Talk:Len Blavatnik

Dispute

I've protected the article for 3 days to prevent further edit warring; please try to work out the issue here or on another relevant talk page. –Juliancolton ^{Tropical Cyclone} 14:34, 23 January 2009 (UTC)

what is the real name of Len? Leonard or Leonid?

his real name is Leonard or Leonid?? -- Retro917 (talk) 07:26, 21 April 2013 (UTC)

Picture

Can we get a picture?--Iady391 (talk) 17:28, 21 May 2015 (UTC)
 Done--Iady391 | Talk to me here 15:27, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Contributions to 2016 GOP candidates

Heavily contributed to numerous candidates. Needs expansion in article. Wikipietime (talk) 21:30, 4 August 2017 (UTC)

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/08/03/tangled-web-connects-russian-oligarch-money-gop-campaigns Wikipietime (talk) 21:31, 4 August 2017 (UTC)

Still needing with more sources reporting Wikipietime (talk) 01:48, 26 August 2017 (UTC)

Citizenship

I am writing to request a change to Mr. Blavatnik's introduction from "Jewish-Ukrainian-Russian-British-American businessman, investor, and philanthropist" to “industrialist and philanthropist holding U.S. and U.K. citizenship.” According to https://www.accessindustries.com/about/len-blavatnik/, he only holds citizenship in the U.S. and U.K. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jphk97 (talk • contribs) 21:08, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

Hkjm (talk) 16:49, 21 August 2018 (UTC)

Once you find a reliable source (a statement on his company's website is probably not sufficient), you may make the change yourself. If you have a connection with Mr. Blavatnik or if there's some other reason you have a conflict of interest, you can use the {{requested edit}} template rather than the untargeted {{help me}} tag. — jmcgnh^{(talk) (contribs)} 00:38, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

Citizenship (following up)

I am following up on the request to change Mr. Blavatnik's introduction to the correct citizenship information. He only holds U.S. and U.K. citizenship at this time. Please see his biography: https://www.accessindustries.com/about/len-blavatnik/.

Hkjm (talk) 17:29, 21 August 2018 (UTC)

I am reaching out to request updates on factually incorrect descriptors of Len Blavatnik on his on Wikipedia .

1. Request factual correction under political donations

   Under the political donations category, it includes a passage that says, without any sourcing or attribution: “Blavatnik, who is closely associated with Vladimir Putin, is one of the largest donors…” That is factually inaccurate. That erroneous clause – who is closely associated with Vladimir Putin – should be excised. It is not supported by any evidence, reporting or independent documentation in the Wiki writeup. I’m also including for your review the independent and timely reporting by the Financial Times  that makes clear Mr. Blavatnik is NOT associated with Putin. Among other findings by the Financial Times in the extensive and well-researched profile, it reported that:

• Perhaps most importantly, unlike his peers who made similar fortunes from the former USSR’s vast natural resources, Blavatnik steered clear of the Kremlin, leaving it to his partners to handle the political ties required of big Russian businesses.
• Of the dozens of Blavatnik’s business partners, friends, employees, and former associates that the FT spoke to for this article, almost all point to his … positioning himself as an outsider in Russia and a local in the west.
• While his partners embraced their new prominence as Russian billionaires, Blavatnik moved in another direction…. Blavatnik also diversified his business away from Russia.
• Blavatnik’s representatives say he has not met the Russian president since 2000. Kremlin officials tell the FT that he was never a regular visitor.
• From Alexei Navalny, an opposition leader and fierce critic of Putin’s oligarchic entourage: “As far as Russia and I are concerned, he’s [Blavatnik’s] not a political oligarch. He isn’t buying newspapers here, he isn’t intimidating journalists, he basically isn’t involved with Putin at all.”

This overwhelming reporting by the highly respected Financial Times shows that the current unsupported and disputatious clause should be removed. As such, it should say instead: "Blavatnik is one of the largest donors…,” as the footnotes back up the listed campaign contributions.

2. Request factual correction under Entertainment

   In the Entertainment section it says: “In April 2018, it was reported that Blavatnik was a front runner in the bidding to purchase Britain's third oldest theatre, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Sources report that the bid was around £40 million.” The purchase of the Theatre Royal Haymarket was successfully completed by Access Entertainment in 2018. This reporting in June 2018 from Forbes  and the Guardian  show that Mr. Blavatnik’s Access Entertainment finalized its purchase of the Theatre Royal Haymarket. We request the information be updated to read “Mr. Blavatnik’s Access Entertainment finalized its purchase of the Theatre Royal Haymarket in June 2018.”

3. Request factual correction under Petrochemicals and Oil

   The section states:  “Blavatnik also has interests in UC Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer, where he sits on the board.[13]” Mr. Blavatnik does not hold a Board position at Rusal. He resigned from the Rusal Board in November 2016. You can verify the individual Board of Directors on the Rusal website  and the 2020 Rusal Annual Report , which clearly reflects that Mr. Blavatnik is no longer part of the Board. The footnote cited, Reference 13 , makes no mention of Rusal, rather it relates to Access Industries purchase of Warner Music Group. We request that the inaccurate statement that he is a Board member be removed and the sentence be corrected to read: “Blavatnik also has interests in UC Rusal, the world's largest aluminum producer”.

AccessIndustriesInc (talk) 20:03, 21 June 2021 (UTC)

 Partly done: The first passage was altered to reflect the sources, i.e. his close association with Russian oligarchs, not Putin himself. Second and third requests were implemented with alterations. PK650 (talk) 22:37, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

References

Change to introductory paragraph

Request correction to introductory paragraph from "Len Blavatnik is a Ukrainian businessman and investor who later in life became a naturalized citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom. He made his fortune after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the tumultuous privatization of state-owned aluminum and oil assets." to "Len Blavatnik is a Ukrainian-born businessman, investor, and philanthropist who became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1984 and the United Kingdom in 2010. He made his fortune after the collapse of the Soviet Union and through investments in Warner Music Group and LyondellBasell." AccessIndustriesInc (talk) 18:00, 9 March 2022 (UTC)

 Not done The current text is properly sourced. The proposed text is not. Dr. Swag Lord (talk) 20:41, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

References

Editing request

Good day, in full compliance with WP:PAID and Conflict of Interest guidelines, I declare that I am working on behalf of Mr. Blavatnik and would like to request some changes to this article. These amendments should make the page more accurate and up-to-date. I have also made efforts to neutralise some of the older language currently present.

I’ve supplied sources where possible but am also very open to any suggestions the community may have. Thank you in advance for considering my request. Shchedryy (talk) 16:46, 31 May 2022 (UTC)

1. The lead section requires just a few minor changes in the second paragraph, I would like it to be edited so that it reads:

“Blavatnik made his initial fortune after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the privatization of state-owned aluminum and oil assets.[5] He owns most of Warner Music Group and has stakes in several publicly traded assets via his privately held U.S. company Access Industries Holdings.[6]”

I will make several other minor and non-controversial copyediting changes throughout the article which can be viewed on the History page once completed.

2. In the Early life and education section, can “in 1981” be added as the graduation date of his master’s degree from Columbia? Suggested sources:

• https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/10/philanthropist-len-blavatnik-returns-to-harvard-medical-school/

• https://investors.wmg.com/board-member/len-blavatnik

3. In the Career section, could the below quote be removed from the Access Holdings subsection as this description could be applied to most major companies?

“which has been described as a "sprawling conglomerate"[13]”.

4. Also in the Career section, specifically in paragraph 10 below the Natural Resources heading, can you remove “under mysterious circumstances”? The New Yorker source provided [16] clarifies these circumstances in detail.

5. Under the Petrochemicals heading, could Access Industries’ ownership of LyondellBasell (currently 14%) be changed to 21% in order to match what is stated and sourced previously on the page (source [6])? Strictly speaking, the ownership is actually at 22% but there are no suitable third-party sources available to confirm this slight change. If both ownership percentages could be updated that would be more accurate.

6. Under the Entertainment heading, can the line “In April 2022, Access’s Ownership increased to more than 90%.” please be added.

Suggested source: https://eegaming.org/latest-news/2022/02/22/90250/dazn-agrees-new-financing-terms-with-access-industries/

7. In the Philanthropy section, can you clarify “The annual award recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding young scientists in the U.S., U.K. and Israel in the areas of life sciences, physical sciences and engineering and provides all finalists with a significant cash prize”.

Suggested source: https://www.nyas.org/press-releases/prestigious-blavatnik-awards-for-young-scientists-in-the-uk-award-480-000-to-nine-uk-based-scientists/

8. Also in the Philanthropy section, could the comment on whitewashing please be removed from the end of the first paragraph? This is a subjective comment, as such a motivation is impossible to verify. In addition, these comments hinge largely on association, rather than relating to any action Mr. Blavatnik has taken. As the FT reported, Mr. Blavatnik has taken steps to distance himself from the politics of Russian business and the Kremlin: https://www.ft.com/content/c1889f48-871a-11e9-a028-86cea8523dc2

9. The Personal life section is currently unnecessarily editorial. Can you please remove: “and can live conveniently near the ambassador of Russian Federation (number 13 on the street)”? This is irrelevant to the article subject. If it cannot be removed, may I suggest “He acquired the property in 2004. Other residents on the street include the Israeli and Russian ambassadors.”

10. Under the Personal life heading, is it possible to remove the fourth paragraph? Mr. Blavatnik is no longer a business partner of Viktor Vekselberg. Having never acquired Russian citizenship, Mr. Blavatnik has not only had zero connection to Putin since 2000, but has also received apologies from both The Guardian and The Times for suggesting that he was a confidante of the Russian president. Given the current political climate, sensationalising a former connection which is no longer existing nor pertinent, could potentially incite dangerous and unmerited harassment. I would also like to emphasise the fact that Mr. Blavatnik has not appeared on any sanction lists following the invasion of Ukraine.

Suggested source: https://www.ft.com/content/4b36fda5-e5b8-49c6-89b1-d93ac8f130d2

Thank you once again for considering these proposed changes.

 Partly done: did 1-7 and 9. 8 is a little too biased considering it was against sources, and for 10 it's undeniable Blavatnik has ties to Vekselberg, but overall this was a great edit request. Sorry it took so long for anyone to see your request. Dialmayo (talk) (Contribs) Please ping me when replying. 17:50, 21 September 2022 (UTC)

Closing this request partially completed by another editor. Duke Gilmore (talk) 17:20, 17 December 2022 (UTC)

Scam

I received today a scam email in his name that directly links to this article for reference. Is it possible to add a warning on top, so less internet-literate people don't fall for it? 141.84.250.1 (talk) 10:01, 4 October 2023 (UTC)

2024 Academy Awards

Shouldn't we add the fact that Len Blavatnik appeared on the 2024 Academy Awards (in his role as a funder of the film The Zone of Interest)? 98.123.38.211 (talk) 06:33, 31 March 2024 (UTC)

@98.123.38.211

Yes, please. Just watched it and almost retched when I saw him in the credits. 67.249.193.122 (talk) 02:53, 27 April 2024 (UTC)

No longer chairman of Access Industries

Hi, I work for Access Industries and plan to propose updates to this article and related articles. I'm looking forward to working constructively with the other editors here. As I also explained in my edit summary, since Len Blavatnik is no longer the chairman of Access Industries, as can be seen from the Leadership page of the company's website, I removed that statement from the article as a straightforward, uncontroversial edit. Happy to discuss here if anyone has questions about this. Thanks! C at Access (talk) 13:41, 4 June 2024 (UTC)

Original research in Sanctions section

Hi. Please remove the bold part of the "Sanctions" subsection that was recently added to the article:

In December 2023, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed personal sanctions against Blavatnik. While Blavatnik condemned the ongoing violence in Ukraine, he has refrained from directly criticizing Russia or Vladimir Putin.

The juxtaposition of the two sentences implies without basis that the sanctions were applied because of the position Blavatnik expressed on Ukraine. In fact, neither of the cited sources that reported the sanctions state any reason for the sanctions. So even if one might speculate on the reason for the sanctions, if the reason isn't stated in proper sources, it is a clear example of WP:SYNTH and shouldn't be stated or implied by Wikipedia.

References

Thank you. C at Access (talk) 16:14, 18 June 2024 (UTC)

I don't read these passages with that implication. Sometimes readers need to take responsibility for the implications they perceive... Nomoskedasticity (talk) 17:01, 18 June 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: I am declining this request since it would cause the cited subsection to lose all its context and meaning. Quetstar (talk) 19:49, 18 June 2024 (UTC)

Hi all. Thanks for responding. The cited source (from the Blavatnik Family Foundation website) states that the foundation condemns the ongoing violence in Ukraine and is active in helping Ukrainians displaced by Russia's invasion. It would seem to be original research to state, based on this, what Blavatnik has refrained from saying. In any case, no sources posit any reason for the sanctions. If we include the second sentence in the context of a "Sanctions" section, immediately following the first sentence about the imposition of the sanctions themselves, the clear message is that the second sentence is explaining the reason for the sanctions - which is misleading and original research. This seems inappropriate in a biography of a living person. Thank you. C at Access (talk) 14:47, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

• I think C at Access has a valid point. Both of these sentences are supported by sources, but placing them together implies a connection not directly supported by any of the cited sources. That is a WP:SYNTH violation. What is needed is a reliable source that directly says that the sanctions were imposed because the subject did not criticize Russia or Putin. Blueboar (talk) 15:24, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

  Thanks Blueboar for your assessment. A few days have passed and no one has disputed your assertion. Could you kindly remove the sentence in question? It would be much appreciated. Thanks again, C at Access (talk) 16:15, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

  I’ll consider it… but there are other issues to work on there as well. Blueboar (talk) 17:11, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

• The original post here requested removal of the second sentence. But that's not necessary to avoid the implication (which I don't perceive in any event). I've fixed the problem by introducing a new paragraph. Nomoskedasticity (talk) 17:17, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

Thanks Blueboar and Nomoskedasticity for your edits. Your help is appreciated. C at Access (talk) 15:23, 26 June 2024 (UTC)

Sources to add to page

Lawsuits:

- https://www.justice.gov/atr/case/us-v-len-blavatnik-co-access-industries

- https://casetext.com/case/norex-petroleum-limited-v-access-industries-inc

- https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/151-0060-len-blavatnik-care-access-industries

- https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/business/22chase.html

- https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2015/10/investor-len-blavatnik-pay-656000-settle-ftc-charges-he-violated-us-premerger-notification

Politics:

- https://www.vice.com/en/article/d35kgw/two-top-trump-officials-are-ex-lobbyists-for-a-billionaire-with-deep-ties-to-russian-oligarchs

- https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/david-bernhardt-doi-lobbying-records/

- https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/10/council-on-foreign-relations-leonard-blavatnik-russia/

- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/why-is-warner-music-group-owner-len-blavatnik-russia-probe-1150550/ Likeanechointheforest (talk) 22:07, 20 July 2024 (UTC)

Should be considered as a Russian Oligarch?

Sourcing suggests that he hates the title. In general, he seems like he would fit a strict definition, in terms of where his initial fortune came from. He does claim not to have done the politicking and corruption other oligarchs eventually did in the aftermath of the USSR, as per [1], though apparently some argue he simply let proxies do it?

Will say, feels like we should emphasize it more in the lede without outright saying it. Bluethricecreamman (talk) 03:35, 17 September 2024 (UTC)

Are there high-quality sources that describe him using this term? Nomoskedasticity (talk) 06:39, 17 September 2024 (UTC)

NPOV problems in the Intro and Sanctions sections

Hello. An editor, Bluethricecreamman, recently made a series of edits, all of which should be reverted for violating NPOV.

• In the Introduction, please remove the phrase "alongside other Russian oligarchs." There is no source that says he made his fortune "alongside other Russian oligarchs." This is original research, violating WP:SYNTH.
• Also in the Intro, please remove the sentence "Some have criticized Blavatnik for allegedly reputation laundering to avoid scrutiny." This "allegation" made by "some" critics does not belong in the intro, the place reserved for a summary of the most important information that makes the subject notable. Please note this criticism is already found in the Philanthropy section, and repeating it here violates WP:UNDUE
• Three sentences were added to the "Sanctions" section which are completely unconnected to sanctions, as has already been discussed thoroughly here on the talk page above. The result of that lengthy discussion was the one remaining sentence and the only fact that can be gleaned from the sources, that "In December 2023, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed personal sanctions against Blavatnik." This sentence should remain, and the rest of the paragraph, (the first three sentences), should be deleted. Every addition here violates WP:UNDUE and WP:SYNTH, at least.
• The title of the section was changed from "Sanctions" to "Sanctions during the Russo-Ukraine War" implying that the sanctions were somehow connected to the war, another case of WP:SYNTH.

I hope you agree that to achieve some modicum of NPOV, it is necessary to revert these edits. I am also pinging Blueboar who helped with the previous edit request. Thanks so much. C at Access (talk) 13:24, 17 September 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for the ping. Unfortunately, I do not have time to address this (heavy load in off-wiki work). Hopefully someone else will be able to work on it. Blueboar (talk) 20:24, 17 September 2024 (UTC)

as per blueboar, if you would like to pursue this and get other wikipedians input i suggest posting in WP:NPOVN or in WP:BLPN. im planning on composing a response to your points later as well Bluethricecreamman (talk) 21:49, 17 September 2024 (UTC)

I am pinging Bluethricecreamman to remind them that they promised a response to my assessment of non-neutral POV. Thanks, C at Access (talk) 20:25, 23 September 2024 (UTC)

I have some times.

• “alongside other oligarchs”

• [2] states that Blavatnik ”cannot have made that money without specific political connections or connections to organized crime or connections to other oligarchic figures” according to michel, a noted expert on oligarchs.
• [3] this is the source cited alongside the claim in the lede. ”But his fortune stems from the privatization of industries in the former Soviet Union, in particular aluminum and oil. He was among the victors in Russia’s so-called “aluminum wars,” the sometimes murderous competition for control of Russian aluminum assets in the early 1990s. (Blavatnik has not been personally accused of violence). In 1996, Blavatnik partnered with Viktor Vekselberg, an oligarch tied to Putin, in SUAL Partners, which owns about one quarter of Rusal, the aluminum conglomerate long controlled by Oleg Deripaska.” this is a clear indication that alongside other oligarchs Blavatnik won significant control of a company during privitization of Russian industries.

• claims of WP:undue

• sources 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 19, 23, 24, 76, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102 directly mention his connections to russian oligarchy and the ensuing controversy and/or his work to remove the label “oligarch” to avoid scrutiny. I don’t have time to look through all the sources, but even a high profile source, ostensibly not directly speaking about his connection to oligarchy, such as 70 cannot go much into how Tate Modern is naming there extension after Blavatnik without talking about how a similar donation to Oxford prompted an open letter opposing it for “selling its reputation and prestige to Putin’s associates” It is undue not to include the word oligarch in the lede
• having gone through so much sourcing, and finding much of it specifically talks about his connection to Russian oligarchs, but this article somehow does not mention much of it is particularly amazing to me.

• claims that the sanctions section is settled

• I see only that the sentence talking about blavatnik denying connections to putin be removed. There is no discussion about much else.

• Claims the title is synth

• all sourcing talks about the sanctions since 2022 due to the Russia-Ukraine war, then talks about how Blavatnik has escaped being targeted. I feel the edit is correct.

Bluethricecreamman (talk) 22:55, 23 September 2024 (UTC)