1999–2026
40 Major Trophies
We Build
1 / 4
Rinat
Akhmetov at 60
Over a quarter century building one of Eastern Europe's largest industrial groups — and keeping Ukraine's economy alive through its darkest hour.
A lifetime of strategic investment and support for Ukraine
Rinat
Akhmetov at 60
Akhmetov at 60
Rinat Akhmetov’s philosophy is captured in three short committments that he uses to define SCM’s mission
We build.
We invest
in people.
We keep
our word.
As Rinat Akhmetov reaches his 60th birthday on 21 September 2026, he continues to be the leading investor in modern Ukrainian history. Over a quarter of a century, he has built one of Eastern Europe’s largest industrial groups.
Generated more than $33 billion in cumulative tax contributions to the Ukrainian state, sustained up to 150,000 jobs at its pre-war peak — and since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, kept the machine running through the most destructive war in Europe since 1945.
$33.0B+
Cumulative tax contributions to Ukraine
150,000+
Jobs sustained at pre-war peak
26+ years
Building Ukrainian industry
$392M+
Humanitarian & defence support 2022–2026
01
We
Build
When Rinat Akhmetov founded in Donetsk in 2000, Ukraine’s industrial heartland was still recovering from the disorder of the 1990s — broken supply chains, unpaid wages, assets fragmented across inefficient owners.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, industrial and commercial links were destroyed. Ukraine lived through a tough time: unemployment, poverty, annual inflation of 10,000% – it was horrific. People were just working out how to survive
He believed the country needed globally competitive, professionally managed businesses, not Soviet-era trading posts.
I took on responsibility; I convinced Western investors to invest in Ukraine. We restarted the factories, paid off all debts to workers, built new production facilities and began selling products on global markets.
From 2002 onwards, SCM rolled out international management standards across the portfolio. Audits, governance committees and group financial controls were put in place.
These were not paperwork. They were the precondition for accessing global capital markets and for building companies able to lead their sectors.
2005 — The Defining Act
The Creation of DTEK
€12.5B
Invested in upgrading energy assets
€2.4B
Repairing war-damaged grids since 2022
500 MW
Tyligulska wind farm — largest private wartime investment
230+
Russian attacks on thermal power plants repaired
, founded in 2005, has grown from a regional coal producer into Ukraine’s largest private energy company and investor, and a pan-European energy business spanning extraction, power generation, distribution, retail services and trading. Employing 55,000 people, DTEK has invested more than €12 billion in energy projects since its foundation.
Tyligulska Wind Farm — Mykolaiv Region — Commissioned May 2023
The World’s First Wind Farm
Built in an Active War Zone
The year 2006 was decisive: three new operating pillars
The year 2006 was decisive: three new operating pillars were founded within twelve months — metals group , clay and minerals group UMG (now a private equity firm ), and property business SCM Estate (later renamed )
Mr Akhmetov opened up international capital markets to expand Ukrainian businesses
Metinvest obtained a $400 million syndicated loan from BNP Paribas in France.
It then issued $500 million in Eurobonds.
Lastly, it expanded the financing deal to $700 million led by Deutsche Bank in Germany.
$400M
Metinvest obtained a $400 million syndicated loan from BNP Paribas in France.
$500M
It then issued $500 million in Eurobonds.
$700M
Lastly, it expanded the financing deal to $700 million led by Deutsche Bank in Germany.
Metinvest: International expansion
Another key focus in this period was integrating with international markets to build production and knowledge chains from Ukraine to its trade partners. In 2008, bought the Italian rolling mill Trametal and its UK subsidiary Spartan, putting Ukrainian plate steel directly into the European market. In 2009, it acquired United Coal Company in the United States and a controlling stake in Promet Steel in Bulgaria. Mr Akhmetov was building the leading Ukrainian metals group capable of competing in Europe and globally.
$22.8 billion
By 2010, SCM’s assets had grown by almost 23 per cent year on year to $22.8 billion,
more than 94%
and group EBITDA had risen by more than 94 per cent, showing a resilient response to the 2008–9 global financial crisis.
The Samba School
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
Much of what Mr Akhmetov built is not measured in tonnes of steel or watts of electricity. He has been president of since 1996, and the club’s transformation under his ownership is one of the most interesting stories in modern European football. When he took over the team, it was in terrible condition. The team had no stadium, training facility or even a bus to travel in. The players were earning only $200 or $300 a month, as he told the Guardian this year. Nevertheless, Mr Akhmetov declared the goal was to win the championship. “Everyone called me insane... People were mocking me, but they don’t need to mock any more.”
2009
1 UEFA Cup
2004–2026
11 Ukrainian Cups
2004–2026
15 UPL titles
More about FC Shakhtar Donetsk
In 1999 he initiated the founding of a football academy and the construction of the Kirsha training ground — at the time among the most advanced facilities of its kind in Europe. The first Ukrainian league title under his presidency followed in 2002, ending more than three decades of Dynamo Kyiv dominance.
In 2004 he appointed the Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu with a clear mandate: build a side capable of competing at the highest level in Europe. Backed by Mr Akhmetov's investment, Lucescu and the club pioneered a model that became known as Europe's "samba school" — signing young Brazilian players and mixing them with top Ukrainian talent.
Three months after the Istanbul triumph, on 29 August 2009, the Donbas Arena opened in Donetsk — Eastern Europe's first UEFA Category 4 stadium, financed personally by Mr Akhmetov at a cost of around $400 million. The opening on Donetsk City Day and Miners’ Day featured a headline performance from Beyoncé. The 52,000-seat arena hosted matches at UEFA Euro 2012 and was Shakhtar's home until russia's 2014 invasion forced the club into exile.
Even exile hasn’t stopped the club's domestic success. In the three decades since Mr Akhmetov assumed the presidency in 1996, Shakhtar have won 40 major trophies — 16 Ukrainian Premier League titles, 14 Ukrainian Cups, nine Ukrainian Super Cups and the 2009 UEFA Cup. Seven of those league championships, including the most recent, secured in May 2026 with three rounds to spare, have come since the move from Donetsk, with the club playing its home fixtures more than a thousand kilometres from its own stadium — in Lviv domestically, and across the border in Poland in European competition.
Donbas Arena
29 August 2009
$400M
52,000 Seats
UEFA Euro 2012 Host
02
We Invest
in People
In 2005, he established the Foundation for Development of Ukraine, which in 2008 was restructured as the . For two decades it has been Ukraine's leading philanthropic body. Long before the war it tackled tuberculosis, championed orphan adoption through the "Say No to Orphanhood" programme that placed 10,000 children with new families, and pioneered public-health interventions.
"I think that a happy person is not the one who has much, but the one who knows how to give himself to people."
— Rinat Akhmetov
Heart of
Azovstal
russia renewed its attacks on Ukraine, including Donbas, in 2022, massively stepping up the war it started in 2014. As Mr Akhmetov himself told the Guardian newspaper, “After Mariupol was destroyed [in 2022], the defenders in Azovstal stayed and resisted 73,000 russian troops. There is a legendary commander, Denys Prokopenko, callsign “Redis”. I called him several times a day and was moved by his strength and courage. I never heard panic in his voice. They were all conscientious, dignified and ready to give their lives for every inch of land. But on 20 May 2022 they had an order from higher command to surrender. I spoke with him 15 minutes before they exited Azovstal.
I said: “Denys, what can I do for you, what can I do for your guys?”
— Rinat Akhmetov
He said: “You needn’t worry about me, please take care of my men.”
Denys Prokopenko, callsign “Redis”
He knew he would be subjected to captivity but didn’t ask for any personal privilege. This is how the “” project, which supports Mariupol’s defenders and their families, came to life. I promised I’d help those guys, and I’ll do whatever is possible."
8,000+
Defenders & families supported
28,000+
Instances of assistance
300
Apartments purchased for disabled defenders
$54M
Committed to support defenders and their families
Our
Impact
Rinat Akhmetov Foundation
13 million food packages distributed. Over 700,000 units of medication. Humanitarian assistance to more than 18 million people across Ukraine since 2014. The Foundation's has recorded over 140,000 first-hand testimonies from Ukrainian civilians affected by the war — the largest such archive in the world.
Say No to Orphanhood
Long before the war the tackled tuberculosis, championed orphan adoption and pioneered public-health interventions. Placed 10,000 children with new families through the "Say No to Orphanhood" programme.
Veterans Workforce Integration
Of the approximately 150,000 people employed by SCM in Ukraine, around 15,000 have been mobilised. Metinvest Polytechnic retrains veterans for automated logistics and supervisory roles. DTEK has retrofitted mine surface facilities with elevators, ramps and automated control systems.
By February 2026, combined humanitarian, defence and civilian assistance from SCM businesses, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, the Heart of Azovstal initiative and FC Shakhtar exceeded $368 million — making SCM the largest private donor in Ukraine.
Steel Front Initiative — Defence Programme
900 Mobile Steel Shelters
150,000 Bulletproof Vests
31 Anti-Mine Trawls
Manufactured and procured through Metinvest for Western and Ukrainian tanks and armoured vehicles, and protective screens for Armed Forces vehicles.
03
We Keep
Our Word
When russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, his position was unambiguous: "My position has always been and will remain unambiguous: an independent, democratic and united Ukraine with Crimea and my native Donbas." When the full-scale invasion came in February 2022, Mr Akhmetov restated the commitment publicly within hours, telling Forbes:
"I am in Ukraine and I am not going to leave the country. I share the same feelings with all Ukrainians: I am sincerely waiting for the victory of Ukraine in this war."
— Rinat Akhmetov
Keeping the Economy Running
2022
Onwards
$4B+
Invested in restoring Ukrainian infrastructure since 2022
$8B+
Total taxes paid since full-scale invasion began
$2.2B
Tax contributions in 2025 alone
1 in 3
Dollars of private investment in Ukraine covered by the survey
Seeking Justice
$300M+
Crimea Arbitration Award
28,000+
In Parallel Claims Filed
300
ECHR Violations Found
"I am filing a claim for full compensation from the aggressor country for all the losses we have suffered since 2014… I am going to invest the awarded compensation to rebuild and open new factories and plants, create jobs, and contribute to the growth of the Ukrainian economy."
First lawsuit filed over seizure of Crimean assets. In November 2023, an UNCITRAL tribunal ruled russia's expropriation unlawful — ordered $267 million in damages. In February 2026, the US Court of Appeals unanimously rejected russia's sovereign-immunity appeal, clearing the way for enforcement of an award now valued at over $300 million.
On 27 June 2022, Mr Akhmetov filed his own application against the russian federation at the European Court of Human Rights. In October 2022, sixteen Metinvest enterprises - including Azovstal and Illich Iron and Steel Works - filed parallel claims seeking around $10 billion.
In April 2023, Mr Akhmetov initiated separate arbitration proceedings for the unlawful seizure of assets in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions between 2014 and 2017 - believed to be the first known investment-treaty case concerning eastern Ukraine.
On 9 July 2025, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights delivered its landmark judgment in Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, holding russia accountable across eighteen separate findings of violation for systematic human rights abuses committed in Ukraine from 2014 to 2022. The ruling removed a central legal obstacle for SCM's pending multi-billion-dollar claims.
04
Looking
Ahead
As Rinat Akhmetov reaches his 60th birthday, the record speaks for itself. Ambitious and transparent business practices have built one of Europe's most resilient war-tested private investment groups. The forward agenda is already in place: a green-energy build-out led by DTEK, the move into European green steel through Metinvest, the rebuilding of Ukrainian critical infrastructure, and a workforce being remade to support tens of thousands of returning veterans.
Green Energy
DTEK-led build-out — Tyligulska expansion to 500 MW, largest private wartime investment in Ukraine.
European Green Steel
Metinvest Adria — new state-of-the-art steel plant in Italy, integrating Ukrainian supply chains with EU markets.
Critical Infrastructure
$4B+ invested since 2022 in restoring and rebuilding Ukrainian infrastructure damaged by russian attacks.
Veterans Economy
SCM redesigning workplaces across all companies to integrate 15,000+ mobilised employees returning from service.
Guided by conviction
Mr Akhmetov continues to deploy the resources of one of Europe's most consequential industrial groups so that a victorious, independent Ukraine takes its place as a modern, prosperous and fully integrated member of the European Union.
