Investing

Len Blavatnik: An Overview

Len Blavatnik is one of the world’s wealthiest men, who made his riches through investing in post-soviet aluminum and energy companies that earned him his fortune. Blavatnik uses his main company, Access Industries to manage his many holding companies.

Although Blavatnik is a businessman, he is also a well-known philanthropist. The Blavatnik Foundation and the Jewish cultural non-profit are the main charities that provide support for education and the arts in Europe, Israel, and the United States. Recently the Foundation gifted $20 million to Tel Aviv University in Israel to fund a program that focused on scientific research, student film production, and faculty recruitment. Funding was also provided to the Blavatnik Center for Drug Discovery, which was created to build a state of the art laboratory for drug research groups. The Blavatnik Computer Science Research Fund is also a charity that is focused on advancing computer science research at the Blavatnik School of Computer Science. Len Blavatnik also founded the Blavatnik Archive, a nonprofit that preserves artifacts, images and stories from the 20th century Jewish, WWI and WWII history.

Blavatnik was born in 1957 and was raised in Moscow. Armed with a bachelor’s degree from Moscow State University, an M.S. from Columbia University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School, Blavatnik was ready to take on the business world. The billionaire married his wife Emily and now lives in London. The couple are known to be very private and only make public appearances when they attend business or charity events.

 

How to Profit in Real Estate While Others Shy Away

Summary: Real estate investing is an aggressive market that has profound potential for solid gains.

If you’re new to the world of real estate investing, you’ll find in time that there’s a lot to learn. Investing in real estate is much more complicated than investing in stocks because of certain requirements such as financial, legal, and due diligence. This is why it’s a good idea to educate yourself before getting involved with your first investment property. This guide will help you become familiar with the fundamentals of investing.

Keep an Eye on Location

Location does matter when it comes to real estate investing. Before you place that down payment and put yourself in a significant amount of debt over your tenure of ownership, find the right location beforehand.

Many real estate investors tend to look for the worst house on the best street. It’s a principle that comes across quite a bit as one dives deeper into the world of real estate. By doing so, you obtain the opportunity to build equity. Furthermore, you can invest money to fix it up and sell it to another individual that’s looking for a house that’s ready. This route is known as the fix and flip.

Wholesale Properties Can Result in Profit

Now, there is one similarity when it comes to real estate investment and stock market investing – you’re looking to find the best deal. If you’re a savvy stock investor, you’re probably not going to purchase that many stocks at their high if you’re looking to hold for a long period of time. Instead, you’ll look to find wealth when everyone becomes fearful at the sight of it. Stocks that are beaten down to the pulp can revolutionize your wealth and you’ll end up making a large profit. That’s what you’ll want to do in real estate investing. Don’t pay the full price for a property, but instead search for wholesale properties that are offered at a discounted rate. Yes, they will most likely need work, but if you wanted a premium property you’re skipping out on the most important factor of investing: work.

---

Bio: Omar Amanat is a philanthropist and entrepreneur famous for his investments in technology and finance companies.

Museum project boosted by billionaire’s donation

Len Blavatnik has donated a sum of approximately £5m to the V&A museum. As appreciation, the Museum has named its new exhibition road entrance after Britain’s richest man, Len Blavatnik.

This donation is likely to cause controversy for the museum as most of the Len Blavatnik’s funding is scrutinized by the press.

However, Blavatnik, who is said to hold an estimated fortune of £13bn, has been a sponsor of the arts for many years. In the past, the billionaire has sponsored exhibitions at the British Museum and the National Gallery and donated to many art projects.

The V&A’s director, Martin Roth, said that the museum has a close relationship with Blavatnik as he has donated to the museum in the past.

The director of development, Jane Lawson, said that funding the museum was not easy, but they were lucky that they received great collections.

Other names that funded the museum include names like Weston (the Weston Cast Court), Sackler (the Sackler Centre for Arts Education) and Porter (the Porter Gallery, which houses temporary displays).

The new entrance hall is said to open this year and will most probably be called the Blavatnik Hall.

This new project will create a 1,200sq meter space for temporary shows.

22,000 cubic meters of soil was excavated to prepare the site. The museum has also purchased 14,500 porcelain tiles made in the Royal Tichelaar Makkum factory in Holland.

Len Blavatnik has been offering assistance to many industries, from education, by donated to universities like Oxford, and promoting new sciences by creating the Blavatnik young scientist’s award.

 

Tips on Understanding the Industries You Invest In

The most important piece of investment advice you can follow is to invest in knowledge, especially when you’re looking at a new industry to get involved with. There’s something to be said for risk tolerance, but a big part of risk management is understanding the problems you face. Here are some tips to help you develop a deeper understanding of industries before you decide to take a financial stake.

Perform Due Dilligence

“The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.” – Ben Graham

One of the founding pillars of Ben Graham’s investor knowledge is that one must never put money behind something based on hope. As you perform your due diligence, you should be keenly aware of company financials and the market for that industry. What’s in demand right now? What needs aren’t being fulfilled? Asking these questions as you hunt for opportunity will help you parse the good from the bad.

Justify Your Holdings

“Know what you own, and know why you own it.” – Peter Lynch

Everyone has heard the age old adage that you shouldn’t buy something you wouldn’t own for ten years (a Buffet quote), but it’s easy to interpret that advice as “set and forget”. Don’t be afraid to revisit your portfolio for a reminder of how you thought the stock would do, and a reality check of its actual performance.

Understand Management Aims

“That’s one thing investors always look for: are management interests aligned with investor’s interests?” – Dev Randhawa

Investment goes beyond the stock market, and when you’re evaluating a new property to own it’s crucial that you understand the aims of management. Even at the market level, understanding the management strategy helps you make determinations regarding the future of the company.