How a physics student turned post-Soviet chaos into a global aluminium empire
Oleg Deripaska rose from a small farm to lead the world's largest aluminium producer. By applying scientific precision to commodity trading and adopting Japanese manufacturing efficiencies, he navigated the violent instability of the 1990s to build a massive industrial conglomerate, only to face international sanctions and shifting geopolitical tides.
Born in 1968, Oleg Deripaska grew up in rural Russia, learning the discipline of hard work from his grandparents. His academic path in theoretical physics at Moscow State University was interrupted by military service and later derailed by the collapse of the Soviet Union, which eliminated funding for his research. Faced with the urgent need to survive, he turned to commodity trading at age 25, using export arbitrage to exploit price differences between Russian and international markets. This systematic approach provided the capital to acquire stakes in the Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter, the foundation of his future industrial group.
Deripaska’s rise was marked by the brutal 'aluminium wars' of the 1990s, a period of violent competition for state assets. In 2000, he founded Rusal, which later became a vertically integrated giant through strategic mergers with SUAL Group and Glencore International AG. To scale his operations, he implemented the 'Toyota Way,' emphasizing kaizen and continuous improvement to empower factory operators. By 2010, Rusal became the first Russian company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Deripaska’s Basic Element group grew to manage investments across energy, aviation, and manufacturing, employing as many as 250,000 people.
His career has been defined by extreme volatility. He lost a significant portion of his fortune during the 2008 financial crisis, requiring a massive $17 billion debt restructuring. His international standing has been equally turbulent, marked by revoked U.S. visas, high-stakes litigation with Morgan Stanley over insider trading allegations, and eventually, U.S. and British sanctions following the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Despite his status as an oligarch, Deripaska has openly denounced the invasion of Ukraine as 'madness,' a stance that led to the seizure of major assets and intense criticism from pro-Kremlin factions.
Source: Oleg Deripaska
