Hedonist, Altruist 

Evgeny Chichvarkin cuts an unorthodox figure in the wine world. 

To get a glimpse into the eccentric whirlwind of Evgeny Chichvarkin’s mind, one need only pay a visit to his lavatory. The lavatory, that is, in his Mayfair wine shop, Hedonism Wines, self-proclaimed ‘best wine and spirits shop in the world’. 

The green mosaic-tiled ceiling is covered in life-size decorative frogs, their bulging red and yellow eyes gazing down on the unsuspecting visitor. Meanwhile, in his Sine Qua Non Vault, a bizarre kaleidoscope of hundreds of pairs of hands emerges from the wall and ceiling. One looks like it belongs to the Incredible Hulk, another to Mickey Mouse, another is a pair of crimson lobster claws; each one is ‘holding’ a bottle of one of the rare and most desirable bottles of wine in the world.  

“These were the two rooms that I personally designed myself,” says Chichvarkin with pride. Admiring the collection, I spy labels such as a 55-year-old Yamazaki Whisky, on sale for £650,000; a Massougnes Cognac dating back to 1802 in the Napoleonic era, for £248,000; and a 75cl bottle of Chateau D’Yquem from 1847, priced at £96,400. All are one-offs, waiting for the right deep-pocketed connoisseur collector to come along. 

All in all, Hedonism Wines stocks some 77,000 rare wines and spirits, between around 12,000 in its Davies Street store in Mayfair and another 65,000 in a warehouse in Tottenham, one of the largest collections in Europe. It enjoys rave reviews for the professionalism of its staff. “We have probably the greatest team in the wine industry, we find people with an excellent knowledge and a high service standard. We never need to push them,” agrees Chichvarkin.  

In Mayfair, the wine industry is steeped in tradition; Berry Bros and Rudd first opened its doors here in 1698. An unorthodox newcomer that Chichvarkin and his partner Tatiana opened in 2012, Hedonism Wines cuts a stark contrast.  

Chichvarkin is also a passionate foodie and in 2012 co-founded the stunning three-storey Mayfair restaurant Hide with Michelin-starred chef Ollie Dabbous. Chichvarkin’s tastes are rarefied but simple; he loves nothing better than cooking up a “fat Nordic fish”, paired with a great bottle of Champagne, such as a 1996 Dom Perignon Blanc de Blanc, the finest year of the decade. 

Chichvarkin has never been one to conform to the status quo. 

Born in St Petersburg, then Leningrad, Evgeny Chichvarkin founded the largest Russian mobile phone retailer, Euroset, making him the richest man under 35 in Russia. At one point, the net worth of the business was estimated at US$1.6 billion. However, the company was caught up in a complicated contraband case with the Russian state, and in 2008 he sold his company for US$400 million and fled to the UK.  

He has since fought extradition and now lives in exile in London where he openly supports democratic causes in Russia and its periphery by funding opposition parties and issuing scathing public critiques of Putin and his followers. 

The occasional threats he says he receives, as well as frequent cyberattacks, don’t seem to bother him anymore. “Russia has given me a status of ‘foreign agent’, the next level is ‘state enemy’. But I never worry about the safety of myself or my family. We don’t have any security, I drive with an open-roof car, my children just go to school as normal.” He shrugs. “If FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service] decides to kill you, they will kill you.” 

In the last two years, Chichvarkin has focused his attention and energy on the Ukraine war. “What is happening in Ukraine is devastating,” he says. Chichvarkin began purchasing medical supplies for Ukraine at the end of February 2022 as tensions between Russia and the West escalated. Including £500,000 of his own money, he has amassed a total of £4.5 million to cover large invoices for medical aid through helping channel donations, many of which are from fellow ex-Russians living all over the world. These medical purchases were made from designated UK and German pharmacies and delivered to Kiev, Odessa, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Nikolaev. 

Chichvarkin organised 12 truck deliveries to the border of Ukraine and into the country, delivering the purchased supplies, four of which he drove himself. He has since started helping Ukrainian hospitals and military units, working with charitable foundations, including Vidchuy in Ukraine, and Common Ground in Latvia, and with high-profile volunteers such as Tata Kepler, who has been a volunteer on the Ukrainian frontlines since 2014. 

His work received an endorsement from the defence ministry and healthcare ministry of Ukraine in Spring 2022. 

Part of fundraising included charity dinners: two of which he organised in London and two in France, raising £800,000 for medical supplies.  He and Tatiana themselves cooked the dinners and supplied an incredible wine list from Hedonism Wines. The next dinner will be held in Cap-d’Ail in the South of France in June. “As Putin continues to wage his illegal war, we must all come together and do what we can to help. The Ukrainian people have been faultlessly brave. Who would have thought that a year and a half on they would still be defending their homeland?  I only hope we can help save as many lives as possible and the sovereignty of Ukraine,” he adds. 

He worries that people may start to get donor fatigue, as the Ukraine war rolls on and on, and it will take nothing short of a major human catastrophe to incentivise more giving. “Unfortunately, I think Putin will create a situation where people will be shocked into giving money again; he’ll destroy another city or use a different type of missile. Sadly, that’s how it works.” 

Does he think Ukraine will ultimately triumph in the war? He shrugs. He believes the West could help more with long-distance missiles, but whether that help will come has to be seen. Meanwhile, China and India are continuing to buy Russian oil. “Europe has already cut ties with Russia dramatically, but states have to think about what they can offer China and India to stop funding the war. And I don’t think that will happen.”  

Russia’s exports of crude oil have now surpassed the volumes hit before its invasion of Ukraine. China and India account for roughly 90 percent of Russia's seaborne crude exports, Kpler data shows. 

“Ukrainians are doing a great job of making the Russian army worry about what will happen and where 24/7, but it is impossible to do forever.” 

This article originally appeared in Billionaire's Next Gen Issue. For subscriptions, go to bllnr.com/subscribe