| Miroslav Mišković | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 5, 1945 Bošnjane, Serbia, Democratic Federal Yugoslavia |
| Occupation | President, Delta Holding |
| Net worth | US$ 2.8 billion, The list of the 100 richest persons in the post-communist countries |
| Spouse | Ljiljana Mišković |
Miroslav Mišković (Serbian Cyrillic: Мирослав Мишковић) (born July 5, 1945 in Bošnjane village, Varvarin municipality, Serbia, Democratic Federal Yugoslavia) is a Serbian businessman, the owner of Delta Holding. He is considered to be the second richest person in Serbia, behind Philip Zepter, with a wealth estimated at approximately $ 2 billion as of 2007, according to the list of 100 wealthiest persons of the post-communist countries made by Polish magazine Wprost.[1] Mišković holds 42nd place on this list, but is fifth among the tycoons outside the former Soviet Union. According to the 2007 list of the richest people in the world, published annually by Forbes magazine, Mišković is a newcomer to this list, taking the 891st spot, with a net worth of $1 billion. He is the first person from Serbia to enter this list.[2]
Mišković was born in Bošnjane, Varvarin municipality, and he graduated from high school in Kruševac, before moving to Belgrade and graduating from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics in 1971. Afterwards, he worked at Jugobanka and Trayal in Kruševac until 1977, when he moved to Župa Chemical Industries in Kruševac. There, he became financial director in 1984 and chief executive in 1987, holding this position until 1990, when he was appointed a Serbian deputy prime minister. Mišković held office for only six months. Meanwhile, Mišković founded Delta M (Delta M being a sort of abbreviation of his initials - double M), a company that became very successful in the following years, during the Yugoslav wars and under the regime of Slobodan Milošević. Soon afterwards, he launched Delta banka (sold to Banca Intesa in 2005), that was to become the first part of Mišković's extremely successful Delta Holding corporation that is involved in agribusiness, retail sales, distribution, financial brokerage, real estate development and insurance.
Mišković's connection to Slobodan Milošević was never obvious, except for his short stint as deputy prime minister in 1990. After the overthrow of Milošević's regime, Mišković was linked to Dušan Mihajlović, the minister of police at the time, and the other leaders of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition.
After 5 October 2000, Mišković took an advantage of privatisation and started building his empire. As he has managed to purchase most of large companies post Djindjic murder, it is often argued that Mišković was 'buying Serbia' with money that was taken out to Cyprus during Milosevic reign.
Mišković is today considered to be a figure of great influence on the leading politicians in Serbia.
Mišković was abducted on 9 April 2001, but was released the next day, when the ransom (estimated at about DM 7 million) was paid 18 hours later. After the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić 12 March 2003, the abduction of Mišković was attributed to the same group that has been convicted of the death of the prime minister and other similar crimes.