Mohammad Zahoor

Mohammad Zahoor (born August 1, 1955, in Pakistan) is a Ukraine-based, British businessman of Pakistani origin. He is the founder and owner of the ISTIL Group a diverse trading company, the former publisher of the Kyiv Post, the co-founder of the Ukrainian Music Awards (YUNA) and a philanthropist.[3]

Mohammad Zahoor
Born (1955-08-01) August 1, 1955
Karachi, Pakistan
Alma materDonetsk National Technical University
OccupationEntrepreneur, philanthropist
Net worthUSD $1 billion (2015)[1][2]
Spouse(s)Kamaliya Zahoor
ChildrenTanya Zahoor, Arman Zahoor, Mirabella Zahoor, Arabella Zahoor
Websitedrmohammadzahoor.com

Early life

Zahoor was born in Karachi, Pakistan. His father was in the civil service. At school Zahoor was interested in sports (cricket, field hockey, basketball, gymnastics, tennis, and athletics). His hobby was collecting stamps and singing. Zahoor continued singing during studying at college and university.

After receiving a scholarship in 1974, Zahoor studied metallurgy at Donetsk National Technical University (then Donetsk Polytechnic Institute) in Ukraine. He later obtained his PhD from the same university in 2007.[4]

Career

After earning his PhD from Donetsk National Technical University, Zahoor moved back to Pakistan to work at Pakistan Steel. In 1987, he moved to Moscow where he entered a partnership with a Thai steelmaker and ran Metalsrussia, a Hong Kong-registered trading company.[1]

In 1996, Zahoor bought Donetsk Steel Mill. He bought other steel mills in various countries.[1][5]

In 2008, Zahoor sold Donetsk Steel Mill to Russian parliamentarian Vadim Varshavsky, for a sum believed to be around $1 billion.[2][1]

In 2009, Zahoor bought the Kyiv Leipzig Hotel for $36 million.[4] That year he bought Ukraine's oldest English language newspaper, the Kyiv Post, for $1.1 million from its founder, American-born Jed Sunden.[2] In 2018, he sold the Kyiv Post to Syrian Adnan Kivan for $3.5 million.[6]

Zahoor was interviewed by the Financial Times on the economic situation in Ukraine, specifically the prospects for inward investment.[7][8]

Zahoor contributed to the Huffington Post on topics relating to Ukrainian/Russian economics and politics.[9]

Personal life

In 2003, Zahoor married Ukrainian singer Kamaliya.[10] They have two daughters, Mirabella and Arabella.[11] He has a daughter, Tanya, and a son, Arman, from his first marriage.[12]

Philanthropy
At the yearly charity event 4th St. Nicholas Charity Night in Ukraine[13]
Awarding the Ukrainian bands Pianoboy and Morphom for the best duet at YUNA-2018[14]

Zahoor takes part in many different projects, in Ukraine and abroad. He donated to the restoration of the Odessa State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, a building in a university in Taxila, (North Pakistan), and the Cardiac Research Center in Pakistan. Zahoor supports sport teams and the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine.[15]

He and Kamaliya founded the Kamaliya and Mohammad Zahoor Charitable Foundation to help children in need. The foundation organizes annual charity nights to raise money.

In 2017, during the annual charity event 4th St. Nicholas Charity Night in Kyiv, Ukraine, $50,000 was raised through auction and ticket sales for buying 10 Drager Siemens Infinity Delta XL patient monitors for the State Children’s Cardiac Center in Kyiv.[13]

In 2011, Zahoor became the co-founder of the Ukrainian Music Awards (YUNA).[16]

In the media

In 2013, Zahoor and Kamaliya appeared on Meet the Russians, a British reality show produced by FOX TV about wealthy Russians who live in London, England.[17][18]

References
  1. "The Pakistani press prince of Kiev". 10 September 2015. It’s Zahoor, Ukraine’s richest expat, a “minigarch” worth about $1 billion (some say), and the owner of the Kyiv Post.
  2. "Richest Expats: Mohammad Zahoor - Oct. 08, 2010". 8 October 2010. If anyone knows of another expatriate worth between $500 million and $1 billion, the estimated size of Zahoor’s fortune, please let us know and we will set the record straight.
  3. Oehmke, Philipp (16 August 2013). "Bought this Way: Oligarch Wants to Make Wife Next Gaga" – via Spiegel Online.
  4. U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Mohammad Zahoor: Waiting for the good times
  5. "Mohammad the Oligarch". 17 December 2012.
  6. "Zahoor sells Kyiv Post for at least $3.5 million to Adnan Kivan, Syrian millionaire in Odesa - KyivPost". 21 March 2018.
  7. Intelligence, fDi. "Istil Group rides out Ukrainian turbulence". www.fdiintelligence.com.
  8. "Investment opportunities in Ukraine emerge amid political crisis". Financial Times. 7 May 2015.
  9. "How Ukraine Can Begin to Move Forward". 4 July 2014.
  10. "Zahoor's wife, Kamaliya, has her own ambitions - Aug. 06, 2009". 6 August 2009.
  11. Kyiv Post, Bundles of joy for Mohammad & Kamaliya Zahoor
  12. "Мохаммад Захур - ФОКУС". ФОКУС.
  13. "Kamaliya's 4th St. Nicholas Charity Night raises $50,000 for children's cardiac center - KyivPost". 8 December 2017.
  14. Korrespondent.net. "Названы победители YUNA 2018".
  15. "Захур Мохаммад".
  16. "В Україні встановлено музичну премію YUNA" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  17. Hoyle, Ben (3 August 2013). "London's Russian jet set stars in reality TV show" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  18. Wallace, Danny. "Danny Wallace: Blingski Korsakov".
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