The Russian Forbes journal published the list of the richest owners of real estate properties of Russia. The rating list entitled “Kings of real estate” includes either physical persons or groups of physical persons that have huge commercial property. Armenian Samvel Karapetyan, who is the founder and owner of Tashir group, is in the third place in this list. In 2010 he received 410 million dollars rent from his properties. To note, Samvel Karapetyan is the brother of the president’s staff administration head Karen Karapetyan. The Karapetyan brothers donated 2 million dollars to Armenian pan-Armenian fund in 2010. In addition, they are building a modern hospital with modern equipments in Stepanakert, which will be opened this year.
The list of the biggest 30 property owners includes only CIS citizens and foreign companies have not been taken into consideration. The place of each person in the list has been decided based on the financial incomes each of them received from giving their properties for rent in 2010. Incomes from other businesses, including incomes from selling properties have not been taken into account. The incomes from the trade centers and service centers are calculated based on the payments for each square meter. The areas where the owners of those areas are organizing trade have not been taken into consideration either. Based on the rating results, the Forbes Russia concludes that the incomes of the largest 7 property owners grew in 2010 but not due to growth of the rental fees but due to obtaining or building new properties. Samvel Karapetyan is among those people who enlarged their businesses by buying the companies with bad financial situation or in bankruptcy. According to the Forbes Russia, Karapetyan’s investments in this project exceeded 2 billion dollars. By the way, he has properties not only in Moscow like the other two people above him, but in Yaroslavl, Belgrade, Kaluga, Sochi and Yalta as well. In the previous edition of the Forbes Samvel Karapetyan’s incomes from the rental payments reached 230 million. It means that during one year he almost doubled his incomes from the properties. Only two businessmen have earned more money during the crisis period, and these people are the Azeri Aras Aghalarov and the relative of Azerbaijan’s current president, who represents the Krokus group (550 million dollars) and the representatives of the Kievskaya Ploshad group Zarakh Iliyev and God Nisanov (520 million dollars).
By the way, the experts of the Russian Commersant used to say that the Tashir group is one of the rare private companies that was making huge investments in the construction sector in Moscow in the conditions of crisis. During several months of 2009-2010 Samvel Karapetyan invested approximately 600 million dollars in different construction projects in Moscow. The Tashir group of the Karapetyans has implemented a number of investment projects in 2009-2010, six out of which have been included in the rating list of the “61 projects of the crisis year”.
As a result of the investment projects the number of retail trade halls of the Tashir Group in Moscow has exceeded 22, including the 6 Cinema Star movie theatres, 4 Nash Dom supermarkets, Kids Garden 2 shops, 2 Vinograd wine shops, Modnyj Alyans, Ranger and Wild West networks of cloth shops. The company has 119 fast food restaurants as well.
The Tashir group appeared in the list of the largest property owners in Forbes Russia for the first time in 2006 and was in the 24th place with 29 million dollars received for giving the property for rent. In 2007 the Tashir group was in the 12th place 67 million incomes. In 2008 the Tashir Group was in the 11th place in this list with 101 million, in 2009 it was in the 8th place with 40.000sm office premises and 238.000sm trade areas and 130 million incomes for giving the property for rent.