Leonid Rozhetskin Леонид Рожецкин | |
---|---|
Born | |
Disappeared | March 16, 2008 (aged 41) Jūrmala, Latvia |
Body discovered | Latvian Forest |
Nationality | Russian, American |
Citizenship | U.S. |
Education | Harvard Law School |
Alma mater | Columbia University |
Occupation(s) | Lawyer, financier |
Years active | 1990– 2008 |
Spouse | Natalya Belova |
Children | 1 son |
Leonid Borisovich Rozhetskin ( Russian: Леонид Борисович Рожецкин, born August 4, 1966; disappeared March 16, 2008) was a financier and lawyer who went missing under suspicious circumstances after disappearing from his village in Jūrmala, Latvia. [1] In 2013, remains found nearby the year before were confirmed to be Rozhetskin's.[ citation needed]
Rozhetskin was born in 1966 to a Jewish family in Leningrad, Soviet Union; he and his mother Elvira emigrated to the United States in 1980, [1] where he became a U.S. citizen. Rozhetskin was a "brilliant student", winning scholarships to Columbia University, where he graduated with distinction. [1] In 1990, Rozhetskin graduated cum laude[ citation needed] from Harvard Law School.
Rozhetskin received a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from Harvard University,[ citation needed] for teaching Harvard and Radcliffe undergraduates during the 1989-90 academic year.
Rozhetskin began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge Stephen V. Wilson, a federal judge in Los Angeles, California; he then joined the law firm White & Case. [1]
At the age of 26, Rozhetskin returned to Russia, first as a lawyer at White & Case's Moscow office, and then as the head of his own law firm, [1] representing clients such as the International Finance Corporation (a division of the World Bank), Credit Suisse, Morgan Grenfell and The Moscow Times.[ citation needed]
In 1995, Rozhetskin's focus shifted from the law to financial ventures. Rozhetskin was part of a group that founded Renaissance Capital, Russia's first investment bank, in partnership with Boris Jordan, an American of Russian origin, and New Zealander Stephen Jennings. [1]
In 1998, Rozhetskin left Renaissance Capital to co-found the independent venture capital firm LV Finance. With help from Leonid Reiman, LV Finance secured 25% of MegaFon at the time Reiman was Russia's telecommunications minister. [1] In August 2003, Rozhetskin sold the MegaFon stake to Altimo, a subsidiary of Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group. [1] [a]
From October 2001 until January 2005, Rozhetskin served as Executive Vice Chairman of Norilsk Nickel, [6] [7] Russia's largest mining company and the world's largest miner of nickel and palladium metals. Rozhetskin was also a board member and founding shareholder of City A.M., London's first free daily business newspaper.
Rozhetskin founded a production company called L + E Productions with Eric Eisner, son of former Disney executive Michael Eisner. Through L + E Productions, he was credited as a producer of Hamlet 2; he was also credited as an executive producer of the 2009 film Boogie Woogie. [8]
Rozhetskin married model Natalya Belova, who gave birth to their son in 2005.[ citation needed] According to The Sunday Times, Rozhetskin's friends suspected he lived a closeted life, prompted by what the newspaper called Russia's " machismo and deep-seated homophobia"; the "extraordinary lengths to [he went to] conceal his homosexuality included withholding the truth on the subject from his mother, who characterized claims of her son's homosexuality as a " smear campaign." [1]
Rozhetskin was last seen on the night of his disappearance by two men who were picked up at his villa by a taxi that took them to a club called XXL, Riga's largest gay nightclub at 2:30 am on 16 March. [1] [9] Many Western media sources quickly assumed he was dead, [1] [10] although the Russian press claimed he was living in California under the Federal Witness Protection Program. [11]
In 2012, a body found in a forest near Tukums was that of Rozhetskin, according to preliminary DNA tests. [12]
Leonid Rozhetskin Леонид Рожецкин | |
---|---|
Born | |
Disappeared | March 16, 2008 (aged 41) Jūrmala, Latvia |
Body discovered | Latvian Forest |
Nationality | Russian, American |
Citizenship | U.S. |
Education | Harvard Law School |
Alma mater | Columbia University |
Occupation(s) | Lawyer, financier |
Years active | 1990– 2008 |
Spouse | Natalya Belova |
Children | 1 son |
Leonid Borisovich Rozhetskin ( Russian: Леонид Борисович Рожецкин, born August 4, 1966; disappeared March 16, 2008) was a financier and lawyer who went missing under suspicious circumstances after disappearing from his village in Jūrmala, Latvia. [1] In 2013, remains found nearby the year before were confirmed to be Rozhetskin's.[ citation needed]
Rozhetskin was born in 1966 to a Jewish family in Leningrad, Soviet Union; he and his mother Elvira emigrated to the United States in 1980, [1] where he became a U.S. citizen. Rozhetskin was a "brilliant student", winning scholarships to Columbia University, where he graduated with distinction. [1] In 1990, Rozhetskin graduated cum laude[ citation needed] from Harvard Law School.
Rozhetskin received a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from Harvard University,[ citation needed] for teaching Harvard and Radcliffe undergraduates during the 1989-90 academic year.
Rozhetskin began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge Stephen V. Wilson, a federal judge in Los Angeles, California; he then joined the law firm White & Case. [1]
At the age of 26, Rozhetskin returned to Russia, first as a lawyer at White & Case's Moscow office, and then as the head of his own law firm, [1] representing clients such as the International Finance Corporation (a division of the World Bank), Credit Suisse, Morgan Grenfell and The Moscow Times.[ citation needed]
In 1995, Rozhetskin's focus shifted from the law to financial ventures. Rozhetskin was part of a group that founded Renaissance Capital, Russia's first investment bank, in partnership with Boris Jordan, an American of Russian origin, and New Zealander Stephen Jennings. [1]
In 1998, Rozhetskin left Renaissance Capital to co-found the independent venture capital firm LV Finance. With help from Leonid Reiman, LV Finance secured 25% of MegaFon at the time Reiman was Russia's telecommunications minister. [1] In August 2003, Rozhetskin sold the MegaFon stake to Altimo, a subsidiary of Mikhail Fridman's Alfa Group. [1] [a]
From October 2001 until January 2005, Rozhetskin served as Executive Vice Chairman of Norilsk Nickel, [6] [7] Russia's largest mining company and the world's largest miner of nickel and palladium metals. Rozhetskin was also a board member and founding shareholder of City A.M., London's first free daily business newspaper.
Rozhetskin founded a production company called L + E Productions with Eric Eisner, son of former Disney executive Michael Eisner. Through L + E Productions, he was credited as a producer of Hamlet 2; he was also credited as an executive producer of the 2009 film Boogie Woogie. [8]
Rozhetskin married model Natalya Belova, who gave birth to their son in 2005.[ citation needed] According to The Sunday Times, Rozhetskin's friends suspected he lived a closeted life, prompted by what the newspaper called Russia's " machismo and deep-seated homophobia"; the "extraordinary lengths to [he went to] conceal his homosexuality included withholding the truth on the subject from his mother, who characterized claims of her son's homosexuality as a " smear campaign." [1]
Rozhetskin was last seen on the night of his disappearance by two men who were picked up at his villa by a taxi that took them to a club called XXL, Riga's largest gay nightclub at 2:30 am on 16 March. [1] [9] Many Western media sources quickly assumed he was dead, [1] [10] although the Russian press claimed he was living in California under the Federal Witness Protection Program. [11]
In 2012, a body found in a forest near Tukums was that of Rozhetskin, according to preliminary DNA tests. [12]