The man who turned vodka into a gold mine

Russian Standard Vodka boss Roustam Tariko also founded a bank. Photo / Martin Sykes

You would not expect the billionaire Russian owner of a vodka company to attend the brand's New Zealand launch.

But Roustam Tariko likes travelling the world.

In a two-week period he will have flown from Moscow to New York, then Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Bali, the Philippines, Japan, Singapore and Thailand, before heading back to Russia.

He enjoys working globally, he says.

"I never work and I never rest. This is my nature of life."

When the owner of Russian Standard Vodka founded the company in 1998, Russia amazingly had no premium vodka brand.

The business now sells 2.1 million cases a year, with 80 per cent of its production exported to more than 60 countries.

The company concentrated first on Europe and America, but Tariko always dreamed of having a global brand.

"This part of the world is also important if you'd like to consider yourself global."

With an estimated worth of $4.9 billion Tariko is a rare Russian oligarch in that he is totally self-made, Vanity Fair magazine reports.

He began importing Ferrero Rocher chocolates and then Martini, fulfilling Russians' growing desire for products that symbolised Western luxury.

In 1999 Tariko went on to found Russian Standard Bank, pioneering consumer credit for people who were eager to finance their aspirations.

Tariko says he saw an opportunity in banking using the same principles as he had with vodka, "which is about filling the gap in a big consumer need".

Other banks were trying to get into the deposit market, but he saw the potential in credit.

"Credit or credit cards have multiple sources of profit, so it's a much more profitable business."

A "pretty famous banker" he hired tried to dissuade him, saying he should invest in gold mines in Russia's north instead. "I told him, gold is just here."

He was right - Russian Standard Bank grew into a multibillion-dollar operation within two years.

Because Russians are less highly geared than their Western counterparts it has been more fortunate than some in the credit crisis.

"I'm very grateful to the Russian consumer because he behaved much better than many, many consultants who worked for me were predicting."

He sees good growth potential for Russian Standard in New Zealand - we apparently consume quite a lot of vodka - and he's planning to return, perhaps to sail around our shores in his superyacht.

Another reason for an affinity with this country is his New Zealand chef, who is his "No 1 chef" (he has five).

The Kiwi lives in Tariko's Russian home and sometimes goes partying with the boss. He travels the world with his employer. "Every important move I make, I move with him," the billionaire smiles.