It's half time for Red Rom
By MARTIN PHILLIPS
Senior Feature Writer
October 17, 2006
ROMAN Abramovich is the man with the Midas touch – but he may be about to get his Goldfingers burned.
From being a penniless orphan and later selling toys from a market stall, he cashed in on the “privatisation” of Russia’s state aluminium and oil assets to amass an £11BILLION fortune.
More recently he has turned Chelsea FCÂ’s fortunes to gold, rescuing them from near bankruptcy to make them league champions.
Meanwhile, in the gossip columns in her native Russia, his friend Daria Zhukova — nicknamed “Dasha” — is regarded as a leading member of the zolotaya molodyozh — the gilded youth, as the children of Russia’s new rich are known.
She has been living up to her gilded reputation with Abramovich.
The tycoon invited her to stay on his £72million superyacht Pelorus, it was revealed yesterday.
Stunning Daria — at the centre of claims that Red Rom’s marriage to Irina is in trouble — joined him as the ship visited the Maldives.
The 23-year-old brunette wowed fellow guests and crew members by stripping down to a black bikini on the vesselÂ’s sumptuous sun deck.
She lapped up the luxury of her own suite in the guest quarters while being pampered by legions of the Russian oil mogulÂ’s staff.
Abramovich — who turns 40 next week — has spent less and less time on his incredible floating palace in recent months. But Irina, 39, and his five children have regularly flown out to spend time on board.
In Russia Irina is known as someone in a zolotaya kletka — golden cage — due to the constraints put upon her by her husband’s wealth, and the resulting security concerns.
The tycoon has met Daria all over the world since their friendship blossomed earlier this year.
The sexy brunette — an ex of Lord Freddie Windsor and Russian tennis ace Marat Safin — joined him in Barcelona for a Chelsea Champions League match in March.
Since then she has watched Blues home games from a private executive box at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea owner also invited her and her father, Alexander Zhukov, to a New Year party.
Speculation is now rife that a costly divorce could be on the cards.
Some reports say that Irina, mother of AbramovichÂ’s five children, had already consulted London solicitor Raymond Tooth before news of her husbandÂ’s friendship with Dasha emerged.
Mr Tooth, known as Jaws, is the boss of Sears Tooth — one of Britain’s top divorce law firms.
The company acted for Cheryl Barrymore in her split from husband Michael, for Sadie Frost in her break-up from Jude Law, and for Eimear Montgomerie in her divorce from golfer Colin.
Mr Tooth has engaged the services of £500-an-hour barrister Nicholas Mostyn QC, known in legal circles as “Mr Payout” because of his success rate.
Mr Mostyn won £4million for former England football star Ray Parlour’s wife Karen, including half his future earnings, and he is also acting for Sir Paul McCartney in his divorce from Heather Mills.
Links to Mr Tooth were yesterday strenuously denied by Abramovich’s camp. In a carefully worded statement, a spokesman said: “No member of the Abramovich family has filed suit for divorce, nor have they retained the law firm of Sears Tooth or any other law firm regarding a possible divorce. Suggestions that the Abramovichs are facing serious difficulties are similarly untrue.”
But rumours continue to abound. In the event of a divorce, any lawyerÂ’s hardest job might be to locate all of AbramovichÂ’s assets.
The billionaire is famously secretive about his business dealings and many of his companies, including the business which owns Chelsea, are registered in the British Virgin Islands.
More obvious are some of the trappings of his wealth, including Chelsea, which he bought for £140million in 2003 and on which he spent £146million last year alone.
In London Abramovich is believed to own at least six properties with a combined value of more than £30million. He has a flat in Lowndes Square, and four others nearby, plus a house in Belgravia.
He has a 400-acre estate at Fyning Hill in Sussex which is reckoned to be worth £18million, a £15million French chateau and a 104-acre estate near Moscow worth £8million.
As well as houses, the world’s 11th richest man has three mega-yachts, and an even bigger £100million “gigayacht” on order.
Current flagship of his fleet is the Pelorus, which has bulletproof glass and its own submarine.
The Ecstasea, also worth £72million, has its own pool and Turkish bath.
A third cruiser, Le Grand Blue, cost a modest £60million and is used mainly for staff.
He also has his own aircraft — a £56million Boeing 767, a £28million Boeing business jet and two helicopters worth £35million.
Irina, who has been married to Abramovich for 15 years, was with him even before he made his fortune, when she had a good job as an international air stewardess for Aeroflot, so she could credibly claim to have helped him amass the fortune.
Indeed, when all of her husbandÂ’s money had failed to attract Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea from AC Milan, it was Irina who was credited with clinching the deal after she befriended the footballerÂ’s American model wife Kristin Pazik.
The Abramoviches both dote on their children, but that means Irina prefers to take a time-consuming hands-on role rather than rely on nannies.
Her biggest advantage in any divorce dealings might be her husbandÂ’s desire to reach agreement and avoid court hearings in which his assets and business dealings might be picked over in detail. Meanwhile, as hints of divorce hit the news, Daria was in Moscow rather than her usual penthouse home in Kensington, which is owned by her father Alexander.
He now holds a British passport and operates his oil business from a suite of offices in Park Lane, but Daria, according to friends, was never tempted to join the family firm.
Her mother, a scientist who lectured at Oxford and separated from her husband when Daria was three, put her daughter into private school in Britain and then sent her to the US to finish her education.
After leaving school Daria did a homeopathy course in London plus some modelling before launching her own line of casual clothing called Kova and T.
By the time the News of the World reported her friendship with the Chelsea owner last week — in spite of his failed attempts to get a court injunction to stop them — his wife had already consulted lawyers.
If she takes it all the way, the lawyers could be looking at a game of two halves.
And Irina’s half could be worth more than £5BILLION.
