Pursuits
Russia's Galchev No Longer a Billionaire After Margin Call
- Sberbank sold 6.12% of LafargeHolcim, owned by Eurocement
- Eurocement owner Galchev's wealth declines to $155 million
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Russian tycoon Filaret Galchev, the owner of Eurocement Holding AG, has found out how easy it is to lose a billion-dollar fortune in less then two months.
The businessman’s wealth has dropped to about $155 million, down from $1 billion at the end of December and $5.6 billion in the middle of 2014, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune dwindled as the global economic slowdown hurt demand for construction materials. Then this month Sberbank PJSC made a margin call on a loan to Eurocement, secured with a 6.12 percent stake in LafargeHolcim Ltd. that was valued at $1.5 billion, according to three people who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.