Russian-Born Billionaire Behind Revolut Fintech App Publishes Anti-War Letter

Nik Storonsky wrote a blog post Tuesday on his fintech firm’s website about his personal ties to Ukraine, and his company’s efforts to support relief efforts in Ukraine.

Nik Storonsky, the Russian billionaire cofounder of London-based financial app Revolut, announced on Tuesday that he opposes the Russian war against Ukraine. He also said his company would match up to £1.5 million (US$2 million) in donations to the Red Cross Ukraine appeal over the next week. While many startup founders and companies issued statements on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the conflict is deeply personal for Revolut and its two cofounders. Many Revolut employees live in either Russia or Ukraine. Storonsky, 37, grew up in Russia but is of partial Ukrainian descent. He holds dual U.K.-Russia citizenship. Revolut cofounder and Chief Technology Officer Vlad Yatsenko, 38, is Ukrainian and holds dual U.K.-Ukraine citizenship.

“When I was growing up, the notion of war between Russia and Ukraine was unthinkable. Not just because war, and the loss of innocent lives, is always wrong, but because to me, Ukrainians and Russians are kin,” Storonsky wrote in a heartfelt letter on Revolut’s website Tuesday. “My father is Ukrainian. I have family and friends throughout Ukraine – people who I care about deeply, and about whom I am enormously concerned.”

On Friday, Revolut announced that it was offering relocation support to all of its Ukraine-based employees who wished to move abroad or within Ukraine. That note described the war as “heartbreaking,” but refrained from condemning Russia. On Tuesday, Storonsky described the invasion as “wrong and totally abhorrent” and acknowledged his previous desire to not single out Revolut’s Russian employees. “In choosing what to do or say publicly,” Storonsky wrote, “I had to first consider the wellbeing of our colleagues in Russia. They have done nothing wrong; they have simply helped build Revolut, supporting their own families through their hard work, just like their colleagues in Ukraine.”

Revolut, a financial app that provides banking, investing and other money management services, is the U.K.’s most highly valued startup, raising money from private investors at a $33 billion valuation in July 2021. The company has attracted over 18 million individual customers and 500,000 business accounts across 35 countries, according to its website.

Storonsky, who Forbes values at an estimated $7.1 billion, studied at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and started his career as a derivatives trader at Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse. Yatsenko, who attended the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, is worth an estimated $1.1 billion; the Revolut CTO previously built software at UBS, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse.