Co-owner of the holding company LetterOne (L1), Mikhail Fridman said that he had always avoided politics and never had any dealings with criminal organizations. About this Russian billionaire said in an interview with The Financial Times published on Friday, April 1, Rambler News Service reports.
“We never wanted to challenge the authorities. We followed the philosophy to be loyal and friendly, but never be too close,” he explained. According to Friedman, he never had a temptation. The businessman also said that he and his partners in the investment group “alpha” had Affairs with criminal structures, in particular, the so-called roof.
Furthermore, Friedman stated that he considered his moral obligation to fix the image of the Russian business on the global level. “We have a moral obligation to prove that Russian can be transformed into an international businessman,” he said. In his words, to become successful in business, “don’t have to be smart, but you have to be lucky.”
Michael Friedman takes the second place among the richest Russian businessmen according to Forbes magazine. His fortune is estimated at $ 13.3 billion. In the global ranking it is placed at 63rd spot.
