Aras Agalarov

Who is Aras Agalarov?

Aras Agalarov is an Azerbaijan-born Russian businessman, developer, public figure and author of Russia: Reflections on the Way to the Market.

Born in Baku, he was educated at the Azerbaijan Polytechnical Institute. He moved with his family to Moscow in 1998, where he founded Crocus International, which specialises in trade fairs, where he still makes most of his money.

Agalarov then opened the first Crocus Inter store, which became a retail business that includes malls offering housewares. This moved him into property development, where he built the Crocus City Mall, the largest shopping centre in Moscow. Adjacent to this he then built the largest trade centre in Russia on the out skirts of Moscow, Crocus Expo, and has since developed a luxury housing development.

Married with two children, his eldest son Emin Agalarov is a businessman and singer/song writer. Emin is married to Leyla Aliyeva, the daughter of the current President of Azerbaijan, Ilkham Aliyev; she edits the London-based Baku magazine, published by Crocus International.