Bidzina Ivanishvili facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bidzina Ivanishvili
ბიძინა ივანიშვილი
Ivanishvili in 2013
10th Prime Minister of Georgia
In office 25 October 2012 – 20 November 2013
President	Mikheil Saakashvili Giorgi Margvelashvili
Preceded by	Vano Merabishvili
Succeeded by	Irakli Garibashvili
Chairman of Georgian Dream
In office 12 April 2012 – 15 November 2013
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Irakli Garibashvili
In office 26 April 2018 – 11 January 2021
Preceded by	Giorgi Kvirikashvili
Succeeded by	Irakli Kobakhidze
Honorary Chairman of Georgian Dream
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 December 2023
Preceded by	Position established
Personal details
Born	(1956-02-18) 18 February 1956 (age 69) Chorvila, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Citizenship	Georgia (2004–2011, 2012–present) France (2010–present) Russia (1991–2011) Soviet Union (until 1991)
Political party	Georgian Dream (2012–2013, 2018–2021, 2023–present)
Spouse	Ekaterine Khvedelidze ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	4, including Bera
Alma mater	Tbilisi State University Moscow State University of Railway Engineering
Awards	Legion of Honour
Net worth	US$7.27 billion (2024)
Signature

Bidzina Ivanishvili (Georgian: ბიძინა ივანიშვილი; born 18 February 1956) is a Georgian politician and a very wealthy businessman. Many people see him as the most powerful person in Georgia, even when he doesn't hold an official government job.

He is the richest person in Georgia. In 2024, his wealth was estimated at $7.6 billion. This amount was about a quarter of Georgia's total economic output in 2023. He earned his money in Russia during the 1990s, after the Soviet Union broke apart. He started by selling computers, then bought companies in banking and metals for low prices. These companies were once owned by the Soviet government and were being sold to private owners.

Ivanishvili entered Georgian politics in 2012. He started the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party. His party won the 2012 Georgian parliamentary election against the party of the then-President, Mikheil Saakashvili. After serving as Prime Minister of Georgia, he left official political roles in 2013. However, he was still seen as a very influential figure behind the scenes. He returned to politics in 2018 as the chairman of the ruling party. He formally left again in 2021. But in late 2023, he came back as the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream. He is now widely seen as the main leader of Georgia once more.

Early Life and Education

Bidzina Ivanishvili was born on February 18, 1956, in a village called Chorvila in Georgia. He was the youngest of five children in a family that was not wealthy. His father worked in a manganese factory. Growing up, Bidzina faced poverty, sometimes not even having shoes. This background later helped him connect with people in rural Georgia. It also helped him win the 2012 election.

Bidzina finished high school in Sachkhere. He then studied at the Tbilisi State University, graduating in 1980 with a degree in engineering and economics. In 1982, he went to Moscow to study for a PhD in economics. He attended the Moscow State University of Railway Engineering.

Business Career

In 1988, Ivanishvili started his business journey. He created a cooperative, which was a type of private company allowed in the Soviet Union at that time. Before 1990, while living in Moscow, he met Vitaly Malkin, another businessman. They worked together selling computers. Later, they started importing push-button telephones, which were new in Russia.

The money they made from these sales allowed them to buy valuable companies in metals and banking. They bought these companies cheaply when the Russian government was selling off its old state-owned businesses. These metals and banking businesses are the main source of Ivanishvili's great wealth.

Early Political Involvement

In 1996, Ivanishvili was part of a group of powerful Russian bankers. This group supported Boris Yeltsin in his re-election as Russian president. Ivanishvili also helped fund the presidential campaign of Alexander Lebed. He wanted to take votes away from the Communist candidate, Gennady Zyuganov, who was Yeltsin's main rival. Some people in Georgia later criticized Ivanishvili for supporting Lebed. However, Ivanishvili said he supported Yeltsin to prevent the Communists from returning to power. He believed this indirectly supported Georgia's independence.

Ivanishvili left Russia in 2002 and moved to France. In 2003, he came back to Georgia. When he returned, he started giving out items like DVD players and stoves. He also promised free healthcare to people in his hometown. But he preferred to stay out of the public eye and away from the press. Ivanishvili also provided money to build Tbilisi's Sameba Cathedral. This is the largest church in Georgia. Most people didn't know he funded it until a former Georgian President, Eduard Shevardnadze, mentioned him in his memoirs.

Some reports say Ivanishvili supported the Rose Revolution in 2003. He also financed the government's reforms afterward. He donated $1 billion to help the Georgian government after the revolution. He provided money to improve the police and build new roads and buildings. It is thought that his support for the government might have come from a disagreement he had with another wealthy Georgian businessman, Badri Patarkatsishvili. Patarkatsishvili was against President Saakashvili. Ivanishvili himself said he often met with Saakashvili.

Ivanishvili reportedly had a disagreement with Saakashvili in early 2008. It is believed that after Patarkatsishvili's death, Ivanishvili no longer needed the government's support. This allowed him to distance himself from the government. Ivanishvili said that Saakashvili's government put more and more pressure on him. He was no longer interested in funding government projects.

2012 Parliamentary Election

Before he officially entered politics, opposition leaders often asked Ivanishvili to lead them. For example, in 2008, a party leader offered him the prime minister's job if he won the election.

On October 7, 2011, Ivanishvili announced he would lead the opposition in the 2012 Georgian parliamentary election. He said he was doing this because he felt President Saakashvili's rule was becoming too strict. In the same statement, he said he would give up his French and Russian citizenship. He also planned to sell all his businesses in Russia.

Four days after his announcement, Georgian authorities took away his Georgian citizenship. They said he lost it because he had citizenship in another country. A court in Tbilisi later agreed with this decision.

On February 21, 2012, Ivanishvili announced a new political group called "Georgian Dream." It included his new party and several other parties. The name of the alliance was inspired by a rap song by Ivanishvili's son, Bera.

The Georgian Dream's goals included developing a liberal democracy and getting closer to the European Union and NATO. They also wanted to improve education and healthcare. On April 21, 2012, Ivanishvili officially started the Georgian Dream political party. Since he wasn't a Georgian citizen, a lawyer named Manana Kobakhidze became the temporary chairman. The party's main goals were to help farming, lower taxes for the poor, provide health insurance for everyone, improve relations with Russia, and strengthen ties with the EU and NATO.

Ivanishvili brought many different opposition parties together. The Georgian Dream group included parties with various ideas. They ranged from those who supported free markets and closer ties with Europe to nationalists. They were all united by their dislike of Saakashvili and his party.

According to Forbes magazine, Ivanishvili's personal wealth was $6.4 billion. This was more than Georgia's entire government budget at the time. During the election campaign, Ivanishvili gave gifts like televisions and washing machines to people in his hometown. Georgian Dream volunteers handed out flyers where people could write down a "Georgian dream" that cost less than $600. This suggested that voting for the opposition would bring them material rewards.

In June 2012, a court fined Ivanishvili $90 million for breaking rules about political party funding. The court said he used companies linked to him to illegally donate to the Georgian Dream group. The court decisions were criticized by some as being unfair. Ivanishvili's lawyer said the decisions were politically motivated.

The Georgian Dream group won the 2012 Georgian parliamentary election with 54.97% of the votes. This was a big victory against the ruling United National Movement (UNM). People celebrated widely in Tbilisi, Georgia's capital. The next day, President Saakashvili accepted the election results.

Prime Minister of Georgia (2012–2013)

Ivanishvili in the Polish Senate, 2013

On October 25, 2012, Ivanishvili officially became the Prime Minister of Georgia. This was a historic moment because it was the first time power changed peacefully in modern Georgia.

During his time as Prime Minister, the government spent more money on social programs. They also continued to manage the country's finances carefully.

In February 2013, the government started the Universal Healthcare Program (UHP). This program offered free or low-cost healthcare services to many people. It covered urgent care, hospital visits, and some planned treatments. Later, it was expanded to include more services like primary care and treatment for cancer. This reform made state-funded health insurance available to a large number of citizens.

The government also increased pensions for older people and social assistance payments. They also spent more money on education.

In June 2013, the parliament passed a new Labour Code. This law followed international standards for workers' rights.

Ivanishvili's government kept most of the good changes made during President Saakashvili's time. Georgia continued to have a free market economy. At the same time, the government also created a strong system to help people in need.

The government also made changes to the prison system. Before, the number of prisoners had grown a lot, and prisons were very crowded. The new government admitted there were big problems and promised to fix them. A new law reduced the number of prisoners by half. The death rate in prisons went down, and healthcare for prisoners improved. The government also made criminal laws less strict.

The day before a rally for LGBTQ+ rights in Tbilisi in 2013, Ivanishvili said that "sexual minorities are the same citizens as we are." He added that "society will gradually get used to it."

Some people had worried that Ivanishvili's election would bring back corruption and crime. However, this did not happen. Georgia scored well on international indexes that measure corruption and freedom.

Foreign Relations

Under Ivanishvili's government, Georgia became closer to the European Union. Prime Minister Ivanishvili chose Brussels, Belgium, for his first foreign trip in November 2012. The EU started talks with Georgia about easier travel for its citizens. In February 2013, the EU gave Georgia a plan to remove visa requirements. By November 2013, Georgia had made good progress on this plan. In July 2013, the EU and Georgia finished talks on a special trade agreement.

In January 2013, Georgia and Turkey signed an agreement to trade electricity across their borders.

Relations with Russia also got better. In December 2012, Russian and Georgian representatives met in Prague. This was their first direct talk since the 2008 war. Prime Minister Ivanishvili appointed a special representative for relations with Russia. In June 2013, Russia lifted its ban on Georgian wine. This allowed Georgia to sell wine to Russia again for the first time since 2006. Economic ties between the two countries improved. However, Georgia's government confirmed that becoming part of Europe was still its main goal. Georgia had no plans to join Russia's economic union. Diplomatic relations with Russia remained officially broken.

Ivanishvili called his foreign policy with Russia "practical." He said he would protect Georgia's interests but would avoid being overly confrontational. Some opponents criticized him, saying he was "too soft" on Russia or even "pro-Russian." Ivanishvili said he would continue to protect Georgia's national interests.

First Resignation (2013-2018)

Ivanishvili in an interview, 2013

After his party's candidate, Giorgi Margvelashvili, won the 2013 Georgian presidential election, Ivanishvili announced he would step down as Prime Minister. On November 20, 2013, he resigned after just over a year in office. He was replaced by Irakli Garibashvili, who was then the Interior Minister. Ivanishvili said he wanted to return to working in the non-government sector. Four days after leaving his Prime Minister role, he also resigned as Chairman of Georgian Dream.

His successor, Irakli Garibashvili, thanked Ivanishvili for setting a "unique example" by leaving politics when he was still very popular. However, many of Ivanishvili's political opponents still saw him as the true leader of Georgia. They accused him of leaving his official job to control the country from behind the scenes. They said he was avoiding the responsibilities of holding office. Many high-ranking officials who served after 2013 had previously worked for Ivanishvili's companies. For example, the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Head of the Special State Protection Service were his former personal bodyguards. The Prosecutor General was his family lawyer.

A study in 2015 showed that at least 38 government officials had worked for companies linked to Bidzina Ivanishvili. While this wasn't against the law, it was seen as proof of his unofficial influence on the government. It was thought that his former employees were given important jobs because they were loyal to him.

Ivanishvili himself denied controlling the government from behind the scenes. He said he only gave advice, which the government could choose to follow or not.

After resigning as Prime Minister, Ivanishvili focused more on his hobby of collecting rare trees. In 2016, he started building the Dendrological Park in Shekvetili, on Georgia's Black Sea coast. This park opened to the public in 2020. The park is 60 hectares (about 150 acres) and has 200 types of imported trees. It also has 58 kinds of exotic birds, including flamingos. Many of the trees in the park were moved from other places along the Georgian coast. Landowners were paid to allow the trees to be dug up and moved by raft. Some of these trees are over 100 years old. This process could take months and sometimes involved removing other trees and building roads to get access. Because of this, environmentalists and political opponents criticized Ivanishvili. They said his actions damaged the soil and the environment.

In March 2016, Ivanishvili gained international attention for moving a 100-year-old tulip tree. The tree weighed 650 tonnes (about 1.4 million pounds). It was moved from Georgia's Adjara region to the park. This event became very popular on Georgian social media. One person called it "surreal." An environmental activist said the tree had "zero chances of surviving" the move.

Chairmanship of Georgian Dream, Second Resignation (2018-2023)

In 2018, Ivanishvili returned to politics. He was re-elected as the chairman of Georgian Dream on April 26, 2018. His return was seen as a way to keep the political group united.

While Ivanishvili was out of politics, the Georgian Dream government signed an agreement with the European Union. The EU also removed visa requirements for Georgian citizens, making it easier for them to travel. However, the ruling party still faced accusations from the opposition that it was "pro-Russian."

Before the 2018 Georgian presidential election, Georgian Dream decided not to nominate its own candidate. Instead, they supported an independent candidate, Salome Zourabichvili. On November 5, 2018, Ivanishvili spoke to the public before the presidential election runoff. He said that people's unhappiness was understandable. But he warned that electing the opposition candidate would be a mistake. He promised that the situation in the country would improve within a year.

On June 20, 2019, protests started in Tbilisi. This happened after a Russian MP visited Georgia and spoke from the Georgian parliament's speaker's chair. The protests became violent, and the police used rubber bullets and tear gas to break them up. These protests showed that people were unhappy with the government's policies towards Russia. The Speaker of the Parliament resigned. Ruling party members, including Bidzina Ivanishvili, said the Russian MP sat in the chair by mistake. The protests continued for days. On June 24, 2019, Bidzina Ivanishvili announced a change to the election system. He said the next elections would use a fully proportional system, which was one of the protesters' demands. However, in November 2019, some members of parliament from Georgian Dream blocked this change. They said they wanted to keep the direct link between local areas and their elected representatives. Some people thought Ivanishvili himself told them to block the change because it might make his party lose power. Ivanishvili said he was disappointed with the parliament's decision. Several lawmakers left the ruling party in protest. The protests started again. After talks between the ruling party and the opposition, they agreed on a mixed election system that was more proportional.

On January 11, 2021, Ivanishvili announced that he was leaving politics for good. He resigned as Chairman of Georgian Dream. He stated that he had "accomplished his goal."

In 2022, the European Parliament criticized the Georgian government and Ivanishvili. They said he was harming press freedom in the country. The resolution also said Ivanishvili had "personal and business links to the Kremlin." It suggested that the European Union should place sanctions on Ivanishvili for his role in Georgia's political problems. This resolution had a big impact in Georgia, especially as the country was trying to become a candidate for EU membership.

In December 2022, the European Parliament again asked the European Council to sanction Ivanishvili. They accused him of making Georgia's democratic process worse and helping Russia avoid international sanctions.

Honorary Chairman of Georgian Dream (2023-Present)

Bidzina Ivanishvili addressing a rally supporting the Georgian Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, 29 April 2024

On December 30, 2023, Ivanishvili announced his return to Georgian politics. He was elected as the honorary chairman by Georgian Dream. There are many ideas why he returned. Some say it was due to disagreements within his party. Others suggest it was because support for Georgian Dream was decreasing. Some also believe it was due to pressure from other countries. In a speech, Ivanishvili said he returned because of the "complicated" global situation. He also criticized the opposition for not holding the government accountable. By late 2024, he had become the main leader of Georgia once again.

After the 2024 Georgian post-election protests and related political unrest, Ivanishvili was sanctioned by the United States. He was added to a special list for harming Georgian democracy. He was also sanctioned by several countries in the European Union.

Political Views

Bidzina Ivanishvili has said he supports Georgia becoming a member of the European Union and NATO. After meeting with President Mikheil Saakashvili in 2012, Ivanishvili stated they agreed on foreign policy. He said that Georgia joining the EU and NATO would be his top foreign policy goals. He also noted that a "strategic partnership with the United States is very important."

Ivanishvili has also said he supports improving relations with Russia.

Ivanishvili has stated that his goal is to solve the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. He wants to bring these regions back into Georgia. He said Georgia should become a democratic country based on law. He believes this would make it an attractive place for Abkhazians and Ossetians. He said that bringing these regions back should happen through peaceful talks. Ivanishvili criticized Saakashvili's handling of the 2008 war with Russia.

Wealth

In March 2010, Forbes magazine listed Ivanishvili as the 173rd richest person in the world. His wealth was reported to be $4.8 billion. The next year, he was listed with $5.5 billion. In March 2012, he was ranked 153rd with an estimated $6.4 billion. This made him Georgia's richest person. His total wealth was about one-third of Georgia's entire economy.

Ivanishvili's name has appeared in financial documents like the Panama Papers and Pandora Papers. He owns millions of dollars worth of property in Russia that was not publicly known.

Forbes described his success as buying companies that no one else wanted for tens of millions of dollars. He then sold them for billions. In 1990, Ivanishvili and Malkin started Rossiysky Kredit, which became Ivanishvili's largest company. Over the years, he sold other businesses he bought during Russia's privatization period. He invested the money in the Russian stock market.

Ivanishvili has also invested in hotels, including Hotel Lux. He also owned a chain of drugstores in Russia called "Doctor Stoletov." He bought four properties in downtown Moscow to build a luxury hotel.

In 2023, Forbes estimated his fortune at $4.9 billion. This made him the world's 544th richest person.

Ivanishvili has bought famous artworks by artists like Pablo Picasso and Peter Doig. He also bought Niko Pirosmani's Arsenal Hill at Night for $1.5 million. This was a record price for a painting by a Georgian artist. He then gave the painting to the State Museum of Arts of Georgia.

Bidzina Ivanishvili and his wife, Ekaterine Khvedelidze, started the Cartu International Charity Foundation in 1995. The Ivanishvili family is the only donor to this foundation. The Cartu Foundation has invested in many projects, including arts, sports, farming, and buildings. It helped restore the Batumi Botanical Garden. Ivanishvili's name is linked to many public projects. These include repairs to the Tbilisi State University, a seaside amusement park, a ski resort, national parks, and medical clinics.

Personal Life

Ivanishvili's residence in Tbilisi, designed by Shin Takamatsu.

Ivanishvili owns several large properties. This includes a mansion above Tbilisi that is worth about $50 million. It was specially designed for him by a Russian architect and finished by a famous Japanese architect, Shin Takamatsu.

Ivanishvili is also known by the Russian first name Boris. He used this name when he worked in Russia. However, he went back to his Georgian first name Bidzina in 2011.

Ivanishvili married Ekaterine "Eka" Khvedelidze in October 1991. They have four children: sons Uta, Bera (who is a well-known singer and rapper in Georgia), and Tsotne, and a daughter, Gvantsa. Bera and Tsotne both have albinism, a condition that affects skin, hair, and eye color.

Ivanishvili is known for collecting exotic animals. His collection includes sharks, lemurs, and a kangaroo. During the 2012 election, his animal collection got a lot of attention. One newspaper headline called him a "Billionaire Zookeeper."

Citizenship

President Mikheil Saakashvili granted Ivanishvili Georgian citizenship. In March 2010, Ivanishvili also became a French citizen. In October 2011, he lost his Georgian citizenship. This happened shortly after he said he planned to form a political party to challenge Saakashvili. The reason given was that he had accepted citizenship of another country.

Honours

Ivanishvili was the Honorary Consul of the Republic of San Marino in Georgia from 2000 to 2012.

National honours

Georgian Orthodox Church:

• • Saint George Golden Order [ka]

Foreign honours

 France:

•  : Knight of France's Legion of honour (31 December 2020).

Images for kids

• 

  Ivanishvili's business centre and residence