Wall street journal bidzina ivanishvili biography

He is the puppet master of Georgian politics - a man of fabulous wealth and extraordinary power.

And Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili is the focus of intense opposition as unrest sweeping his country reaches boiling point.

From humble origins, he left Georgia to accumulate immense wealth in Russia through close ties with Putin's chosen few, the kleptocratic elites who have helped themselves to the country's riches in return for complete loyalty to the Kremlin.

He is said to be worth at least $5bn (£3.98bn), a third of his country's GDP.

After returning to Georgia, he acquired enormous influence in his homeland.

He says he has withdrawn from frontline politics but, as chairman of the Georgian Dream party, Ivanishvili is the power behind the throne, an eminence grise, say his critics, operating from the shadows as the puppet master of the country's power struggles.

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