Episode summary
The David Rubenstein Show: Bill Browder
The David Rubenstein Show
· · Hosts: David Rubenstein · Guests: Bill Browder
Summary
Bill Browder traces his path from a family with deep communist roots to becoming the largest foreign investor in Russia in the 1990s, then an outspoken enemy of Vladimir Putin. He says he saw Russian privatization as an extraordinary opportunity, launched Hermitage Capital with backing from Edmond Safra, and at one point was up 865% in his first 18 months managing money. The turn came when he began exposing fraud and asset stripping at the companies he owned, which he says led to his 2005 expulsion from Russia and designation as a national security threat.
Browder argues that the killing of his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in Russian custody transformed his life and created the mission that still defines it. He says Magnitsky uncovered a $230 million tax fraud tied to the theft of Browder-linked companies, then died after torture in jail. Browder then pushed U.S. lawmakers to pass sanctions legislation that became the Magnitsky Act, which he says now exists in 35 countries and targets human rights abusers beyond Russia.
He also says Putin’s war on Ukraine is driven by regime survival, not bargaining, and that Donald Trump had no leverage to change that. Browder’s current campaign is to persuade Western governments to use frozen Russian central bank assets, roughly $300 billion, for Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction.
Key takeaways
- Browder says Hermitage Capital was launched with Edmond Safra’s $25 million and returned 865% in its first 18 months.
- He says his public exposure of Russian fraud helped trigger his 2005 expulsion from Russia and made him Putin’s enemy.
- Browder says Sergei Magnitsky uncovered a $230 million tax fraud and died after torture in jail, which drove the Magnitsky Act campaign.
- He says the Magnitsky Act passed in 2012 and now exists in 35 countries, covering human rights abusers globally.
- Browder argues the frozen $300 billion of Russian central bank reserves should be used for Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction.
Notable quotes
“I was the largest foreign investor in their country. I think killing me would have been a weight, a step way too far”
“And the Magnitsky Act freezes the assets and bans the visas of human rights violators from Russia”
“we were up 865%. So you were buying stakes in Russian government owned companies that you could privatize”
“What Sergei had figured out was that the reason they stole our companies was to go back to the tax authorities and file an amended tax return”
“so the first thing I did after he was killed was I gave all of this information to one of the opposition newspapers in Russia”
How the episode opens
This is my kitchen table and it's also my filing system. Over much of the past three decades, I've been an investor the highest calling of mankind I've often thought was private equity. And then I started interviewing.
I watch your interview, coach. I know how to do something. I've learned in doing my interviews, how leaders make it to the top.
I asked him how much he wanted. He said to 50. I said, Fine.
I didn't negotiate with him. I didn't know due diligence. I have something I'd like to sell and how they stay there.
You don't feel inadequate now because being only the second wealthiest man in the world, is that right? With the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia became a fertile place for many Western capitals to invest. Perhaps the most successful of them was Bill Browder, who was actually the grandson of the head of the American Communist Party.
Bill Browder built Hermitage Capital into one of the leading Western investors in Russia. But he ran afoul of the Russian government and had to leave the country. I had a chance to sit down with Bill Browder in Berlin to talk about what he's now doing and why he's trying to get assets of Russia frozen so that they might be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
So I don't know if Vladimir Putin has a enemies list, but if he does, you're probably on it. How did you manage to get on his enemies list? Well, I'm definitely on it.
High on it. Certainly, perhaps even the highest on it among foreigners. In the way I got on it was I lobbied for a piece of legislation called the Magnitsky Act is named after my Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who was murdered by the Putin regime in Russian police custody.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- putin criticism
- russia privatization
- anti-corruption
- magnitsky act
- oligarchs and state corruption
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Hermitage Capital Management
Watch the episode
Watch “The David Rubenstein Show: Bill Browder” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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