From Wall Street banker to Vladimir Putin’s point man
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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. AS THE MEETING came to an end, it looked less like a peace parley and more like a business negotiation. On February 18th, when the Kremlin’s men met Donald Trump’s diplomats in Saudi Arabia, Kirill Dmitriev set out (perhaps exaggerated) numbers.
American companies, he said, had lost $324bn by leaving Russia after the start of the war in Ukraine. Why not come back? Mr Dmitriev touted opportunities for American firms and bigged up Moscow’s restaurant scene. His message found receptive ears.
Marco Rubio, America’s secretary of state, enthused about the “historic economic and investment opportunities" of a peace deal. Mr Dmitriev praised Mr Trump for starting a “constructive conversation". The soft-spoken 49-year-old stood out from the grizzled diplomats who made up the rest of the Russian delegation.
But, from Vladimir Putin’s point of view, he had good reason to be part of it. As the boss of one of Russia’s state-backed investment funds, Mr Dmitriev has been cutting deals for more than a decade. Mr Putin wants America to loosen sanctions on his economy.
By dangling business opportunities and arguing that sanctions have cost American firms money, Mr Dmitriev is trying to convince Mr Trump to do just that. Mr Dmitriev’s ease in the company of American businessmen makes him an ideal emissary to Trumpworld. Whereas many in Mr Putin’s circle rose up through the security services, Mr Dmitriev got his start in California during the 1990s.
A degree from Stanford University led to jobs at McKinsey, a consultancy, and Goldman Sachs, a bank. In 2000 he received an MBA from Harvard Business School, a finishing school for Western capitalists. He then returned to Russia, where Mr Putin was at the
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