Ex-banker who worked at the end of the Soviet Union becomes a billionaire with marijuana
Published on 08/02/2019
The former Credit Suisse banker Boris Jordan, 53, who became known for his role in the privatization of state-owned companies in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, is now making headlines by capitalizing on another transformative moment, this time in the United States. He became a billionaire with cannabis businesses. His 31% stake in Curaleaf Holdings, the largest American marijuana company by market value, is valued at over $1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Jordan entered the marijuana market in 2013 when his Moscow-based company, Sputnik, invested in PalliaTech, a manufacturer of medical components. According to Bloomberg, a technology and data company for the financial market, Jordan and his partners invested over $100 million to transform this company into Curaleaf, which this week announced the acquisition of Grassroots Cannabis, based in Chicago, in a deal valued at $875 million.
More than 30 states in the US have already legalized medical cannabis, and 11 allow recreational use. The revenue from the legalized marijuana market in the US could more than double by 2022, reaching $23.4 billion, according to the Arcview Group, an investment and research company focused on the marijuana sector.
Jordan also leads Measure 8 Venture Partners, an asset management firm focused on marijuana that recently launched a hedge fund to make long bets on US cannabis companies and short positions on Canadian producers.
