The Armenian political and public figure, major businessman Gagik Kolyaevich Tsarukyan is officially recognized as the richest man in the republic. Today he is the president of the Armenian Olympic Committee, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia political opposition party, the founder of the Multi Group concern, the owner of a huge number of factories, shopping centers, car dealerships, a television company, etc. The attitude towards him in the country is ambiguous: some part of the population (mainly the poor) worships him as a benefactor, another - considers him a thief of "large caliber", and a third (mainly intellectuals) - treats him with disdain, as a rich, but near-minded person, who, by a lucky chance and under the watchful eye of his famous mother, Rosa Tsarukyan, managed to make a gigantic fortune.
Biography
Gagik Tsarukyan was born in the late autumn of 1956 in the Armenian SSR. Its small homeland is the village of Arinj in the Abovyan region (now Kotayk Marz). His father, Kola Tsarukyan, worked on the collective farm as an electrical engineer, and his mother, Roza Tsarukyan, was an accountant. Gagik's childhood was the most common: he studied in a rural high school and went in for sports. By the way, it was at school that he met his future wife - the beautiful Jawair - the tallest and most beautiful girl in the class.
Then there was service in the Soviet Army, and then - studies at the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture, which he graduated in 1989. Gagik Tsarukyan, the owner of powerful physical strength, was engaged in boxing, wrestling and arm wrestling.
Along with studying at the institute, an entrepreneurial young man, encouraged by perestroika and opening up opportunities in terms of doing business, gradually became involved in entrepreneurial activity, also worked in government agencies, for example, was the chief engineer of the greenhouse facilities at the institute, and a year later he was already executive director of the company "Armenia". Then he founded a livestock complex, and then a company that became the business of his whole life.
Sports achivments
After graduation, Gagik Tsarukyan, whose photo you see in the article, finally decided on his main sport and began to take part in international armwrestling championships. In 1996, he represented the country (Republic of Armenia) at the World Armwrestling Championships and received the title of champion. Two years later, he repeated the result at the European Championships.
Business activities
In 1995, Gagik Tsarukyan founded the multi-group concern Multi Group, which today includes more than 30 organizations. These are companies such as the Kovayk Abovyan beer factory, the Yerevan pharmaceutical company, the Mek furniture store chain, the Yerevan Brandy, Wine and Vodka Factory, which is called the Biblical Mount Ararat, the Multi Grand Hotel hotel chain, Global Motors import and sale company, Multi Leon gas station network, Kentron television company, Shangrila gambling house and many others.
Political activity
Since 2003, Gagik Tsarukyan has been a deputy of the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia from the Prosperous Armenia Party, which he created, which he chaired until 2015. However, after the scandal unfolding around him, he was forced to resign from his post and from big politics. The situation that developed around his name at that time shocked not only his supporters, but also people who treated him more than neutrally.
At the congress of the leading Republican Party in Armenia, the representative of which is the president of the country, insults were addressed from a high tribune to G. Tsarukyan, his short-sighted mental abilities, etc. The people were outraged by the tactlessness of the representatives of the leading party, and there was danger in the air. Everyone was waiting for a denouement, and possibly revenge for the richest man in the country, who was literally accused of stupidity. However, Gagik Tsarukyan behaved in this situation more than reasonably, in a Christian way. He chose not to respond with insults to insults, and simply moved away from politics. Today he continues to engage in entrepreneurial activities, as well as charity. Gagik Tsarukyan, whose fortune is estimated at 500 million US dollars, is the largest taxpayer. So, the richest businessman in the country.
House of Gagik Tsarukyan
Over the past 10-15 years, many oligarchs have appeared in Armenia, whose welfare, amid growing poverty, is immediately evident. Of course, each of them has its own personal mansion. As a rule, they build them away from prying eyes. Some of them have beautiful architecture, while others, although they are full of wealth, do not differ in any fantasy. The house, or rather the houses of Tsarukyan, towers over the area, since they are located on a hilltop near the native village of Arinj. The mansion is fenced not only by a high stone, but also by a “living” wall of high poplars. There, on a hill, the church glistens with crosses, which is also built by the oligarch for “his own needs”.
Those who were lucky enough to visit the impregnable walls of the palace of the owner of the Multi Group concern tell that between the two houses there is a giant pool, a park with exotic trees, between which sculptures, mostly lions, come across. By the way, there is accurate information that Gagik Tsarukyan has a weakness for representatives of the cat family, especially for lions, so he bred a real menagerie in his house.
