Jun. 11, 2025 |
Playing in the gray. In the 1990s, London was the number-one destination for corrupt businessmen from the former Soviet Union, most of whom had made their fortunes by leveraging their political contacts when their country’s state-owned enterprises were privatized. Russians bought Kensington mansions, Mayfair townhouses, and all kinds of business interests. Perhaps most famously, the oil magnate Roman Abramovich bought the legendary Chelsea Football Club. In time, London was home to so many ex-Soviet billionaires that it became known as “Londongrad.”
Why London?
—Gustav Jönsson
