Oleg Boyko is an investor and businessman and Chairman of the Finstar Financial Group that consults and manages assets worldwide and portfolio companies. He currently is 1561st on the list of the World’s Billionaires with an estimated wealth of 1.4 billion dollars.
Early life and education
He was born on September 28th, 1964 and was raised in Russia. Mr.Boyko graduated at the Moscow Aviation Institution, where his specialization was in radio electronics. Boyko then went to the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration to attain a Master of Business. He worked at the Lomonosov Moscow University from 1982 to 1986. He received additional education in the USA and the UK.
Career
This international investor has had over 25 years of experience in worldwide entrepreneurial business in a wide range of industries. These include digital financial services, banking, entertainment, technology and many more.
Even from a young age, Mr. Boyko was fascinated by the financial sector and began his career in the finance and IT sector while he was a student. He is also credited for introducing the first stores in Moscow with credit card readers in the 90s.
In 1996, Finstar Financial Group was formed by Oleg Boyko and a team of professional executives. It was an investment and management company that identified and invested prosperous businesses who would then be managed by Oleg Boyko or other private investors.
As a Chairman of the Finstar Financial Group, Oleg Boyko has turned the company’s focus mainly to fintech industries and digital financial services. Finstar also has a presence in entertainment, FMCG retail, and real estate.
In 1999, Boyko, together with Alexander Abramov joint investors in EvrazHolding. They combined three still mills and created one of the largest vertically-integrated steel producers. In 2004, Boyko decided to sell his 25% stake in EvrazHolding on the London Stock Exchange for about 700 million dollars.
In 2002, Mr. Boyko founded the Ritzio Entertainment Group, investing in gaming and casinos. This business eventually expanded across Russia and then the whole world. This Russian business had to end abruptly when Vladimir Putin decided to ban gambling in Russia in 2009.
In 2003, Finstar bought a stake in Baltic Trust Bank, a Latvian commercial bank. By 2006, Baltic Trust Bank ranked as number 13th amongst Latvia’s 24 banks. It had 74 branches across Latvia which was one of the largest branch networks at the time. Later, Finstar sold its 80% stake to GE Capital, the finance and banking arm of General Electric.
In 2006, Finstar acquired 70% of Rive Gauche. At that time it was only a local business, with stores only in Saint Petersburg, but Mr. Boyko as a great businessman and investor, he grew Rive Gauche to become the second-largest perfumery and cosmetics chain in Russia.
Boyko also showed interested in film production and was a co-producer on Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and is now a co-producer to Scarlett Johansson’s next directorial debut, Summer Crossing.Oleg Boyko’s unique view on businesses and business ideas is what made him a successful investor and businessman.
“Let’s clarify exactly what business ideas are. There are ideas for making money, ideas for creatively improving an existing business, and brand-new business ideas. In my opinion, to make big money, you need to do what everyone else has done before youbut do it better than everyone else. All money-making ideas do not concern the question, “What should I do?” but rather, “How should I do it?” – that is, the implementation process.” – Oleg Boyko.
