Ekaterina Rybolovleva

Photograph of Ekaterina Rybolovleva

Ekaterina Rybolovleva, born in 1989 in Perm, Russia, is a businesswoman, equestrian and socialite. She is the daughter of Russian entrepreneur and owner of the AS Monaco football club, Dmitry Rybolovlev. A keen competitor in equestrian competitions around the world,^[1][2][3] she is also the owner of several businesses and properties, including the islands of Skorpios and Sparti.

Early life

After spending her very early years in Russia, Rybolovleva moved with her family to Geneva, Switzerland, whilst still a child. There, she learned French and also discovered her passion for horses and the world of equestrian sport. Rybolovleva has been training in equestrian sport since the age of 11 and has taken part in various equestrian competitions. She has been coached by the British Olympic champion, Ben Maher, who won gold at the London Games of 2012 as part of the British team.

In between her equestrian training, she studied at Cambridge before embarking on a correspondence course in psychology and finance at Harvard University.

Equestrian career

After many years of instruction, on 17 March 2007 Rybolovleva took part in the Officiel d’Evordes showjumping competition, where she placed in the first round R2/L2. In August 2007, she participated in a show jumping competition in Verbier, where she took the third position R3/M. In 2008, she placed in the first round E3/M1 in the Officiel d’Evordes, riding her mare, Eole Perruques.

She first participated in the Gucci Masters^[4] in 2009, and became a winner in December 2010, with Malin Baryard-Johnsson after performing to the music of Boney M's. Rasputin. In 2011, she participated in the new Gucci Masters with Kevin Staut, with the choreography to Moulin Rouge. ^[5]

In 2012, after lengthy negotiations, she acquired Cavisto Z, a stallion widely admired within equestrian circles. Rybolovleva purchased the horse from the world-famous Espace Rozier equestrian center in Bois-le-Roi, Seine-et-Marneat, which is owned by the former French Olympic Champion Jean-Marcel Rozier.

In June 2013, she participated as an amateur in the Global Champions Tour, the showjumping world cup, where she won 5th place.

Acquisitions and properties

In 2011, a trust acting in the interest of Rybolovleva acquired a 627 square meter (6,700 square feet) apartment in New York for $88 million.^[6][7] The price for the penthouse apartment at 15 Central Park West was, at the time of the transaction, a record for the city.^[8] The 15 Central Park West development was designed by renowned American architect Robert A.M. Stern. Other celebrity residents include or have included Sting, Norman Lear, Denzel Washington, Bob Costas, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, businessman Min Kao, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, and professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez.

The apartment serves as Rybolovleva's home in the city whenever she is attending classes at Harvard University. ^[9]

In 2013, a company belonging to a trust acting in the interest of Rybolovleva completed the purchase of a group of companies formerly owned by Athina Onassis, the granddaughter of shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Amongst the assets of this group of companies were the islands of Skorpios and Sparti. ^[10] The island of Skorpios was made famous by Aristotle Onassis’s wedding to Jackie Kennedy there in 1968. Rybolovleva has said that she views the acquisition of the islands as a “long-term financial investment” which she plans to develop using “environmentally friendly technology”^[11]

AS Monaco Board

Since her father’s purchase of AS Monaco, she is one of only two women, along with Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, owner of Olympique de Marseille, to sit on the Board of Directors of a football club in France.

References