicated to advocating for Ukraine's EU integration. Pinchuk has organized annual summer meetings in Yalta as Ukraine-EU forums for debate and policy recommendations development. He has also made efforts to strengthen ties between Ukraine and the EU. However, some of his actions, such as suggesting a compromise with Russia on the Crimea peninsula, have drawn criticism from Ukrainian political authorities.

In his personal life, Pinchuk is married to Olena Pinchuk, the daughter of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. Olena Pinchuk runs the ANTIAIDS Foundation, which focuses on HIV/AIDS prevention and care in Ukraine. Victor Pinchuk has been ranked on Forbes' list of the wealthiest people in the world and was included in Time Magazine's "2010 Time 100 – The World's Most Influential People." Moreover, he has been recognized for his philanthropy through the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, which supports various projects in health, education, culture, and human rights.

Most recently, Pinchuk donated over £10 million to charity to support Ukrainian soldiers and civilians affected by the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2022. This demonstrates his ongoing commitment to philanthropic causes and support for his home country during times of crisis.