Roman Abramovich gets richer still

Roman Abramovich, Chelsea's owner and Russia's number one billionaire, just got even richer.

Russian state gas behemoth Gazprom is paying $13 billion to take over oil firm Sibneft from 38-year-old Mr Abramovich, its majority shareholder, who spends much of his time in London where he watches his latest prize possession at Stamford Bridge.

"Everything his hands touch turns into crisp notes," Forbes magazine wrote prophetically earlier this year, when it already put his wealth at $14.7 billion.

The takeover, the biggest in Russian history, follows a heady period of energy musical chairs, which also saw state oil firm Rosneft win the choice unit of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Yukos after it was auctioned off to pay punitive back taxes.

"Mr Abramovich is getting enough money to keep 15 generations of Abramoviches," said Sovlink analyst Eric Kraus.

As well as all the money, the deal also puts Mr Abramovich in the good books of a Kremlin which is keen to build Gazprom into a global energy giant.

Mr Abramovich's world of yachts, helicopters and multi-million pound soccer signings provides a stark contrast to that of fellow youthful oligarch Mr Khodorkovsky, in prison convicted of fraud and tax evasion after a trial seen by many as politically motivated.

Sibneft was once destined to end up in Yuko's hands but the $11 billion deal collapsed after Mr Khodorkovsky was arrested at gunpoint two years ago.

Mr Khodorkovsky looked to be shaping up to challenge President Vladimir Putin politically; Mr Abramovich has been more successful on staying on the right side of those in power.

Elusive and media-shy, Mr Abramovich is much more than an astute financial and political operator despite a humble upbringing.

Orphaned in childhood, Mr Abramovich, who was born in the Volga River town of Saratov, is married and has five children. Now his stubbly face has become a familiar sight on the back pages of the tabloids after he scooped up Chelsea in 2003.

His deep pockets helped "Chelski" - as it was then inevitably called - win their first championship for 50 years this year. Mr Abramovich has spent nearly half a billion dollars on players since he bought the club.

That purchase was seen as typical of a mysterious character who first emerged late in the new Russia of ex-President Boris Yeltsin as an influential player in the murky world of Kremlin politics and big business.

Commentators have suggested he is now keen to extract himself entirely from Russia. He has already sold out of Rusal, the world's No. 3 aluminium producer and has bought a smart property in London's upmarket Belgravia as well as a country estate in Sussex, south of the capital.

But he had one more important job to do - a widely-expected second term as governor and benefactor to Chukotka, 6,000 kilometres east of Moscow.