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Eduard Shifrin

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Eduard Volodymyrovych Shifrin (alternative spelling: Shyfrin) (Template:Lang-uk; Russian: Эдуа́рд Влади́мирович Шифри́н; born 12 July 1960) is a Ukrainian entrepreneur who is a co-owner of the Midland Group. He is a resident in London.[1]

Biography

Early life and education

Shifrin was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Soviet Ukraine, the son of metallurgy professor Vladimir Moiseyevich Shifrin.[1] In 1976–7 he came first in the National Ukrainian Physics Olympiad. From 1977–1983, he attended the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, becoming a metallurgical engineer. He later returned to school and obtained a PhD in metallurgy in 1992.[2]

Business career

From 1983 to 1993, Shifrin worked in Zaporizhia at the steel company Dniprospecstal, rising from assistant foreman to manager of the steel plant and then head of marketing.[1][2] He then rose to prominence as a business oligarch in newly independent Ukraine, taking control of privatized steelmaker Zaporizhstal. He co-founded, with Alexander Shnaider, Midland Group, a holding company headquartered in Guernsey that embraces interests in steel (including Zaporizhstal, Ukraine's fourth largest steel mill), shipping, real estate, agriculture and sports. Together they own a share in The St. Regis Toronto and formerly owned Maccabi Tel Aviv and a Formula One team, Midland F1 Racing.[3]

In the 2006 edition of the Sunday Times Rich List, Shifrin was listed at no. 59 with an estimated wealth of £920 million.[4] In Forbes magazine's ranking of "The World's Billionaires" in 2009, Shifrin was ranked 559th with an estimated fortune of $1.3 billion.[5] In 2013, Focus magazine estimated his net worth at $893.3 million, making him the No. 20 richest person in Ukraine.[1] By 2020 Shifrin completed his pull-out from Russia and by 2022 all his businesses in former-Soviet countries were closed.

Writing career

In 2006, together with his late father, Shifrin published a book titled The Theory of Metallurgical Processes for which he was awarded the State Prize of Ukraine.

In 2018 Shifrin's book From Infinity to Man: The Fundamental Ideas of Kabbalah Within the Framework of Information Theory and Quantum Physics was published in Russian, with an English edition being released in 2019.[6]

In 2019, his children's book Travels with Sushi in the Land of the Mind was published in English.[7] In 2020 it was named a Distinguished Favorite by the Independent Press Award for Juvenile Fiction.[8]

He is a sponsor of Jewish Book Week.[9]

He regularly writes articles about the Kabbalah of Information for the Jerusalem Post.[10]

Philanthropy

In 2003 he financed the reconstruction of the oldest synagogue in Kyiv and Jewish educational center dedicated to his late father.[11] He also co-sponsored the construction of synagogues in Moscow, Volgograd, and Zaporozhye.[2] He sponsors over 60 Chabad educational classes for children. He served as regional vice-president of the World Jewish Congress.[2][12] Following the outbreak of full-scale hostilities between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, Shifrin decried armed conflict[13] and submitted a request to the Russian embassy in London in which he strongly condemned the aggression against Ukraine[14] and requested the renunciation of his Russian citizenship.[15] He and other family members donated to Ukrainian organizations supporting people within and near warzones[16] including the UK-based World Jewish Relief.[17]

Personal life

Shifrin and his wife live in London with their three children.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Slobodyan, Yelena (27 October 2016). "Кто такой украинский миллиардер Шифрин, который получил гражданство России?". Argumenty i Fakty. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Eduard Shifrin, Vice-President". World Jewish Congress. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011.
  3. ^ "Profile: Eduard Shifrin". Forbes. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Steel tycoon seals £7m deal for Premiere club". The Jewish Chronicle. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  5. ^ "The World's Billionaires: #559 Eduard Shifrin". Forbes. 11 March 2009. Archived from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  6. ^ Rothke, Ben (24 July 2019). "Book review: From Infinity to Man". blogs.timesofisrael.com. The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  7. ^ Kiverstein, Angela (19 February 2021). "Love of books—and sushi". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  8. ^ "2020 Distinguished Favorites Independent Press Award". IndependentBookAward. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  9. ^ "FESTIVAL SPONSORS AND PARTNERS". JBW. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  10. ^ "Kabbalah | The Jerusalem Post". www.jpost.com. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  11. ^ Rocker, Simon (8 March 2019). "The link between Kabbalah and quantum physics". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  12. ^ "13th WJC Plenary Assembly - 'We Stand By Israel'". World Jewish Congress. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  13. ^ "E. Shyfrin -talks about Kabbalah and condemns aggression against Ukraine". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  14. ^ "Aggression against Ukraine and the Theory of Chaos - opinion". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
  15. ^ "Renunciation of Russian Citizenship". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-05-31. What is easy to get into, but hard to get out of? My answer is Russian citizenship. In 2020 I left Russia because of the harassment by "siloviki". After 24/02/22 I tried to understand the procedure of renunciation of the Russian citizenship. In the beginning of May, 2022, I sent a letter to the embassy of Russian Federation in UK in which I expressed my protest against the aggression against Ukraine and renounced down my and my daughter's citizenship.
  16. ^ "Copies of letters from the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine and the Kyiv Jewish Community organisation". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  17. ^ "Eduard Shyfrin's appeal to help our brothers and sisters in Ukraine". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
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