Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, in 1951, Arkady Rotenberg is a Russian billionaire whose massive fortune is rooted in his long-standing personal relationship with President Vladimir Putin. Rotenberg's early life was focused on martial arts and physical discipline. In 1963, at the age of 12, Rotenberg and Vladimir Putin both joined the same sambo club under trainer Anatoly Rakhlin, forging a close bond that would define their lives.

Rotenberg graduated from the Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health in 1978 and became a judo trainer. Throughout the 1990s, even as he and his brother Boris engaged in small-scale commodity trading (petroleum products), Rotenberg continued to train with Putin several times a week after Putin returned to Russia. This profound personal connection provided the political foundation for his extraordinary corporate rise in the 2000s.

Arkady Rotenberg's ascent into the billionaire ranks was rapid, driven by his close political ties. In the early 2000s, he co-founded SMP Bank with his brother, which quickly became a major financial institution. However, his massive wealth accumulation came from lucrative, non-competitive state-sponsored contracts, often through the gas monopoly, Gazprom. In 2008, Rotenberg founded Stroygazmontazh (SGM Group) by purchasing five companies from Gazprom for $348 million.

SGM became Russia's largest construction company for gas pipelines and electrical power supply lines, earning billions of dollars in revenue from inflated contracts. He also secured nearly $7 billion in contracts for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, including major infrastructure projects. Rotenberg's business empire became a cornerstone of Russian infrastructure development and was deeply intertwined with state energy and construction projects, leading to him being placed on international sanctions lists starting in 2014. Despite the sanctions, he remains an immensely wealthy and decorated figure, having been awarded the Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation.

Arkady Rotenberg's philanthropy is primarily channeled toward martial arts and national culture. His dedication to judo and sambo is reflected in his founding of the Yavara-Neva professional judo club, which, after winning multiple European championships, was given a state-funded $180 million facility.

His support for sports is a form of national cultural patronage, aligning with the values of physical strength and national pride. The SGM Group's construction of massive infrastructure projects, while commercially lucrative, is also a structural contribution to Russia's energy security and regional connectivity, particularly in the Arctic Circle and during major national events like the Sochi Olympics.

Arkady Rotenberg maintains a disciplined, powerful, and often heavily guarded style, reflecting his status as a key oligarch. His attire is consistently formal, favoring tailored business suits and a conservative, serious demeanor, suitable for his roles in high-stakes construction and sports management.

His lifestyle is characterized by immense, discreet wealth, with residences in Moscow and reports of offshore holdings (implicated in the Pandora Papers). His luxury is primarily expressed through the high-end sports assets he controls, such as the professional Judo club and Hockey Club Dynamo Moscow. His life is one of continuous political and business engagement, defined by his deep personal connections at the highest levels of Russian power.