Yelena Baturina facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yelena Baturina
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| Елена Батурина | |
Baturina in 2013
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| Born |
Yelena Nikolayevna Baturina
8 March 1963 |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Occupation | Founder of Inteco and Be Open |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Viktor Baturin (brother) |
Yelena Nikolayevna Baturina (Russian: Елена Николаевна Батурина; born 8 March 1963) is a successful businesswoman and a generous giver (philanthropist) from Russia. She lives in Austria. She was married to Yury Luzhkov, who was the mayor of Moscow from 1992 until he passed away in 2019.
In 1991, she started her own company called Inteco. It focused on investments and construction. For a while, she was known as the richest woman in Russia. In 2020, another businesswoman, Tatyana Bakalchuk, became the richest.
As of 2024, Yelena Baturina is still one of the wealthiest women in Russia. She is known for her investments and real estate projects.
Contents
About Yelena Baturina
Yelena Baturina was born in Moscow. After finishing high school, she started working as a technician at a tool factory. Her parents also worked there.
- 1980–1982: She worked as a technician and then a senior design engineer at the Frazer plant.
- 1982–1989: She was a researcher at an institute and held positions in cooperative organizations.
- Since 1989: She began her own private business activities.
- 1991–2011: She led her company, Inteco, first as a director and then as president.
- 2006–2011: She helped with a national project to make housing more affordable in Russia.
Yelena Baturina met her future husband, Yury Luzhkov, in 1987. They worked together on a city commission. They married in 1991. The next year, Yury Luzhkov became the mayor of Moscow. In 2010, he left his position.
After her husband left his job, Yelena Baturina moved to London. She said she chose London because her two daughters wanted to study there. Her husband also mentioned they wanted to protect their daughters from possible problems in Russia.
Her Business Ventures
Inteco Company
In 1989, Yelena Baturina started her first business with her older brother, Victor. They first worked with computer software and hardware. In 1991, she founded Inteco. It started as a plastics business but soon focused on construction.
In 1994, Inteco bought a plastics factory. In 1998, the company won a contract to make 85,000 seats for Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Some people wondered if her husband, the mayor, influenced this decision. However, Inteco said their price was much lower than other companies.
In the mid-1990s, Inteco started building homes and other properties. They focused on new materials and technologies for construction. In 2001, Inteco bought a large share in DSK-3, a major house-building factory in Moscow. This was a big step for the company into construction.
At one point, Inteco was involved in a large part of Moscow's construction. However, experts said their share of government construction orders was actually small. Inteco also bought cement plants to help with their building projects.
In 2005, Inteco sold its cement factories. This helped the company focus its money and efforts on construction programs. In 2006, Baturina was appointed to a group working on affordable housing in Russia.
Later, Inteco sold DSK-3 and focused on building modern homes and business properties. This helped the company stay strong during a difficult economic time. Inteco also bought new cement plants in another region.
By 2007, Inteco owned many different businesses, including construction firms and agricultural companies. In 2009, Inteco started working with a famous Spanish architect, Ricardo Bofill. They aimed to create new housing systems for Russia.
In 2010, Inteco began building a new academic building for Moscow State University. Yelena Baturina was also recognized as one of Russia's largest taxpayers in 2010.
Some of Inteco's big projects in Moscow included large residential areas like "Shuvalov" and "Grand Park." They also built the Fundamental Library and an academic building for Moscow State University.
After her husband resigned, Yelena Baturina started selling her businesses in Russia. Inteco was sold to other investors. The sale helped her move her business focus outside of Russia.
Hotel Business
Yelena Baturina also started a hotel chain. Her first hotel was the Grand Tirolia Golf & Ski Resort in Kitzbühel, Austria. It opened in 2009. This hotel became famous as the "Home of Laureus" in Austria, hosting a big sports award ceremony. It was sold in 2018.
In 2010, she opened the New Peterhof Hotel in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It won several awards for its design. In 2012, she opened the Quisisana Palace in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. This hotel is in a beautiful old building from the 1800s. In 2013, Baturina opened the Morrison Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. She bought it in 2012 and renovated it. It was sold in 2022.
Yelena Baturina has said she plans to expand her hotel chain even more.
Grand Tirolia Hotel and Resort, Kitzbühel
The first hotel in her chain, located in Austria. It opened in 2009 and was sold in 2018.
Quisisana Palace, Karlovy Vary
This is a beautiful 19th-century building in the Czech Republic. It was turned into a hotel with rooms, a restaurant, and a wellness center. It opened in 2012.
New Peterhof, St. Petersburg
This hotel in Russia opened in June 2010.
Development Business
In late 2015, Yelena Baturina started a new office in New York. She invested in commercial buildings in Brooklyn and looked into building new homes there.
In 2016, her company started a construction project in Cyprus. They bought land on the coast of Limassol. They began building a high-end apartment building called Symbol Residence in 2019.
Membrane Construction
In 2015, Yelena Baturina's companies became a major investor in Hightex GmbH. This is a German company that builds structures using special fabric-like materials.
Renewable Energy
Since 2014, Yelena Baturina's investment group has been working on projects to create and use clean, renewable energy in Europe. In 2018, her company started an energy services project in Cyprus.
Business Disagreements
In 2007, Yelena Baturina's brother, Viktor Baturin, had a business disagreement with Inteco. He sued the company, but the court dismissed his claims later that year.
Giving Back (Philanthropy)
Yelena Baturina has been involved in helping others through charities since the 1990s. Her main goal is to make the world better by supporting new ideas, good design, and the creativity of young people.
Since 2012, her main charity is the BE OPEN Foundation. It is based in Switzerland. BE OPEN aims to connect experienced thinkers with promising young talents. They do this through conferences, competitions, exhibitions, and art events.
BE OPEN has worked with famous designers, international brands, and cultural groups. They have also partnered with governments, like the Government of India and the Mayor's Fund for London.
Yelena Baturina also served on the board of the Mayor's Fund for London for two years. She is also a vice-president for Maggie's, a UK charity that helps people with cancer.
BE OPEN Foundation Activities
BE OPEN is a cultural and social project started in 2012. Yelena Baturina funds it. Its goal is to use the ideas of creative leaders to help the next generation. They do this through events like conferences and competitions.
The foundation wants to connect great minds with new talents. It also helps thinkers and creative people meet with media and business leaders to share ideas and make positive changes.
BE OPEN launched at Milan Design Week in 2012. They have returned to this event several times, creating interesting experiences. For example, in 2013, they explored how colors and tastes connect. In 2015, they showcased old perfume brands in a new way.
In 2014, with help from the Indian government, BE OPEN held an exhibition in Delhi. It showed works by talented local designers. This encouraged artists to use traditional skills in new ways.
BE OPEN has also been part of other big design events around the world. They have worked with the Mayor's Fund for London on several charity programs.
Since 2019, the foundation has run a competition program to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These goals are about making the world a better place for everyone. BE OPEN gives prizes and helps winners attend international events.
The competition encourages young professionals to create solutions for global challenges. BE OPEN has held six competitions so far, focusing on goals like:
- SDG#12 Second Life in Design (2019/2020): Finding creative ways to use resources responsibly.
- SDG#11 Design for Sustainable Cities (2020/2021): Creating better cities for everyone to live in.
- SDG#2 Design to Nurture the Planet (2021/2022): Working towards ending hunger and promoting sustainable farming.
- SDG#7 Better Energy by Design (2022/2023): Finding ways to use affordable and clean energy.
- SDG#13 Design Your Climate Action (2023/2024): Encouraging new ideas to fight climate change.
- SDGs for 2050: Designing Futures (2024/2025): Asking young people to think about future goals for a sustainable world.
BE OPEN Art
In 2020, BE OPEN started an online art gallery called BE OPEN Art. It helps new artists from all over the world show their work. It also helps artists connect with art collectors. This gallery was created to help artists during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, BE OPEN Art started BE OPEN Regional Art. This is a series of competitions for new artists. It supports artists whose work shows their local culture and identity. They hold four competitions each year. Winners receive cash prizes, and their artwork is shown in exhibitions.
BE OPEN Regional Art has recognized artists from many regions, including the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and parts of Asia and Africa. In June 2023, BE OPEN Art held an exhibition in Nicosia, Cyprus. It featured artwork from the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Personal Life
Yelena Baturina married Yury Luzhkov in 1991. Their first daughter, Elena, was born in 1992, and their second daughter, Olga, was born in 1994. In 2010, her husband mentioned that they sent their daughters to study in London to protect them.
Yelena Baturina owns a home in Aurach, Austria, where she spends a lot of her time. She also has a home in the Kensington area of London. She has often said that she and her husband were very lucky to love each other. She enjoys cooking his favorite dish, borscht.
Yelena Baturina has not had contact with her brother since a public business disagreement in 2007.
From 1999 to 2005, Baturina was the President of the Equestrian Federation of Russia. She helped raise money to develop horse riding sports in Russia.
She also runs the BE OPEN Foundation, which she started in 2012. She was a trustee for the Mayor's Fund for London from 2017 to 2019.
Personal Wealth
Yelena Baturina is a very wealthy person. In 2021, her net worth was estimated to be over £1 billion. In 2020, she was no longer the richest woman in Russia, as Tatyana Bakalchuk took that spot.
Over the years, her wealth has changed. In the early 2000s, she owned hotels, large farms, and even a condensed milk factory. Now, many of those businesses are no longer hers, except for a hotel in Dublin.
She owns a private jet. She also has one of the largest private collections of Russian Imperial porcelain. In 2011, she gave about 40 pieces from her porcelain collection to a museum in Moscow. She used to own a horse breeding estate called "Veedern," but it is now owned by her husband's son from a previous marriage.
In 2011, Yelena Baturina won a lawsuit against a British newspaper. The newspaper had wrongly reported that she bought a very expensive house in London. The newspaper later apologized.
Awards and Recognition
Yelena Baturina received the State Prize of the Russian Federation for Science and Technology in 2003. Her company, Inteco, and its projects have won many awards. These include prizes for architecture, design, and being a top investment and construction company. They also received international awards for quality and technology.
See also
- List of female billionaires
