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 to his son at birth. Narrating about the 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 - the last name of the wife, which he took upon marriage.
His childhood was no different from his peers. The boy spent a lot of time on the football field, and at 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 a lot in his future work. After graduating from school, the young man served in the army, worked as a loader in a perfumery warehouse, and then became a student at Kuban University. The future economist began his career biography while studying at one of the commercial banks. This happened after the magazine "Finance and Credit" published an article by sophomore Galitsky. The material impressed not only the editorial board of the publication, but also the employees of the financial sector. By the time he received his diploma, the young man was the deputy manager of the bank. He quit in 1993, when he considered this work to be futile and called the bank a "money-changing office."
Businessman
In 1994, together with his comrades, he created the Transasia company, which promoted the cosmetic products of the leading companies Avon, P&G, and Johnson & Johnson in the south of the country. The novice entrepreneur took the first loan, purchased goods and successfully sold them. A year later, Sergey began his own business - this is how the company Thunder appeared. In 1998, his first own store in Krasnodar opened the door. It was a self-service trading establishment where customers could purchase products in small wholesale and retail. Similar stores appeared in small cities, since Galitsky did not plan to compete with large retail chains.
In 2000, the format of its trading enterprises changed; along with a wide range of goods, prices were lower than market prices. Soon, stores got their usual name - “Magnet”, in its full version it sounds like “Low Tariff Stores”, and their number throughout Russia was 250 units. By 2003, with a turnover of one and a half billion dollars, the network became the largest in the country and overtook competitors from Pyaterochka. When Magnit shares appeared on the stock exchange, Galitsky owned 58% of the company's assets, partly owned by Alexei Bogachev (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 network, which included 998 grocery stores and 469 cosmetics stores. By 2012, the trading empire with the slogan “Always Low Prices” was the leader in the Russian food segment and took eighth place in the Russian market among the most profitable projects. In 2017, it was estimated at 15 billion dollars. The famous Forbes publication has included Magnet in the top 100 innovative projects. The grocery holding brought good dividends, but the entrepreneur decided to expand his business and opened several factories for the production of products, restaurants, a public relations agency and a hotel.
In business, Sergei 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" proposed conditions that did not suit him. After that, the entrepreneur took the products of this company out of circulation and replaced it with an analog of its own production.
FC Krasnodar
Today, Galitsky owns the Krasnodar football club. It all started in 2008, when a businessman acquired a provincial club. In his hometown, he created a stadium, which among the local population was called the "Krasnodar Colosseum" or "Galois". Soon, a park grew near 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, every year a businessman spends three million dollars on the needs of the younger generation. The football club pleases the sponsor with its success. Athletes became winners in the youth championship, bronze medalists in the national tournament and won a number of victories in the European Cup. Every year, an 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 spent 100 matches on the field, defending the honor of the club, with Rolex watches, more than ten players have already won this gift.
Personal life
Sergey met his future wife Victoria while studying. The girl graduated from the same university, majoring in accounting. Galitsky does not really like to reveal the details of family life. They say that a father-in-law insisted on Sergei’s new surname, who did not want his grandchildren to carry an Armenian surname. In 1995, the couple had a daughter, Polina. The wife herself was engaged in raising a child, since her husband's financial situation allowed her not to work. The girl continued the tradition of the family, as her parents received education at the Kuban University. Today she is one of the richest heirs of the country. There is a humorous opinion that the cheese "Ah, Polinka!", Which is sold in the businessman’s stores, got its name in honor of his daughter.
