He used accumulated funds from trading to acquire stakes in the Sayanogorsk aluminum smelter from a consortium of businessmen who privatized it in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

[20] Deripaska grew up on the family's small farm, where from the age of 5 or 6, he learned how to live off the land from his grandparents,[21] who primarily raised him after his widowed mother, an engineer, had to leave to find work.

[23] In 1993, Deripaska graduated with honors in physics from Moscow State University;[28] however, the collapse of the Soviet Union greatly reduced academic funding, making it impossible for him to continue his studies as a theoretical physicist.

[23] Beyond metals, which as of 2016 remained at the core of his diversified industrial holding, Deripaska has acquired stakes in a wide range of companies in various sectors, including energy, manufacturing, commercial vehicles, auto components, financial and insurance services,[33] leasing businesses, construction,[34] aviation, and agriculture.

[38] Basic Element has been managing Deripaska's investments into companies in Russia, the CIS countries, Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe and Latin America, which employ as many as 250,000 people.

[citation needed] In 2008, whilst Deripaska was involved in a bid to buy the Daimler Chrysler Group, The Guardian reported that the United States canceled his entry visa due to "criminal associations and relationships".

[44] The Wall Street Journal likewise reported that it could have been because Deripaska has been accused of having links to organized crime in Russia and cited as their sources two unnamed U.S. law enforcement officials.

[75] At a June 2011 case management conference, the judge deferred a decision on whether Cherney would be allowed to give evidence by video link from Israel rather than appear in person.

GAZ Group produces light and medium commercial vehicles, heavy trucks, buses, cars, road construction equipment, power units, and automotive components.

[83] In March 2019, GAZ Group asked the Russian government for $468 million in support claiming that US sanctions placed on Deripaska could cut production by almost 40% in the second half of that year.

[88] In October 2014, Sochi was granted open skies status, meaning that any foreign carrier may pick up and drop off passengers and cargo with no restrictions on aircraft type, frequency, and regardless of interstate agreements.

[93] Kuban Agroholding is one of the few agrocompanies in Russia involved in embryo transfer technology that allows for the reproduction of high-yielding milk cows using less-productive surrogates.

[112] On 25 January 2010, the Financial Times published a story titled "Rusal: A lingering heat" exploring Deripaska's business relations with Sergei Popov and Anton Malevsky, alleged heads of Russian organized crime groups.

[121] In a 2011 interview with The Globe and Mail, Kinross Gold CEO Tye Burt, who knows Deripaska, said "I believe Russia recognizes Oleg's major role in building a renewed economic base in a broad range of domestic businesses and rejuvenating ailing companies and infrastructure.

[129] On 22 March 2017, the Associated Press published a report alleging that Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former presidential campaign manager, negotiated a $10 million annual contract with Deripaska to promote Russian interests in politics, business, and media coverage in Europe and the United States, starting in 2005.

[132][133] Responding to the allegations, on 28 March 2017, Deripaska published open letters in the print editions of The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal in which he denied having signed a $10 million contract with Manafort in order to benefit the Putin government.

"[136] Congressional sources cited by The New York Times said lawmakers declined Deripaska's request[clarification needed] after he had asked for immunity from criminal prosecution.

[144] In February 2018, Alexei Navalny published a video about a meeting between Deripaska and Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Sergei Eduardovich Prikhodko on a yacht traveling near Norway.

[149] In March 2018, fearing her own death while incarcerated in Bangkok, Anastasia Vashukevich, a Belarusian escort who claimed to have over 16 hours of audio recordings she said could shed light on possible Russian interference in American elections.

[151] Sanctioned by Canada under the Special Economic Measures Act (S.C. 1992, c. 17) in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine for Grave Breach of International Peace and Security.

[159][160] The statement of the United States Department of the Treasury said that Deripaska "ha[d] been accused of threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering".

[164] In April 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department nonetheless allowed Deripaska to transfer 10.5 million shares of his holding company En+ Group to a trust fund for his children as part of a divorce settlement with his ex-wife Polina Yumasheva, which had been finalized before the sanctions were put in place.

[166][167] In March 2019, Deripaska sued the United States, alleging that it had overstepped its legal bounds in imposing sanctions on him and made him the "latest victim" in the FBI probe into Russia's interference in U.S.

[21] In March 2018, it was reported that Deripaska had successfully purchased Cypriot citizenship in 2017 under that country's golden visa, which generates billions[clarification needed] in revenue for the island nation.

[184] According to Forbes magazine, he removed the heads of his two largest companies and personally negotiated with the Russian government, banks, and other creditors to restructure his loan obligations.

[185] Deripaska himself in 2007 was reported to have consistently said that the estimate of his wealth was exaggerated, that it did not completely account for the amount of debt he incurred, and that he should be ranked far below the top ten on the list of the Russian billionaires.

[13] Deripaska's Cypriot−registered company Edenfield Investments acquired the Grade II listed Hamstone House in the St George's Hill district of Weybridge, Surrey, in 2001.

[191][192] Oleg Deripaska sits on the board of trustees of the Bolshoi Theatre, and has financed ballet performances like Flames of Paris, La Sylphide, and Paquita as well as operas like The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya, Carmen, and Wozzeck.

[194][195][196] The fund supports initiatives in Russia aimed at developing education and science, preserving spiritual and cultural heritage, and improving standards in public health.

[206] In October 2015 Deripaska called for governments not to agree to the Paris climate accords since they lacked legally-binding mechanisms and arguing that countries like India and China needed to contribute more to avoid competition problems.