Ivan Tavrin

About Me

Ivan Tavrin is the founder of Kismet Capital Group, which has interests in technology and consumer companies in Russia. From 2012 to 2016 Tavrin was CEO of Megafon, a large Russian telecommunication operator owned by fellow billionaire Alisher Usmanov and his partners. He bought one of Russia's largest internet companies, Avito, from South African conglomerate Naspers for $2.4 billion in 2022, selling 50% to state-owned Rosselkhozbank (or Russian Agricultural Bank) in 2025. During his university years, Tavrin started an advertising agency selling TV ads and eventually invested in regional TV and radio stations which were later acquired by The Walt Disney Company. He was shareholder in Disney Channel Russia until 2023. Since the 2022 Ukraine-Russia war, Tavrin has been snapping up Russian assets of foreign companies, including those held by German consumer goods giant Henkel and U.S. payments company Fleetcor