Sergei Galitsky is on the list of the richest Russians. The founder of the largest domestic retail chain Magnit and the owner of the Krasnodar football club received a financial fortune approaching seven billion US dollars.
early years
The future billionaire was born in the village of Lazarevskoye near Sochi in 1967. His father bore the surname Harutyunyan and passed it on to his son at birth. Talking about his ancestors, Sergei said that he considers himself 75% Russian, because he grew up in this environment, and only a quarter - Armenian. He does not speak Armenian, but is proud of his roots. Galitsky is the surname of his wife, whom he took at the time of marriage.
His childhood was no different from his peers. The boy spent a lot of time on the football field, and at the age of fourteen he became interested in chess, won the championship in Sochi and received the title of candidate for master of sports. He later admitted that this lesson taught him logic and helped him a lot in his future work. After graduating from school, the young man served in the army, worked as a loader in a perfume warehouse, and then became a student at the Kuban University. The future economist began his career while studying at one of the commercial banks. This happened after the magazine "Finance and Credit" published an article by sophomore Galitsky. The material made an impression not only on the editorial board of the publication, but also on the employees of the financial sector. By the time he received his diploma, the young man held the position of deputy bank manager. He quit in 1993, when he considered this job unpromising and called the bank a "change office".
Entrepreneur
In 1994, together with his comrades, he created the Transazia company, which promoted the cosmetic products of the leading companies Avon, P&G and Johnson & Johnson in the south of the country. An aspiring entrepreneur took out the first loan, purchased goods and successfully sold them. A year later, Sergei started his own business - this is how the Tander company appeared. In 1998, he opened the doors of his first own store in Krasnodar. It was a self-service outlet where customers could purchase products in small wholesale and retail. Similar stores appeared in small towns, since Galitsky did not plan to compete with large retail chains.
In 2000, the format of his trading enterprises changed, along with a wide range of goods, prices were present below market ones. Soon the stores got their familiar name - "Magnet", in its full version it sounds like "Low Tariff MAGAZINES", and their number throughout Russia was 250 units. By 2003, with a turnover of one and a half billion dollars, the chain became the largest in the country and overtook its competitors from Pyaterochka. When the shares of "Magnit" appeared on the stock exchange, Galitsky owned 58% of the company's assets, Alexey Bogachev co-owned partly (15%), the rest belonged to investors (19%) and top managers (8%). In 2007, the first Magnit hypermarkets appeared, and Galitsky was called the general director of the chain, which included 998 grocery and 469 cosmetics stores. By 2012, the trading empire with the slogan "Always Low Prices" was the leader in the Russian grocery segment and took the eighth place on the Russian market among the most profitable projects. In 2017, it was estimated at $ 15 billion. The famous Forbes magazine included Magnit in the top 100 innovative projects. The food holding company was bringing good dividends, but the entrepreneur decided to expand his business and opened several factories for the production of food, restaurants, a PR agency and a hotel.
In business, Sergey often manifests himself as an impatient person, they believe that he is aggressive towards people with low intelligence. He does not tolerate when the rules of the game are imposed on him, in such cases he is uncompromising. Once the world brand "Mars" offered conditions that did not suit him. After that, the entrepreneur removed the products of this company from circulation and replaced it with an analogue of his own production.
FC Krasnodar
Today Galitsky owns the Krasnodar football club. It all started in 2008, when a businessman acquired a supernumerary club. In his hometown, he created a stadium, which was called the Krasnodar Colosseum or Galizey among the local population. Soon a park grew up next to the stadium. On twenty-three hectares, there is a summer amphitheater, a fountain, a climbing wall and a playground. In addition, Krasnodar children learn the basics of sports at the football academy, annually, the businessman spends three million dollars for the needs of the younger generation. The football club pleases the sponsor with its successes. The athletes became winners in the youth championship, bronze medalists in the national tournament and won a number of victories in the Eurocup. Every year, the entrepreneur spends about forty million dollars on the development of the club, considering this not only an occupation for the soul, but also his contribution to the development of domestic football. The businessman encourages football players who have played 100 matches on the field, defending the honor of the club, with a Rolex watch, more than ten players have already become owners of this gift.
Personal life
Sergey met his future wife Victoria during his studies. The girl graduated from the same university, specializing in accounting. Galitsky does not really like to reveal the details of family life. They say that the father-in-law insisted on Sergei's new surname, who did not want his grandchildren to bear an Armenian surname. In 1995, the couple had a daughter, Pauline. The wife herself was engaged in raising the child, since the financial situation of her husband allowed her not to work. The girl continued the family tradition, as her parents were educated at the Kuban University. Today she is one of the richest heiresses in the country. There is a joking opinion that the cheese "Ah, Polinka!", Which is sold in the shops of a businessman, got its name in honor of his daughter.
How does he live today
In 2015, "Magnit" consisted of 14, 5 thousand stores, the network was actively growing and developing. At the same time, the businessman sold 1% of the company's shares, having rescued almost ten billion rubles. A year later, Galitsky sold another 29% of the company's shares. He explained his decision by the need for changes in business and in life. The company's investors wanted the change, and the founder agreed to the move.
Throughout his life, a businessman has a great passion for speed. He loves to drive fast, and prefers Ferrari of cars, although he considers it not the most comfortable car. In addition, the billionaire owns a 100-meter yacht and his own jet plane. Despite the great financial opportunities, Galitsky is not picky in everyday life. He calls his favorite dish fried potatoes, prefers coffee and apples. In his spare time he watches The Godfather and TV series about spies. The businessman considers Italy the best place to relax, but he loves Krasnodar more than anything else and is very proud to live in this city.
As before, Sergey is full of plans and ideas, and his activity and energy give reason to believe that he will certainly reach new heights in his career.
