Leonid Viktorovich Mikhelson (born 11 August 1955) is a Russian-Israeli billionaire businessman, CEO, chairman and major shareholder of the Russian gas company Novatek.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mikhelson obtained a stake in a privatized pipeline construction company out of which he formed Novatek.
He is a business partner of Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko, a close confidante of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
He has a net worth of US$29 billion, making him the 46th richest person in the world and the second richest in Russia.
