Aman is known for being one of the world’s best luxury hotel groups, as the company has a few dozen boutique properties around the globe, with several new hotels in the pipeline. The Aman brand was sold in 2014, and it’s common for people in the industry to say that a Singaporean sold the brand…
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A bit more digging will show that Doronin is a Russian oligarch with close to ties to a dictator who shall go unnamed (let's call him Vladolf Putler). Staying at an Aman will indeed contribute to that dictator's coffers.
I, for one, believe everything the Russian billionaire says as completely and totally true….
What a ridiculous article, filled with crass ethnic prejudice masquerading as concern for Ukraine. Doronin made his money as a commodities broker in Switzerland in the 80s and 90s (with the late and non-Russian Marc Rich) while Putin was an obscure KGB agent. That he was born in Russia and does business there - and also does business in New York, Miami, Zurich, London, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc. - does not make him an ally of Putin any more than it makes Mark Zuckerberg an ally of Donald Trump. Tarring Doronin as a Putin ally is premised almost entirely on his place of birth and ethnicity, and not on any facts - the same sort of prejudice that landed those of Japanese ancestry in FDR's concentration camps. For shame.
Non discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and country of origin is american biggest hypocrisy and now they don’t even try to cover it up.
Great article, Ben
Presenting the facts impartially; I disagree with some of the other comments that you have written "crass ethnic prejudice"
On the contrary, I think what you've written is quite fair...
Regardless of his connections to Putin (or lack thereof), he leadership has made Aman lose its charm.
Standards have been slipping, and the direction of the company is awful. Even some of the Aman staff I know have suggested that the brand is more concerned about profits and cashing in nowadays rather than providing a magical experience.
"Digging." You mean speculating. Care to share the results of your research project that demonstrate "close ties" to Putin? More than say his ties to Leonardo de Caprio?
Now this is an intelligent comment rather than a bigoted one. Doronin should be remembered as the guy who orchestrated the removal of Adrian Zecha, and opened dozens of anodyne "Amanresorts" in charmless places and watered down the brand. That he did so after having been born in Russia is totally irrelevant.
Maksim, I am not going to do your digging for you but a quick Google search will bring up plenty of research linking Doronin to Putin.
What a nonsense reply. What ethnic prejudice does Lucky have? To Russians? How silly of you.
The average Russian walking down the street is just like any other person walking down the street. And, it would be shameful to stereotype any person based on one's heritage. But, this guy ain't your average Russian walking down the street. He has substantial investments in Moscow . . . for which he has sought lower visibility.
Many governments have frozen the assets of individuals with connections to the Russian government. Those governments are investigating who has such connections. The news media are investigating who has such connections. Irrespective of anything else about this gentleman, it appears that he has substantial investments in Moscow -- for which he is lowering their visibility. Given the circumstances, it is reasonable to ask what connections he has. And, it is likely that he is on the radar of governments imposing asset freezes.
Being born in Russia is irrelevant. Absolutely.
Having hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate investments in Moscow is relevant. Based on that and not his ethnicity, it is reasonable to ask what his connections are.
So now the new standard is whether somebody has "substantial investments in Moscow." Sounds a lot like the argument that Donald Trump was controlled by Putin because of his real estate investments there. Innuendo though, is different from facts.
So one is responsible for Putin's aggression in Ukraine merely because he has investments there? Other people/companies with investments in Russia, BP, McDonald's, Pepsi, The Clinton Foundation, Congressmen Ro Khanna . . . Bill and Hillary Clinton both got massive 7 figure fees to speak in Russia. Guilty too?
If that's so, why not cite it Upupandawayski? In reality, there is no more to connect him to Putin than to Obama except the coincidence of his place of birth. Next you'll want to go after Yacov Smirnoff.
First of all, he was born in Soviet Union in the territory of the current Russian Federation.
What is relevant that doing business in Russia means always bribery to government("motivation package") unless the government influencers are not involved in it. The bigger the business, the bigger the bribery.
Getting removed public information about his real estate business in Russia from 1993 means he is deeply involved with government and was published ONLY to avoid confiscation of assets outside of Russia and losing percantage of Aman clients.
Anyone who is claiming that he does not has anything to do with government of Moscow or Russia does not have any knowledge about how the big business runs in Russia.
The money that has invested to Western world is corrupted blood money. That comes to so called "oligarhs" investments and how they got their assets.
Just fyi, Doronin isn’t 100% owner of Aman resort group. There are other none Russian shareholders.
I think the standard now is whether someone has substantial investments in Russia AND is/was Russian.
If you are a non Russian go ahead and enjoy, no one will touch your assets.
This is an old racist trope and it is sad to see it play out again.
More fact free innuendo, speculation, and guilt by association which immediately reverts to relying "first of all" on the fact that he was born in Russia and never goes beyond speculation about "that's the way its done in Russia." As if that's not the way its done in the USA too . . . but that doesn't make US business people guilty for the many sins of the US government.
"Considering a majority of Russians support Putin and the war." Of course this is true and requires no further factual support. Just ask Putin!
This post is going too far into no facts just need some clickbait and comment wars.
Speculating like this is just saying every Vodka is Russian.
Or Poutine must have some ties to Putin.
I can't believe I just watched a grainy old Oprah episode featuring Naomi Campbell...what's the world coming to??? Oh, and I also Googled her to find out that she and Vlad haven't been together since 2013.
The war in Ukraine is a global horror. Punishing those that have contributed to this atrocity is just and right. I just don't know if Doronin falls into that group of Oligarchs that go beyond complicity. More research is needed, but it certainly looks like he's trying to distance himself from his Russian (intentionally chosen vs. Soviet) past.
You do not get that he was born in Soviet Union? I am yet to see a businessman in Russia who would swear that he never gave any bribes to government officials 🙂 There is no court to say guilty or not. He had a big investing business in Russia at least 19 years and what is the purpose to remove any kind of information about his business there from the company website and publishing the statement with pure lie? Not judging, just asking.
There is no agression in Ukraine. According to official announcement: Russian peacekeepers provide a "special military operation" in territory of DPR and LPR. The goal is denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, a country lead by freely elected nazi president who is from Russian speaking jews family.
There are also no any kind of sanctions against the Russian Federation and Republic of Belarus, it is " a special economic operation".
I do not care a s*it, when any russian cries or complains about the results of the "special economic operation", because it is not comparable with a loss of the people in Ukraine.
The main question from pro-government supporters is: " Where you were during about the last 8 years when Ukraine bombed DPR and LPR?" My answer: I watched how Ukraine forces tried to release their territory from terrorist supported by Russia. DPR and LPR is exactly same as ISIS, no difference and they must be treated as such.
A person can be in bed with another yet not be controlled by the other.
W.E.B. DuBois wrote that Black folks have "second sight" -- that is, they are aware of the way they see themselves and they are aware of the way others see them. Prejudice is a terrible thing. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that individuals of Russian ethnicity are feeling something similar right now.
But, as I said before, the average Russian walking down the street is just like any other person walking down the street. These folks have done nothing wrong. The average Russian walking down the street is owed the same courtesy and civility that is owed to any other person walking down the street.
The investments are simply a data point. INTERPOL and other law enforcement agencies will determine whether that data point -- combined with other data points -- with respect to *any* individual warrants further investigation. If that includes Mr. Trump, so be it.
If I have offended anyone, I apologize. I have attempted to offer my thoughts in a balanced, fair, reasonable, and non-dogmatic way.
This is a brilliant article. If you dig further you will find that Capital Group is owned by (Aman owner) Vladislav Doronin AND a sitting member of the Duma (Russian Parliament) Pavel Tyo—who has ties to the russian mafia. You don’t become the biggest real estate developer in Moscow without Putin’s blessing if not involvement. Anyone who understands Russia knows this.
Moreover, Doronin himself sat in on and arranged an interview with Putin.
That's how sanctions work Mak. If he has business connections to Moscow, then he gets sanctioned. If Bill and Hillary Clinton is hopping on a plane tomorrow (i.e. AFTER the sanctions) to speak in Russia for 7 figures, then yeah they'd be in trouble too.
Yes, that's how sanctions work, a blunt instrument that mostly punishes people for where they come from rather than anything they've done - but that doesn't make it moral or right.
You know, after a point FDR allowed Japanese-Americans who swore loyalty and obedience to the USA and disavowed connections to Japan to leave the camps, keeping many Japanese Americans in prison camps. Was that right? History is repeating itself and the cold ignorant bigotry of Americans infuriated by their impotent rage returns to the fore.
Naomi and he not being together is irrelevant. The clip is shown to highlight that his partner at that time, identified him as Russian. Now he is not? With the other supporting issues.
Sanctions don’t work with carve outs for deniers. Sadly, they must direct their upset to Putin and apply pressure by any means. The Ukrainians have it far worse.
@Comrade Mak:
“ As if that's not the way its done in the USA too . . . but that doesn't make US business people guilty for the many sins of the US government.”
Not all people, just those that participate in this behavior. They are a part of the problem.
who cares. much of the $ in the USA is stolen / fake anyway. Just endless money printing and certain insiders take more of that. it's all going to collapse before the end of the decade.
Doronin was called a "King of Russian Real Estate" by Forbes in 2014... Here's the now deleted page about Capital Group, from June 2021 via wayback machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20210614161601/https://www.vladislavdoronin.com/real-estate/
As the founder of multiple leading international property development companies, real estate magnate Vladislav Doronin has for several decades been a driving force behind the evolution of commercial and residential real estate markets.
Since its inception in 1993 Capital Group has been responsible for some of the most significant buildings in present-day Moscow, developing Moscow’s equivalent of Wall Street or Canary Wharf. Projects include skyscrapers, business and retail centres, residential properties, hotels and mixed-use complexes.
Capital Group was the first development company to invite top international architects, designers and engineers to design and build its projects in Russia. NBBJ and SOM (Skidmore, Owings and Merrill) from the US, London-based Arup, Jacques Grange, Massimo Iosa Ghini and Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Zaha Hadid are among Capital Group’s global partners.
Capital Group also worked with several of Russia’s best architects and designers including Aleksandr Skokan, Vladimir Plotkin, Aleksandr Asadov and Nikolay Lyzlov. This unique combination, working with talented designers, engineers and architects across several, has enabled Capital Group to dominate the Moscow market.
In 2013, Capital Group was named ‘Developer of the Decade’ at Moscow’s prestigious Commercial Real Estate Awards. For his personal achievements in the industry, in 2014 Vladislav Doronin was named by Forbes as one of the ‘Kings of Russian Real Estate’.
Through Vladislav Doronin’s U.S.-based real estate company, OKO Group, several land parcels were acquired from 2014 to the present day. OKO Group’s current U.S. portfolio of prime properties and development projects include two luxury residential developments in Miami; Missoni Baia in East Edgewater and Una Residences on the Brickell Waterfront; and in New York City at the crossroads of 5th Avenue and 57th Street, the Crown Building which will soon become Aman New York.
Real estate magnate, Vladislav Doronin, and his development team at OKO Group continue to look for opportunities to further expand their portfolio in the U.S. and internationally.
You are clearly favoring the globalists in this conflict and choose to negatively paint people just because of their ethnic heritage.
A commendable move towards journalism. However, such an article needs an experienced journalist to deep-dive into.
On a different note, doing business in Russia or with Russia is not illegal. We must be careful with drawing links between businesses and Russia.
Putting to one side that you could write all sorts of articles about Doronin's real estate investments elsewhere, what about this suggests that he is in any remote way responsible for conspiring with Putin to invade Ukraine and deserving of punishment for it. Innuendo and guilt by association is not the same as presenting evidence, and this does nothing to suggest that he is guilty for anything other than being born in Russia.
Doronin writes: "I left in 1986 before its dissolution and have therefore never been a Russian national."
He conveniently does not mention his nationality. Which country issued his passport? If he has a Russian passport, he is a Russian national, regardless of when he left the country.
What did Ukrainians do to deserve death and destruction of their homeland?
Funny how you blame sanctions for being a blunt instrument, but say little about the blunt instruction called war and invasion that Russia chose to initiate. In war, civilians ALWAYS suffer on both sides, but that doesn't mean Ukraine should just rollover, or that Russia should not be punished for killing civilians.
Does seem to me like Japanese Americans should swear loyalty to the USA, given that it was a requirement to be an American in the first place. Have you ever heard of the Oath of Allegiance? You sound like an angry Russian apologist.
It's "funny" how some people can't read, and freely interpret comments to distract from the real argument. Did anybody anywhere in this thread defend Russia's invasion, much less the death of its people and destruction of its cities and villages? I think not. The question the adults are discussing assumes all of this, and asks whether every person of Russian heritage is responsible and should be punished. A debate that your limited reading comprehension doesn't allow you to participate in.
So the Japanese-Americans should swear allegiance? "Funny" how nobody cared whether German-Americans or Italian-Americans swore allegiance to avoid FDR's camps.