Wildberries Founder Tatyana Kim Divorces
Property Division Lawsuit Remains
Tatyana Kim, the richest female entrepreneur in Russia and founder of Wildberries, has divorced her husband Vladislav Bakalchuk. The couple clashed over company issues during the divorce process, which even escalated to a shootout resulting in casualties.
On the 11th (local time), according to Russian media such as MK, Kim announced on her Telegram that "the court has approved the divorce." Her ex-husband Bakalchuk also posted on Telegram a song by Russian singer Valery Kipelov titled "I am free like a bird flying in the sky," announcing the divorce news.
Kim, of Korean descent, founded Wildberries in 2004 while on parental leave and grew it into Russia's largest e-commerce company through self-made efforts. Her assets are estimated at $7.4 billion (about 10.5 trillion KRW), ranking 22nd among 125 billionaires selected by Forbes Russia last year. She holds the highest rank among women.
In July last year, Kim filed for divorce against Bakalchuk, and in October of the same year, she reverted her surname from Bakalchuk back to Kim, which she had changed following her husband. Kim revealed that there were deep personal issues between the couple.
However, they had conflicts over company merger issues. In June last year, plans were announced for Wildberries to merge with Russia's largest outdoor advertising company, Russ Outdoor, but Bakalchuk opposed it.
Russian police block the entrance of the Wildberries building in Moscow on September 18 last year (local time). Photo by AFP and Yonhap News.
During this process, a shootout occurred in September last year at the Wildberries headquarters opposite the Moscow Kremlin. Bakalchuk came to the office with strong men claiming to negotiate, which led to a clash with security guards hired by Kim, escalating into a shootout. Two people died and five were injured in this incident.
Bakalchuk demanded half of the shares from Kim as a price for the divorce, citing that Kim founded Wildberries in 2004 with her own funds. Currently, Tatyana holds 99% of Wildberries shares, and Vladislav holds 1%. The court is scheduled to hold a hearing on property division on the 18th, which is expected to determine the future direction of Wildberries.
Kim and Bakalchuk, who were married for 22 years, have seven children. All the children will be raised by Kim, while Bakalchuk will maintain visitation rights and pay child support.
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