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Revision as of 23:10, 21 March 2022

Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor
Вячеслав Моше Кантор
Kantor in the Palace of Nations, Geneva
Kantor in June 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Born (1953-09-08) September 8, 1953 (age 71)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
NationalityRussian
EducationMoscow Aviation Institute (diploma, 1976)
Moscow Aviation Institute (PhD, 1981)
OccupationBusinessman
Websitemoshekantor.com

Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor (Template:Lang-ru,[1] born on September 8, 1953 in Moscow) is a Russian businessman and philanthropist who has close ties to the Vladimir Putin regime in Russia.[2][3][4] Kantor heads the Acron Group, one of the leading mineral fertilizer producers and distributors in the world.

Kantor is President of the European Jewish Congress, President of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation (WHF), Chairman of the European Jewish Fund (EJF), and Chairman of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Policy Council.[5][6]

In 2021, Forbes estimated Kantor's net worth at US$7.6 billion[7] and the 630th richest person in the world.[7] In 2019, Kantor entered The Sunday Times Rich List for the first time, with an estimated wealth of £2.992 billion, making him the 53rd richest man in the UK.[8] In the 2020 edition, Kantor's wealth is estimated to have increased by £496 million, to £3.488 billion.[9]

Early life and education

Kantor was born and spent his early years in Moscow, and obtained a degree from the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) in 1976 and did research for MAI and NPO Spektr. In 1981, he completed his PhD in Spacecraft Automatic Control Systems. He worked as a scientist and headed one of MAI research laboratories.

Career

In 1996–2000 he was an economic adviser to the Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly. In 1989–1993, Kantor was Director General of Intelmas, a telecoms company.

Kantor heads the Acron Group, one of the leading mineral fertilizer producers and distributors in the world.[10] He has close ties to the Vladimir Putin regime in Russia.[2][3][4][11][12]

Civic activities

Kantor is President of the European Jewish Congress since 2007,[2][3][4] having been re-elected to the position in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020.[13] The EJC, the largest secular organization representing the interests of European Jewry, is an influential, international public association representing 2.5 million Jews across the European continent in 42 national Jewish communities.

In 2021, he was reelected Chairman of the Policy Council of the World Jewish Congress for the third time[14][15][16] Kantor is a Vice President of the Jewish Leadership Council.[17] In 2010, he established the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University.[18][19] In 2019, Yad Vashem nominated Moshe Kantor as Chancellor of the Council, and before it he served as its Member of Directorate since 2010.[20] Kantor was President of the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC) in 2005–2009. He founded and headed the World Holocaust Forum (WHF) in 2005 and the European Jewish Fund in 2006. Kantor is a founder and chairman of the European Jewish Fund (EJF).

He has chaired the World Holocaust Forum Foundation.[21][22] In 2020, the World Holocaust Forum organized by Kantor came under controversy after Vladimir Putin was allowed to give a speech that distorted the history of the Soviet Union in World War II.[12][11] The forum refused to allow Polish President Andrzej Duda to have a speaking slot.[12][11]

He is the founder and president of President of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR).

In 2007, Kantor founded and was elected president of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, an international non-governmental organisation uniting leading world-renowned experts on nuclear non-proliferation, materials and delivery vehicles. The Forum was established pursuant to a decision of the International Conference held in Luxembourg on May 24–25, 2007. The conference was attended by over 50 renowned experts from 14 countries, including Sergey Kirienko, Director General of the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Nikolay Laverov, Academician and Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), William Perry, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense, and Hans Blix, Chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission and former Director General of the IAEA.

Personal life

Kantor is married to Anna Kantor and has four sons and a daughter.

Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor has bought a violin mabe by famous Italian violin maker Riccardo Antoniazzi in 1912. The violin has been given as a First Prize of the 2nd International Violinists Vladimir Spivakov Contest. Its price was $140,000.[23]

Kantor is a trustee and Life President of the Anna Freud Centre (London, UK).[24][25] Kantor is patron of Kantor King Solomon High School (London, UK).[26] Kantor is actively supporting the development of the school which is a Jewish Comprehensive school based in Redbridge.[27]

Kantor has been a benefactor of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation since 2013, in which capacity he has facilitated various projects.[28]

Kantor has been appointed Life Governor and Trustee of the King Edward VII Hospital in London. The Kantor Charitable Foundation supported the redevelopment of the site adjacent to the hospital, Macintosh House (the Kantor Medical Centre).[29][30]

Kantor is president of the Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery (MAGMA),[31] founded in 2001 in Moscow on Kantor's initiative.

In 2018, President of the Russian Academy of Arts and People's Artist of the URSS Zurab Tsereteli officially awarded Kantor as the President of MAGMA Museum with the robe and diploma of Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts.[32]

Honors and awards

Kantor received the following government awards: Order of Friendship (Russia, 1998), Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit (Poland, 2005), Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (Ukraine, 2006), Order of Leopold (Belgium, 2009), Chevalier of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (France, 2012), Knight’s Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy, 2013), Grand Cross with honours of the National Order of Merit (Romania, 2014), Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (France, 2014, presented in 2015), The Order of Honour (Russia, 2016), Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium, 2020) and Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria (Austria, 2021).[33]

He is an honorary citizen of Veliky Novgorod (1997)[34] and Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts.[35]

In addition, he received an honorary doctorate from Tel-Aviv University (2004)[36] and the Medal of Merit "Deserved for Tolerance" by the Ecumenical Foundation Tolerance (2011).

Kantor has been recognized for seven consecutive years as one of the '50 Most Influential Jews in the World'.[37]

In 1997, Viatcheslav Kantor was named Honorary Citizen of Veliky Novgorod.[38]

See also

References

  1. ^ Rebel, Alina (September 3, 2020). History of the Jews in Russia (in Russian). p. 249. ISBN 978-5-457-53661-6. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "How Putin's Man Made His Way to the Top of European Jewry". Haaretz. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Putin Ally Is Frontrunner to Head European Jewish Congress". Haaretz. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Holocaust row seethes as leaders gather in Israel". BBC News. January 22, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  5. ^ "Moshe Kantor to head WJC Policy Council".
  6. ^ "Ron Lauder re-elected as WJC president". May 8, 2013 – via www.ynetnews.com.
  7. ^ a b "Viatcheslav Kantor". Forbes.
  8. ^ Times, The Sunday (May 12, 2019). "Rich List 2019: profiles 53–100, featuring Mike Ashley and Bernie Ecclestone". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  9. ^ Times, The Sunday. "Rich List 2020: profiles 21-50, featuring Salma Hayek and Sir Richard Branson". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  10. ^ "Acron Group's Output Up 7% in 2020". www.acron.ru.
  11. ^ a b c "Dim The Lights And Cue The Revisionism: Russia Turns Holocaust Remembrance Into Political Theater". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c Correspondent, Catherine Philp, Diplomatic. "Vladimir Putin's Holocaust speech rewrote history, museum admits". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved March 15, 2022. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Dr. Moshe Kantor reelected as European Jewish Congress President". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.
  14. ^ Congress, World Jewish. "World Jewish Congress". World Jewish Congress.
  15. ^ "EJC President Moshe Kantor re-elected as Chairman of World Jewish Congress' Policy Council". Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  16. ^ Congress, World Jewish. "World Jewish Congress". World Jewish Congress.
  17. ^ "Vice Presidents". Jewish Leadership Council. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  18. ^ "'Holocaust didn't erase Jewish life'". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.
  19. ^ "World's 50 most influential Jews". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.
  20. ^ "Mr. & MRS. Moshe Kantor, Russia".
  21. ^ World leaders convene in Jerusalem to remember Holocaust and counter anti-Semitism
  22. ^ About the Fifth World Holocaust Forum
  23. ^ Bashinform, September 17, 2018, "The Winner of the Vladimir Spivakov Contest Will Get a Violin for $140,000"
  24. ^ "Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families". www.annafreud.org.
  25. ^ "Trustees of Anna Freud Centre".
  26. ^ "Home". Kantor King Solomon High School.
  27. ^ Davis, Alex. "King Solomon school changes name in Jewish leader's honour". www.jewishnews.co.uk.
  28. ^ "Boards and Committees". www.roh.org.uk.
  29. ^ "King Edward VII's Hospital. Annual Report and Financial Statements" (PDF).
  30. ^ Baxendale, Barney. "Our Team".
  31. ^ Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery
  32. ^ "President of the Museum of Avant-Garde Mastery Viatcheslav Kantor elected Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts".
  33. ^ "Grapevine November 12: Yet another honor". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  34. ^ "Реш. Новгородской городской Думы от 12/10/1997 №272 "О присвоении звания "Почетный гражданин Новгорода""".
  35. ^ "З. К. Церетели вручил регалии почётного члена Российской академии художеств Вячеславу Кантору и Марине Лошак". www.rah.ru. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  36. ^ Tel Aviv University Webflash – May 2004
  37. ^ "The Jerusalem Post's 50 most influential Jews". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  38. ^ "Honorary Citizens of Veliky Novgorod at the City Administration website – Viatcheslav Kantor – 08.09.1953". Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
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