Yuri Milner, Silicon Valley’s wealthiest Russian, mentioned on Monday that he had renounced his Russian citizenship.
Milner accomplished the method in August, based on a submit on his enterprise agency DST International’s web site, which addresses its “background in relation to Russia”—a subject that’s turn into controversial following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a tweet, Milner mentioned that he and his household “left Russia for good” in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea. When Russia attacked Ukraine earlier this yr, DST International launched an announcement condemning “Russia’s conflict towards Ukraine, its sovereign neighbor,” and his basis spoke out towards “unprovoked and brutal assaults towards the civilian inhabitants.” Milner mentioned he stood behind these statements.
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Milner was born in Moscow and was probably the most outstanding tech chief to hunt to distance his agency from Russia as Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion drew condemnation and sanctions from Western governments. Milner’s ties to the nation sparked some consternation in Silicon Valley, the place he's a longtime fixture. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates Milner’s wealth at about $3.5 billion. DST International made profitable investments in tech giants together with Fb, now Meta Platforms Inc., and Twitter Inc.
DST International drew scrutiny for taking Russian funds from a state-controlled financial institution and different Russian backers in 2011. DST hasn’t taken any cash from Russia since that point, nor has it made any investments within the nation, Milner instructed Bloomberg in March. In 2011, Vladimir Putin was not the president and it seemed to be a sunnier time for US-Russia relations.
In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek in March, Milner mentioned, “I can not change the very fact I used to be born in Russia. I can not change the very fact we had some Russian funds.”
Milner has a home in Los Altos, California, which he bought in 2011 for $100 million. He holds an O-1 visa within the US, a sort well-liked with entrepreneurs and reserved for individuals of “extraordinary capability.”
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