Jan Kulczyk
Jan Kulczyk, born June 24, 1950, in Bydgoszcz, is a prominent Polish business oligarch[1]. He is the owner of Kulczyk Holding with headquarters in Warsaw, and an international investment house Kulczyk Investments (former name: Kulczyk Investment House) with headquarters in Luxembourg and offices in London, Kiev and Dubai. According to the Wprost newspaper, his fortune is estimated at PLN 7.8 billion (approximately USD$ 2.4 billion). In 2006 ranked 756 among The World Richest People by Forbes with an estimated net worth of US$1 billion, disappeared from Forbes ranking in 2007 and 2008. In 2010 he emerged on the Forbes' list again, ranked No 463 with the estimated net worth US$2,1 billion. He is also at the top of the Richest Poles list 2010.
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[edit] Education
Kulczyk is a law graduate of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań as well as a graduate of foreign trade at the University of Economics in Poznań. He holds a Ph.D. in international law. His business activities are a continuation of a family business tradition into the third generation.
[edit] Possessions
The businessman is currently dealing with investments in the following sectors: oil&gas, energy, infrastructure and real estate. Kulczyk Investments holds a 10.1% share in Aurelian Oil&Gas, a company dealing with oil and gas exploration, appraisal and production, 39% in Loon Energy Corporation, holder of an exploration and production concessions in Colombia and Peru, 48.55% in Kulczyk Oil Ventures, a company dealing with oil and gas exploration and production in the Sultanate of Brunei, Syria and Ukraine[2] as well as 7.49% in Ophir Energy, an oil and gas exploration and production company active in Africa.
In 2009 he exchanged his 28% share in in Kompania Piwowarska, a brewing company with a 42% share in the Polish beer market for 3.8% of SABMiller Plc, world’s second largest beer producer.[3] Through subsidiaries, he holds 24% in Autostrada Wielkopolska and 40% in Autostrada Wielkopolska II, companies holding a concession to construct and operate the A2 motorway in Western Poland. His companies are the leading dealers and importers of Skoda, VW, Audi and Porsche in Poland. Through KH Logistyka, he holds a nearly 58% share in PEKAES SA, a leader in the TSL market in Poland. In 2009 Kulczyk Investments acquired 90% in Chemikals, a company that operates and manages a modern trans-shipment terminal at the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast. Kulczyk Investments holds a 100% stake in Polenergia, a company operating on the energy market in Poland, and a 100% stake in an energy trading venture KI Energy Trading. Elektrownia Północ is planning to construct a coal power plant in Northern Poland. In 2011 Kulczyk Investments acquired a 100% stake in Elektrociepłownia Nowa Sarzyna, a gas-fired heat and power plant.
[edit] Business background
His father set up three companies after WW2, all of which were taken over by the communist state. In 1981, Kulczyk formed Interkulpol, one of the first companies with foreign capital in Poland. In 1988 he established the Kulczyk Tradex company, which was the only official dealer of Volkswagen and Audi in Poland. In 1991 Kulczyk Holding, a limited liability was established, and in 1993 it was transformed into a joint-stock company. Jan Kulczyk is the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the company. Kulczyk Holding belongs to the international investment group Kulczyk Investments (former name: Kulczyk Investment House), and manages the assets of the group in Poland. Completed investments include: PTC Era mobile operator (4.8% in 1993-1999, partnership with Deutsche Telekom Mobil Net GmbH), TPSA Polish telecom operator (47.5% acquired alongside France Telecom in privatisation deal and later sold to France Telecom), national oil refining and marketing PKN Orlen (nearly 5% in 2001-2005), TUiR Warta SA, an insurance company (70% gradually sold to KBC) and PTE Dom pension fund (50% disposed to KBC).
[edit] Investigation
Jan Kulczyk was associated with the Orlen affair, because, at that time Kulczyk Holding was the biggest private shareholder of PKN Orlen. At the same time, the meeting of Jan Kulczyk with Vladimir Alganov, a Russian intelligence officer and representative of one of the leading Russian enterprises operating on the energy market had exclusively business character and concerned the issued connected with trading in electrical energy. So as to solve the Orlen affair, the proceedings at the Prosecutors’ Office in Katowice commenced and the parliamentary investigative commission was appointed. Jan Kulczyk was heard as witness by the prosecutor’s office four times and submitted extensive explanation to the parliamentary commission. Due to lack of evidence, the Prosecutor’s Office discontinued the proceedings.[4]
[edit] Other activities
In October 2007, the Green Cross International (GCI) Board of Directors unanimously elected Kulczyk to succeed former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev as Chairman of the Board.[5]
In 2010, Jan Kulczyk launched the CEED Initiative, a think tank intended to promote the countries of the Central and Eastern Europe.[6].
[edit] Notes
- ^ "oligarchowie-wracaja-do-gry". http://www.polityka.p. http://www.polityka.pl/rynek/ludzie/1511530,1,oligarchowie-wracaja-do-gry.read. Retrieved 03-11-2011.
- ^ "Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc.: Adjusted Cost Base of KOV and Loon Corp Shares". www.marketwire.com. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Kulczyk-Oil-Ventures-Inc-936335.html. Retrieved 09-02-2009.
- ^ "SABMiller acquires remaining 28.1% stake in Kompania Piwowarska". www.tradingmarkets.com. http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2329541/. Retrieved 09-02-2009.
- ^ "From Poland to Hungary, Gazprom takes stealth route to domination". independent.co.uk. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/from-poland-to-hungary-gazprom-takes-stealth-route-to-domination-522003.html. Retrieved 18-12-2010.
- ^ "Green Cross International’s new Board of Directors elects new Chairman". www.greencross.dk. http://www.greencross.dk/script/site/page.asp?cat_id=80. Retrieved 09-02-2009.[dead link]
- ^ Jacek Kowalczyk (2010-06-01). "Kulczyk zmienia optykę Londynu". www.pb.pl. http://makro.pb.pl/2115147,11483,kulczyk-zmienia-optyke-londynu?ref=col2. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
