He is Georgia’s billionaire boss and the country’s richest man with an estimated fortune of $4.9bn — nearly a fifth of Georgia’s GDP. 

Bidzina Ivanishvili, once admired for his philanthropy, is lately widely regarded as an oligarch who controls nearly all branches of power from behind the scenes, earning him the nickname "puppet master". 

Now, Ivanishvili is seen as the biggest threat to Georgia's democracy and an obstacle to the country’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

From village boy to billionaire

Before 2011 few in Georgia knew what Ivanishvili even looked like.

Born in 1956 in the village of Chorvila in Georgia’s Imereti region, about 166 kilometres from Tbilisi, Ivanishvili came from humble beginnings. He moved to Moscow in the 1980s to pursue a doctorate in economics. It was in the chaotic post-Soviet Russia of the 1990s, that Ivanishvili amassed his vast fortune.

He invested in metals, banking, real estate and even held shares in Gazprom, Russia's state-owned gas giant. His business empire grew rapidly, and he became one of Russia’s wealthiest men.

In 2002, with Vladimir Putin’s rise to power, Ivanishvili left Russia for France, where he held citizenship, and soon he returned to Georgia, as the country was undergoing its own political transformation after the Rose Revolution.

Back in Georgia, Ivanishvili led a low-profile life for nearly a decade, but his presence was felt. He spent millions on restoring cultural heritage and social causes, funding everything from botanical gardens to universities.

While his philanthropy earned him praise, critics argue that it was more about securing public loyalty and influence — something Ivanishvili has consistently denied.

A move into politics

In 2011, Ivanishvili stunned the nation by announcing his entry into politics, forming a political movement to challenge then-president Mikheil Saakashvili. 

At the time, Saakashvili had been in power for nearly a decade following the 2003 Rose Revolution. He was praised for modernising the country but criticised for increasingly authoritarian tendencies. Under Saakashvili, the government faced accusations of controlling the media and judiciary, and engaging in human rights abuses. His administration was increasingly viewed as out of touch. 

Georgian Dream, the coalition Ivanishvili formed with almost all opposition parties, presented itself as an alternative that would restore democratic freedoms, fight corruption and improve relations with Russia while still keeping Georgia on a path toward European integration.

In the 2012 parliamentary elections, Georgian Dream scored a major victory, and Ivanishvili became prime minister. However, his time in office was brief — after just a year, he stepped down, stating a desire to return to private life. 

Yet, Ivanishvili continued to pull the strings behind the scenes, shaping key government decisions from the shadows.  

One man rule

Though Ivanishvili has not held an official government position since his resignation as prime minister in 2013, his influence over Georgian politics has remained absolute. 

He has consistently handpicked the country’s leaders, with three of the last four prime ministers having been former managers of his companies. Other key figures in the government also have personal ties to Ivanishvili — Georgia’s interior minister was once his bodyguard, the former chief prosecutor was his personal lawyer, and the health minister was his family doctor.

This close overlap between Ivanishvili’s personal network and the Georgian government has raised serious concerns among anti-corruption organisations like Transparency International. Critics argue that major government decisions are often reflective of Ivanishvili’s personal interests rather than those of the Georgian people. His enduring influence and ability to bypass formal accountability have led many to label him the true ruler of Georgia, pulling the strings while avoiding the responsibility of public office.

Before returning as the party’s number one on the electoral list, Ivanishvili spent much of his time in the Black Sea town of Shekvetili, where his residence is surrounded by a vast dendrological park filled with gigantic trees.

Known for his passion for collecting rare and exotic trees, Ivanishvili has stirred controversy by uprooting century-old specimens from various parts of Georgia and transporting them to his estate. These relocations are so large-scale that entire areas sometimes lose electricity while the trees are moved. 

This extravagant hobby has become a symbol of Ivanishvili’s unchecked power, not just over nature but also over the country itself. Despite the criticism, Ivanishvili insists that his tree-collecting hobby is harmless.  

And as the massive trees are forcibly uprooted and transported to his garden, Ivanishvili is similarly seen as pulling Georgia back into Russia's sphere of influence against the will of the people.

The Moscow question

Since entering politics, Ivanishvili has faced persistent accusations of being too close to Russia, Georgia’s former Soviet ruler, which still regards the South Caucasus as its backyard.

Having built his fortune in post-Soviet Russia, many of his critics believe he maintains stronger ties to Moscow than the Georgian public would like, especially given the tense history between the two countries. Russia supported ethnic conflicts in Georgia during the 1990s and invaded the country in 2008, which resulted in Moscow recognising the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent countries.

Ivanishvili has defended his stance, arguing that Georgia must maintain pragmatic relations with its powerful northern neighbour. He has portrayed his approach as a delicate balancing act between Moscow and the West, aiming to preserve Georgia's sovereignty without antagonising Russia. 

Early in Georgian Dream’s tenure, the country continued to move closer to European integration, securing visa-free travel to the EU and signing the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement. 

However, critics argue that since Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Tbilisi has shifted towards more pro-Russian policies and anti-Western rhetoric.

Conspiracies

In recent years, Ivanishvili has increasingly embraced conspiracy theories, particularly surrounding the idea of a "global war party" in the West. 

According to Ivanishvili, this so-called "war party" seeks to provoke conflicts around the world, including in Georgia, by dragging it into war with Russia. Ivanishvili claims that Georgia is being pressured by Western-backed opposition and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to open a "second front" against Russia.

His government has even introduced a Russian-style "foreign agent" law, aimed at controlling western-funded free media and civil society organisations in Georgia. 

Ivanishvili claims that the financial obstacles he has faced were deliberately created by the "global war party" to pressure him. He argues that both Georgia and Ukraine are seen as mere "cannon fodder" by this group. According to Ivanishvili, Georgia’s Nato membership was blocked in 2008 not by individual countries, but by those who truly "coordinate Nato’s policies".

In his speeches, Ivanishvili has also delved into transphobic narratives. He has criticised what he sees as propaganda challenging traditional gender roles, voicing frustration over issues like hygiene products in men’s restrooms and drawing bizarre comparisons like "men’s milk being the same as women’s". He insists that these efforts aim to blur gender identities and create confusion about whether one is a man or a woman.

Ivanishvili positions himself and his Georgian Dream party as defenders of Georgia’s sovereignty, resisting what he calls a Western agenda to turn Georgia into a battleground between Russia and the West. He portrays his political opponents as traitors, aligned with the "global war party", and vows to "punish" and ban them for destabilising the country.

Despite his strong anti-Western rhetoric, Ivanishvili claims that Georgia will eventually join the European Union after the war in Ukraine ends. 

However, the EU has clearly stated that Georgia’s accession process is stalled due to the government's democratic backsliding and anti-Western rhetoric.