TRADE WARS
Silicon Valley billionaire Milner renounces Russian citizenship
by AFP Staff Writers
San Francisco (AFP) Oct 11, 2022

Billionaire Silicon Valley investor Yuri Milner said Monday he had renounced his Russian citizenship.

"My family and I left Russia for good in 2014, after the Russian annexation of Crimea. And this summer, we officially completed the process of renouncing our Russian citizenship," the Moscow-born Milner tweeted.

Milner, founder of the internet investment firm DST Global and one of the original investors in Facebook, has been an Israeli citizen since 1999, DST Global said in a fact sheet on its website.

The venture capitalist and physicist has no assets in Russia and 97 percent of his wealth was created elsewhere, it said.

"Yuri has never met Vladimir Putin, either individually or in a group," it said.

Milner's non-profit Breakthrough Prize Foundation has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"As the terrible war in Ukraine continues, with casualties and atrocities mounting, the Breakthrough Prize Foundation strongly condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its unprovoked and brutal assaults against the civilian population," it said in a statement in March.

Milner's foundations have donated at least $11 million to help refugees from Ukraine and scientists forced to flee the country, according to DST Global.

Milner and the late British cosmologist Stephen Hawking in 2016 announced an ambitious space initiative for a mission to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to Earth, using tiny light-propelled, ultra-light space vehicles, or "nanocraft".

The pair also teamed up to launch a massive search for intelligent extraterrestrial life in a $100-million, 10-year project to scan the heavens, funded by Milner.

bur-mtp/cwl

Meta


Related Links
Global Trade News

TRADE WARS
Hong Kong leader says he 'laughs off' US sanctions
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 11, 2022
Hong Kong's leader laughed off US sanctions against him Tuesday as he defended his government's decision not to act against a superyacht reportedly owned by a Kremlin ally. The Nord - a $500 million luxury vessel linked to Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov - arrived in the Chinese territory's waters last week. Mordashov is among the oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin who have been targeted by Western sanctions following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. On Saturday the Unit ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

TRADE WARS
Australia backs plan for intercontinental power grid

UN urges 'complete transformation' of global energy system

Step up investment to meet 2050 net-zero: Swiss Re

Rwanda agrees with IMF on aid under new climate change fund

TRADE WARS
Battery tech breakthrough paves way for mass adoption of affordable electric car

A catalyst alloying platinum with a rare earth element could slash fuel cell costs

Nuclear fusion: A new solution for the instability problem

DOE announces $47 million for research at tokamak and spherical tokamak facilities

TRADE WARS
Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa plans 2,900 jobs cuts

Spain, UK making headway on renewable energy: report

Europe and China operate the largest number of offshore wind farms

A new method boosts wind farms' energy output, without new equipment

TRADE WARS
Can critical metals for renewable energy products be found in existing mines

UK to cap renewable energy company revenues

Rocket Lab to build solar panels for NASA's CADRE Mobile Robot Program

Airbus Ventures leads Solestial's oversubscribed $10M seed round

TRADE WARS
Framatome to extend outage services to PSEG for long-term plant operations

Scholz extends life of Germany's remaining nuclear plants

Finland hopes new nuclear reactor eases energy crunch

France's EDF delays bringing nuclear reactors back on stream

TRADE WARS
Engineering duckweed to produce oil for biofuels, bioproducts

On-site reactors could affordably turn CO2 into valuable chemicals

Onshore algae farms could be 'breadbasket for Global South'

Processing waste biomass to reduce airborne emissions

TRADE WARS
BP to buy US renewable gas firm for $4.1 bn

Israel hails 'historic' sea border deal with Lebanon

Iraq probes $2.5 billion 'theft' from tax agency

Senegal not giving up on oil and gas

TRADE WARS
UK told to change behaviour to meet climate targets

Iraq drought displaces 1,200 families in parched south

Protesters glue hands to cover of Picasso painting

Climate refugees flee as Bangladesh villages washed away