Oleg Deripaska is a Russian oligarch and industrialist. His company, Basic Element, works in the energy, construction, aluminum, and agriculture sector. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed a penalty or sanctions against some of Deripaska’s companies in April 2018.
He was once Russia’s richest man and the 9th richest man in the world but lost a lot of his fortune after the 2007-2008 financial crisis and heavy debts. Oleg has donated over $250 million to various causes including, educational causes.
By 1993-94, he had accumulated a 20% stake in a Siberian aluminum factory that was once state-owned. Fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich bought most of the holdings in Russia’s aluminum industry and merged them with Deripaska’s company, creating Rusal – the company that controls Aughinish Alumina in Askeaton, County Limerick.
The Askeaton company refines imported bauxite into alumina which is a major ingredient in the manufacturing of aluminum. Abramovich later sold his stake to Deripaska, leaving him the biggest player in one of the world’s most lucrative industries.