Beginnings (1990–1998) During
perestroika, Potanin quit the State's structures of Foreign trade and in 1990 created the private association
Interros, which was engaged in foreign economic consulting, using his knowledge gathered at Ministry of Foreign trade and his previous professional network. From 1992 to 1993, Potanin served as vice president and subsequently president of the International Financial Company (MFK) bank, which he co-founded with Mikhail Prokhorov. In 1993, Potanin became president of the newly formed
United Export Import Bank (ONEKSIMbank) () (akas: Uneximbank; Onexim Bank; Oneksimbank). In 1995, Potanin was instrumental in the creation of the "loans for shares" auctions that became a pillar of Russia's post-Soviet economic reform. The auctions allowed the selling-off of Russian firms' assets at below market prices and are regarded as the founding moment of Russia's
oligarchy. According to the
New York Times, the auctions plan was regarded in 1999 "almost universally as an act of colossal criminality." From 14 August 1996 until 17 March 1997, he worked as First Deputy Prime Minister of the
Russian Federation. During his tenure in the Russian government, he chaired approximately 20 federal, governmental, and interagency commissions, including the Government Commission on Financial and Monetary Policy, the Operational Commission under the Government of the Russian Federation for Improving the Payment and Settlement System, and the Interagency Commission of the Russian Federation for Cooperation with International Financial and Economic Organizations and the "Group of Seven". He served as the Russian Federation's Governor at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. In autumn 1997, Potanin established the Prof-Media CJSC holding company to manage all media assets owned by ONEXIM Bank, including Izvestia, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Afisha, and Bolshoy Gorod. Since August 1998, Potanin has held the positions of both president and chairman of the board of directors of the
Interros Company. On 25 November 1998, Potanin recommended
Boris Jordan to be Chairman of
Sidanko which Jordan held until February 1999 when he stepped down.
Interros Interros is a Russian private investment company. Its projects span nearly all sectors of the Russian economy. The company's clients include OK hypermarket chain, S7 Airlines, major airports, VTB and Otkritie banks, GLONASS, Gazprom Neft, and Russian Post. In April 2025, venture fund Voskhod, with Interros as its anchor investor, invested 1 billion rubles in New Diamond Technology (NDT), a company developing diamond wafers for the electronics industry. In May 2025, Catalytic People — a joint venture between Interros and T-Technology — acquired a 9.95% stake in PJSC Yandex.
Norilsk Nickel Potanin and his long-term business partner
Mikhail Prokhorov acquired
Norilsk Nickel (or Nornickel) in the early 1990s under the "loans for shares" scheme, owning between them 54% of the firm. Potanin owned as of 2018 a 34% stake in the company. They streamlined operations and turned Norilsk Nickel into a modern corporation. In 2022, Vladimir Potanin implemented several initiatives to enhance employee participation in the management and ownership structures of Norilsk Nickel and Rosbank. In the spring of 2024, representatives of Norilsk Nickel, headed by Potanin, announced the upcoming transfer of copper production from Russia to China. This plan was motivated both by the need to circumvent Western sanctions when exporting copper to foreign markets, and by China's significantly less stringent environmental standards than those in Russia. According to Potanin's representatives, further modernization of the existing outdated production to comply with Russian environmental standards turned out to be completely unprofitable for Norilsk Nickel, and the company preferred to carry out new construction in a country with less expensive environmental requirements.
Other investments Potanin also owned a stake in Petrovax Pharm, a pharmaceutical company during norties.
Rosa Khutor ski resort In the early 2000s, Potanin became the first major Russian businessman to initiate the construction and development of ski slopes in the Krasnaya Polyana area. Potanin was inspired to develop the
Rosa Khutor ski resort in the
Mzymta valley near
Sochi after skiing with Putin in
Austria in 2003. He invested more than $2 billion into the resort after Sochi was picked for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in 2007. He allegedly urged Putin to approve expansion in the area to create a "Russian
Courchevel", despite oppositional pressure from environmental groups who claimed it would further damage the region. Following Potanin's complaint about a cost overrun of at least $530 million during the construction of hotels and chalets in Sochi and the Rosa Khutor ski resort (as required by the
International Olympic Committee), Potanin sought compensation from the Russian government for the extra costs incurred. It was later shown that construction of the Rosa Khutor resort had resulted in a vast patch of forest being cut down, although Potanin had announced that construction would require "little excavation and zero logging". This was strongly criticized by
environmental conservation groups, such as Environmental Watch on North Caucasus. Between 2005 and 2010, Potanin invested $500,000 in starting a leopard breeding initiative in the Mzymta valley. In 2015, he asked president Putin to allow for permits to double the size of the ski resort, an expansion that will threaten the leopard program he contributed to.
Iran In 2016, Winter Capital Partners, owned by Interros, acquired a stake in Swedish Pomegranate (firm), which held 9.6% of shares in Iranian company Sarava, which is a shareholder in a number of Iranian internet companies, such as
Digikala, the country's largest online retailer. Some media subsequently reported that Potanin became the first investor to enter Iran after sanctions were lifted. In March 2022, Interros terminated its participation in the Swedish fund's operations.
Cryptocurrency Potanin is a member of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), a lobby group that sent Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev a proposal for alternative cryptocurrency regulations in October 2018.
Vneshekonombank In May 2015, Potanin was named a co-defendant in a case in which state-owned
Vnesheconombank (VEB) was looking for damages for losses from the liquidation of
Roskhlebprodukt, in which he indirectly owned a stake. In total, VEB sought $68 million in damages from Potanin and others.
Rosbank In April 2022 owing to the
International sanctions during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, French banker
Societe Generale had stranded
Rosbank assets and was seeking a quick exit from Russia. Interros bought the distressed assets. The French banker had paid an estimated $4.3 billion to Interros over the period between 2006 and 2014 to amass nearly all the shares in the Russian bank and its subsidiaries. As a result of this transaction the French banker wrote off its balance sheet $3.3 billion. Four months later Potanin announced his intention to transfer 50% of Rosbank's shares to his own charitable foundation. Another 7.5% of the shares were sold to a subsidiary of Rosbank – the investment company Rusfinance.
Tinkoff Bank In April 2022
Oleg Tinkov sold his shares in TCS Group to Potanin-controlled Interros for $325 million. According to Tinkov, he was offered a price of about 3% of the real value of his shares, but was forced to accept the offer as officials of the Putin administration threatened to nationalize the bank after he publicly criticized the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. == Net worth and rankings ==