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Article: Arsenal's oligarch takes on his friend Abramovich ; Yesterday billionaire Russian Alisher Usmanov bought 75m worth of Gunners shares. Here we reveal his extraordinary story
- Article from:
- The Evening Standard (London, England)
- Article date:
- August 31, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 Evening Standard - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WITHIN the suspicious and close-knit world of Russia's capitalist
elite, it is no surprise that many of the men who are now leading
oligarchs knew each other and worked together as they began buying
up Russia's natural resources and bagging themselves multi-
billionaire fortunes.
What is surprising is that two of the richest Russians should now
end up, 1,500 miles from Moscow, on opposing teams. Literally.
Alisher Usmanov, who has bought 15 per cent of Arsenal for 75
million and, many suspect, is poised to launch a takeover bid for
the club, is a friend of Chelsea owner and fellow oligarch Roman
Abramovich. They met in Moscow in the Eighties when Usmanov was
running a plastic bag making ...