Badri Patarkatsishvili

Badri Patarkatsishvili ბადრი პატარკაციშვილი
Badri Patarkatsishvili
Born	(1955-10-31)31 October 1955 Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Died	12 February 2008(2008-02-12) (aged 52) Leatherhead, Surrey, United Kingdom
Occupation	Former Owner and CEO of Imedi, Oligarch, and Politician
Net worth	$12 Billion before death, assets frozen or confiscated by Georgian Government
Spouse(s)	Inna Gudavadze

Arkady "Badri" Patarkatsishvili (Georgian: ბადრი პატარკაციშვილი 31 October 1955 – 12 February 2008) was a Georgian businessman who also became extensively involved in politics. He contested the 2008 Georgian presidential election and came third with 7.1% of the votes. Although his first name was Arkady, he was best known by the nickname "Badri". From the early 1980s, until the time of his death, he was a flamboyant figure in business and was behind some of the most successful companies in today's Russia. From humble origins, he became the wealthiest citizen in Georgia with an estimated wealth of $12bn. He was also one of the country's largest philanthropists. Patarkatsishvili died intestate in February 2008 sparking one of the largest estate battles in legal history.

Born in Tbilisi to a Jewish family, Patarkatsishvili became an active member of the Komsomol, the youth wing of the Soviet Communist Party during the 1980s. He eventually became Komsomol leader at Maudi, a large textile operation.

In 1984 Badri became Deputy Director General of Gruzavtovazprom, a company that purchased and delivered cars and spare parts from AvtoVAZ, which was at the time, the largest car manufacturer in the Soviet Union. It was during trips made to the AvtoVAZ plant that he first met Boris Berezovsky who was to become a close friend and business associate. In 1989 Badri and Berezovsky founded LogoVaz with some of the senior executives of AvtoVAZ. LogoVaz developed software for AvtoVAZ, sold Soviet-made cars and serviced foreign cars. It was established as a joint venture with Logo Systems, an Italian company, which at the time was seen as pioneering in commercial relationships between East and West. LogoVaz established an office in Georgia and Badri became Deputy Director General of the company.

In 1992 Badri and his family moved to Moscow where he quickly became part of Berezovsky's increasingly influential political circle. LogoVaz had by this time become an extremely successful company and had made Badri a wealthy man. At the time, the Soviet Union was collapsing and there was a great deal of political uncertainty in the region. Badri, along with Berezvosky and other successful businessmen were supportive of Boris Yeltsin as he had liberalised trade with foreign countries, allowing their businesses to grow, however the wider economy was performing badly and there was growing support for Nikolai Ryzhkov's reformed communist party.